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The East Coast Passage Race began on Day Two
in the late morning of 4 February, with the bigger yachts
like the Frangipani Girl and Foxy Lady (F5) leading the way,
followed closely by Panic! and SF Too for the IRC class. In
the PY class, Charlotte Elizabeth II and Karendia did well
by preceding the rest in most of the races for the day.
By the end of the second day, the results indicated
leads by Frangipani Girl for the IRC class and Charlotte Elizabeth
II for the PY class. On Day Three however, Karendia capitalised
on their smooth runs in the fleet racing and never looked
back to make the final claim on the Chief of Defence trophy
for the PY Class this year. On the other hand, the Foxy Lady
managed to stake their claim again on the IRC trophy, retaining
their title from last year. Winners of different races in
each leg of the HC walked away with vouchers worth over $300,
sponsored by International Paint and INTERMARINE Supply.
Champion glory and line honours aside, this
race has been above all – a race where everyone had been a
good sport and where it had been most important to enjoy the
wild ride on the waves. Bravo to Selamat and Todak for which
all skippers and crew fully enjoyed all three days of racing,
gamely challenging themselves against the big girls.
Special mentions to the race officials as well,
who ensured that everything went as smooth sailing as it could,
under the guidance of Organising Committee Chairman Mr James
Tan, Mr Lock Hong Kit and Mr Richard Cai. SAF Yacht Club would
also like to extend our utmost appreciation to the main sponsors
for the event – Yanmar, CLLS Distributors, International Paint
and INTERMARINE Supply. Their generous contributions and belief
in HC raised the event to a new height this year.
Of course, without all the sporting action
from all crew and skippers, this event certainly would not
have been such a success. In addition, everyone from the organising
committee,
participants and working staff ended the event on a fantastically
high note with a rousing prize presentation ceremony graced
by the Chief of Navy and Vice President, SAFYC Board of Governors,
RADM Ronnie Tay, as the Guest of Honour. Mr Gordon Maxted
teased the crowd with his humourous anecdotes of race happenings
during the traditional ‘Down-Down’ segment, followed by Ms
Miki who wowed the entire room with her mesmerising belly
dance moves.
We’re ecstatic that everyone enjoyed themselves,
we’ve had great fun meeting everyone too so we hope to see
both familiar and new faces next year for the bigger and more
smashing Horsburgh Challenge 2008!
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