Lights, camera, action! Team Hollywood set the pace at RLIR
LANGKAWI: Team Hollywood have set the pace in the 2019 Royal Langkawi International Regatta (RLIR), winning the first two races of the racing class series of the regatta.
Skippered by veteran Ray Roberts, the Australian team came ahead of defending champions THA72 who are led by Don Whitcraft.
Malaysian boats SCS Janda Baik and Zuhal are tied on third place with seven points each.
The races at the Kuah Bras Harbour Course saw blue skies and favourable wind conditions of 7-10 knots with gusts of up to 17 knots.
Team Hollywood won the first race with a corrected finish time of 1’15:38 while TH72 came second with a time of 1’16:3 and Zuhal third (1’22:57).
In the second race, Team Hollywood won in a corrected time of 1’12:22 with TH72 and SCS Janda Baik finishing second and third with times of 1’14:32 and 1’17:10 respectively.
Roberts said both the races were tight and close but they were lucky to be able to get away from their opponents.
“Our starts were not very good. We had two bad starts, so that gives the opposition a chance to get a jump on you. We have to go out tomorrow early morning and get the timing right,” said Roberts.
He added that they were aided by local siblings Khairulnizam Affendy and Khairun Hanna Affendy.
“It was great to have some Malaysians on the boat. It makes it more enjoyable. They give us local information. That’s good,” he said.
In the IRC1 class, the Vincent Chanskippered Mata Hari KL Registry also enjoyed a strong start – winning both races – as they look to win their fifth straight RLIR title.
They finished ahead of last year’s runner up Char Chan of Japan in both races.
Organised by the Royal Langkawi Yacht Club, the 17th edition of the regatta sees the participation of 35 entrants from eight countries.
Besides the racing class there are also competitions for the IRC 1, IRC 2, sportsboat, multihull, club cruising and white sailing classes during the five-day regatta.