THA72 wrap up Langkawi regatta with sixth win
LANGKAWI: The wind, or rather the lack of it, nearly ruined THA72’s crowning party at the 15th Royal Langkawi International Regatta (RLIR).
Fortunately, the wind picked up – at a speed of six knots – later in the day and Race 7 started at 11am.
And THA72, who had already secured the Racing class title on Friday, went on to cross the finishing line in 1’12:55 to make it six wins from seven races.
Australia’s Emagine finished second in 1’14:47 while Oi!, also of Australia, were third in 1’18:42.
THA72 finished with a final score of six points. Emagine, with the smallest boat in the class – a Farr 40 – finished a distant second with 14 points. Hong Kong’s Black Bazza were third with 17 points.
“It was very tricky sailing with the light wind, but we pulled away right from the start,” said THA72’s 21-year-old skipper Don Whitcraft, who also created history by becoming the youngest skipper to lead a crew to victory.
“I’m over the moon with our achievement and I’m happy that we’ve had a good week of sailing. Hopefully, we’ll come back to defend the title next year.”
It was also a good week for Malaysian sailors, with the Vincent Chan-skippered Mata Hari powering to victory in the IRC1 class.
It was Mata Hari’s third successive overall title, having won the IRC2 title in 2015 and 2016.
The Royal Selangor Yacht Club (RSYC) Team also enjoyed a successful week as they finished strongly to claim the Sportsboats class overall title.
RSYC won Race 7 in 1’21:53 to finish with 12-point total.
The Malaysian Armed Force Team 1 and Thailand’s Pine-Pacific were joint second with 16 points.
“RSYC won in 2015, but I wasn’t in the team then. This is definitely a sweeter win for us with a full crew,” said crew member Muhd Syafiq A. Rahim.