hfest_sfest04

HARVEST FESTIVAL REGATTA�� /�� SABAH FEST TROPHY 2004

30-31 May 2004

PRESS RELEASE

1 June 2004

By: Leonard Chin: Race Committee Chairman

019-8510641

Inspite of the on-going SUKMA X in Negeri Sembilan which drew away many sailors, the Harvest Festival /Sabah Fest Trophy Regatta still attracted 59 sailors for the ?2 in 1? Regatta over the long weekend holidays .

The sailing regatta is an annual event, hosted by the Kinabalu Yacht Club� that coincides with the Harvest Festival State celebrations and was started in 1988 to coincide with the Sabah Fest week celebrations.

Sabah Fest trophy

The main feature of the regatta is for the Sabah Fest Trophy . The marathon event requires that sailors must race around the Tengku Abdul Rahman Park and the organizers will always choose a route around the islands depending on the strength of the prevailing winds.

For visiting sailors, many are taken by the scenic sailing waters around Pulau Gaya, Sulug, Mamutik, Manukan and Sapi.

This year, the weather was a bit unsettled and on the first day of racing� on the 30 May a storm threatened to create a safety issue with the route around the islands. The organizers decided on a safer route for the larger sailing boats to sail around Mamutik Island and then down to the end of the Airport runway before returning to the Kinabalu Yacht Club for a distance of 15 kilometers.

The smaller Optimist boats took a route marked out by marker bouys that took them offshore and then to the end of the airport runway before returning. The rationale being that if the storm should come from the South West, any sailor in difficulty will be blown back to shore safely by the storm itself.

As it turned out, the storm did not come as expected but it gave the sailors an exciting time as the blustery winds provided some fast sailing

The larger dinghies such as the International 470 class, the International 420 class and the Byte Class started off first. At the first mark, Angela Foo and Raphael Childs were in the lead followed by Chia Vhing Byn and Jeremy Chin. In third place was Lyane Chia and Stella Mijol.

Round Pulau Mamutik, the lead was still the same except Chia Ching Byn/Jeremy Chin was overtaken by Leonard Chin/Danielle Ong.

Angela Foo and Raphael Childs� in making an uncharacteristic finish line judgement error were eventually pipped at the finish line by Lyane Chia/Stella Mijol� by a mere 7 seconds in the hour and a half marathon. Third was the Leonard Chin/Danielle Ong pair but they were pushed down to fourth place after handicap calculations moved Hazwan Haziah/Ahmad Hakimi of the Projek Gemilang team to 3rd position by a difference on only one second.

Lyane Chia and Stella Mijol therefore created an upset win against her more formidable fellow sailors including past champions Chia Ching Byn and Angela Foo.

In the Senior Optimist Marathon, Mabel Lim and Karin Lim , sibling members of Sandakan Yacht Club came 1st and 2nd respectively. They� upstaged KYC?s Alissa Chew who made a mark rounding error which cost her, her lead and finishing 3rd eventually.

�� In the Novice Optimist marathon, Howard Kwan from Sandakan Yacht Club took the trophy . Fellow club sailor Stella Ng came in 2nd and 3rd was Ahmad Syafig from Kinabalu Yacht Club.

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Harvest Festival Regatta 31 May 2004

�� On the second day of racing, the format changes to a series of races around marks at the Tg Aru bay.

�� Heavy rains with inconsistent winds gave the organizers a hard time to get the races started. However by noon, there was a slight change in the weather giving the organizers enough time to run only 3 out of 6 possible races but it was good enough to obtain results for the various categories of sailing classes.

�� Dtk Dr Tengku Adlin, Chairman of Sabah Tourism Board gave away the main trophies. In his closing ceremony speech he was pleased with the number of young sailors who have taken up a wonderful outdoor sport and promised to support the organizer?s effort to promote sport tourism such as yachting .

�� In response the Rear Commodore , George Bandusena of Kinabalu Yacht Club forecast a larger event coming up, the Merdeka Regatta in August which� is classified as a Malaysian Ranking regatta. The Singapore Sailing Authority has already indicated that they will be sending a large contingent.

Harvest Festival Results:

Class

1st

2nd

3rd

Int 470�

Chia Ching Byn/ Jeremy Chin (KYC)

Angela Foo/Raphael Childs (KYC)

Daniel Ho/Stephanie Ho (KYC)

Int 420

Hazwan Hazim/Ahmad Hakimi (MSN)

Razman B Mat Ali/ Daniel Lim (MSN)