Monsoon Cup at Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia - Overall
by Norzuhaira Ruhanie 22 Nov 2014 17:34 GMT
19-22 November 2014
Maximum effort from Soh
Maximilian Soh and Team Red Dot conquered the tricky waters of Pulau Duyong to emerge as winners of the Monsoon Cup Terengganu today by beating Arthur Herreman who skippered Match The World team.
Asia's top match racer Soh basked in the sun on the final day of the tournament and came from behind to win two consecutive races against Frenchman Herreman.
“We knew we had to win all our races after the first round-robin and we're very happy with the results today,” said Soh, who will be heading to Phuket, Thailand for the King's Cup Regatta next week.
Having a local Terengganu guy Mohd Saifullah Mohd Esa as his bowman may have brought a bit of luck to Soh, who wrecked havoc with the scoreboard in the second half of the tournament.
“I received a message from (Soh) last week saying that he needed a bowman. It was a last minute decision for me and it turned out really well,” Saifullah, a regular in the local match racing league, said.
Frenchman Herreman, who had been consistent in his performance throughout the tournament, lead his Match The World team from the start in the finals but had to contend second place in his first Monsoon Cup outing.
“Obviously I am disappointed to be second but Max (Soh) sailed well, and also it is the first time for my team sailing on the Foundation 36 boats,” Normandy-based Herreman commented on his performance.
Spectators and sailing fans flocked to Ri-Yaz Heritage Marina Resort & Spa from morning where the top four teams raced the semi-final round. Sam Gilmour, leader during the round-robin stages, had picked Herreman as his opponent while Jerwood raced against eventual champion Soh.
Herreman lead to take the first two races against Gilmour and his Neptune Racing team. Losing the third, Herreman bounced back to win the fourth flight to book his place in the finals. Meanwhile, Jerwood had a slim lead against Soh in the semis but could not close the deal and had to be satisfied with winning against his fellow Australian in the petit-final.
“I was struggling a little bit with my start in the first race but in the end we came back. Finally, we had a good start in the third race and it was good to win against Sam, who we have not beaten since January,” Jerwood said.
“Nothing was going well for us today. We weren't able to cross the line cleanly and that cost us at least half of the races. But it happens and we move on from it and come back stronger,” a dejected Gilmour said.
By winning the tournament, Soh secured his slot at the Monsoon Cup Malaysia, the final leg of the Alpari World Match Racing Team (AWMRT) series, along with US$10,000 in prize money. Herreman and Jerwood each took home US$8,000 and US$6,000 respectively.
Overall Results:
Champion: Maximilian Soh (Team Red Dot)
Runner-up: Arthur Herreman (Match The World)
Third: Matthew Jerwood (Redline Racing)
Fourth: Sam Gilmour (Neptune Racing)
Fifth: Jeremy Koo (Sime Darby Foundation / 1Malaysia Match Racing Team)
Sixth: Morten Jakobsen (EM Thailand)
Seventh: Hazwan Hazim Dermawan (1Malaysia Match Racing Team)
Eighth: David Chapman (DC Racing)