Singapore Straits Regatta Day 2 Report

by Jonathan Woo on 12 Jan 2001 Well, the Bintang beer is only one buck a can, and at the rate it is being ordered, there better be
a brewery not too far away. Alcohol is an interesting commodity. When spirits are high, it is consumed in copious quantities to supposedly brighten an already cheery
picture. When spirits are low, it is consumed in copious quantities to supposedly brighten a gloomy picture. It's the drink for all occasions it seems, and on this second
racing day of the 7th Singapore Straits Regatta, it is, unfortunately, the latter of the two reasons responsible for the rate at which it is evaporating like vinegar on a hot wok.

After the better part of 6 hours spent watching the sails fluttering under an overcast sky with little to no apparent breeze (see 3-4 knots), the 25-strong fleet was ushered
into Batam riding a brief but-ever-so-fun front pushing up to 20 knots of heavy air. If one believes in the idiom of 'all's well that ends well', then day 2 of the 7th Singapore
Straits Regatta was in deed a banner day - and there's at least one boat in the fleet who'd agree. Xen@'s her name, and she is today's line honours victor for Racing Class
B (Racing Class A finished on a shortened course due to the lack of wind). Xen@ nosed past the finish line after a frustrating but ultimately satisfying 5 hours 21 minutes
and 4 seconds.

To say Xen@ is the only boat in the fleet to likely be satisfied with her line honours finish might be pushing it a bit. There's one more boat that comes to mind, and for her,
it is sweet redemption indeed. Gotcha Lagi, a fiery little Farr 36, was last year's overall winner of the Straits Regatta. But she got off to an awful start this year, placing
dead last in her class after the first day's racing. Taking advantage of the light airs, she and her crew pulled off a sizeable upset by taking first place in Racing Class A,
ahead of (in order of today's results) Stella, Jenny III, Pla Loma and DK 42, while solidly eclipsing Hi Fidelity, Australia Challenge and Sayonara.

One other group - and certainly the last - to find the conditions on the course not utterly frustrating was the small fleet of J-24s. The 6-strong fleet that finished the race all
placed in the top 6, with crowd favourite Kopi-O leading the way, followed over a span of only a few minutes by (in order of today's results) Jangan Main Main, Tempest, KT
2, Jantra and Shengli.

Before there's a run on the Bintang Estate and the mob comes looking for the secret stash in the race secretariat's office, it would be only prudent to sign off. Tomorrow
brings 2 races here in Batam, Indonesia, but let's hope that other idiom 'things happen in threes' doesn't rear its idiot head.