LANGKAWI: Team Hollywood of Australia won the first two races to lead the Racing category on the first day of the Royal Langkawi International Regatta (RLIR) 2019 here yesterday.
The Ray Roberts-led team capitalised on the calm sea conditions and good wind speed to collect two penalty points from the first two races in the Harbour Race at the Royal Langkawi Yacht Club yesterday.
“We made a few mistakes but I am happy we still did well in the first two races, thanks to the good wind conditions which was perfect for sailing.
“We will work on overcoming our weaknesses before the next races. I am also happy to have two crew members from Malaysia helping us by giving us information on the weather conditions here,” he told reporters here yesterday.
He said they faced a great challenge from two-time champions THA72 of Thailand, who gained four penalty points to be placed second.
He also praised the three Malaysian teams – SCS Janda Baik, Zuhal and Uranus – for putting up good performances in the Racing category.
SCS Janda Baik and Zuhal collected seven penalty points each to be third and fourth respectively while Uranus, who encountered technical problems, picked up 11 penalty points to be placed last in the five-team competition.
Uranus skipper Mohd Masyuri Rahmat said his team might not be able to compete in the third race today as they do not have sufficient equipment after certain parts of their boat were damaged.
“We are trying to get the replacement parts as fast as we can. Otherwise, we won’t be able to continue racing in the RLIR this time,” he said.
A total of 35 yachts from Malaysia, Australia, Russia, Japan, Thailand, Singapore, the United States and United Kingdom are competing in this year’s five-day RLIR, which began yesterday, and are divided into seven categories – Racing, IRC 1, IRC 2, Sportboat, Cruising, Multihull and White Sail. – Bernama
