Pulau Duyong busy as Asian Match Racing Championships draw closer

8:51 AM Sun 8 Nov 2009 GMT

'The fleet await their crews at the Asian Match Racing Championships 2009' Monsoon Cup &copy Click Here to view large photo

A hive of activities returns to Pulau Duyong, Terengganu, Malaysia as preparation for the Asian Match Racing Championships (AMRC) gets underway here.

AMRC, which opens the month-long match racing season in Pulau Duyong will start on Monday, November 9, with a practice session for competing teams. The first race will be flagged off on Tuesday and the final is scheduled for November 12. The competition is an important qualifying round for the Monsoon Cup in December. The winner will win a ticket to compete in the Monsoon Cup, which is the final leg of the World Match Racing Championship (WMRT).

'We have lowered eight boats into the waters of Pulau Duyong on Wednesday to prepare for the race. We are actually ahead of schedule in term of boat preparation for the race,' said David Mills, the yacht manager at Monsoon Cup.

'The sunny breaks over the last two days have enabled us to complete most of the job on time. My team has been working long hours to ensure all the main facilities are in tip-top condition for the race,' he said.

Some of the teams have started arriving in Pulau Duyong today for registration and to familiarize themselves with the surrounding of the purpose-built marina complex and resorts. Most teams will arrive on Sunday.

Umpires for the race are also expected to arrive on Sunday morning for a Race Committee meeting. Monsoon Cup will seek the assistance of four umpires to adjudicate the race. They are Keith Swinton and Torvar Mirsky from Australia, Elizabeth Rountree from the United States of America and Anoushca D' Souza from India.

The AMRC will see a total of seven teams competing in a round robin preliminary round. Four top teams will then compete in a sudden-death semi-final with the top two teams to race against each other to win the ticket to compete in the Monsoon Cup in December.

Two local teams, Malaysian Armed Forces 1 and Taring Pelangi will represent Malaysia. The Malaysian teams will compete against a field of six teams from Hong Kong, Australia, Japan, Thailand and New Zealand.

The public is welcomed to Ri-Yaz Heritage Marina to watch the race.

Typical monsoon weather with scattered thunderstorms has been forecast around Kuala Terengganu for the entire race duration with wind of about 5 to 10 knots.

The full line-ups of the AMRC are as follow:
Team | Skipper
1. Team Hong Kong (Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club) | Martin H. Kaye
2. SLAM Match Race Team (Royal Sydney Yacht Club) | Michael Dunstan
3. Team J.F.P (JYMA) | Kan Yamada
4. Team 'EM' (RVYC) | Morten Jakobsen
5. Team New Zealand (WAKA Racing) | Phil Robertson
6. Malaysian Armed Forces 1 (Malaysian Navy) | Mohammad Razali Mansor
7. Taring Pelangi (TESA) | Hazwan Hazim Dermawan

About the Asian Match Racing Championships

The Asian Match Racing Championship taking place on 9-12 November 2009 will see the participation of teams from various Asian Yachting Clubs vying for a spot in the Monsoon Cup.

At its debut in 2006, the Asian Match Racing Champioship (AMRC) saw participation from 5 regional teams, including from Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong.

This year has seen a massive increase in interest with over 30 international teams applying for a chance to compete.

The format of the race was changed to include 16 teams instead of the usual 8 teams.

Asian Match Racing Championship Winners:
2006 - Adam Minoprio (NZL) - BlackMatch Racing
2007 - Adam Minoprio (NZL) - BlackMatch Racing
2008 - Keith Swinton (AUS) - BlackSwan Racing

by RURRUM