Sailing, Boats in Singapore, South East Asia

Sailing Trip on 4 Aug 09

2009-08-07T16:57:00.000+08:00

We planned the sail so that we sail with the high tide to Punggol. We turned around at 1pm because it was low tide from that time. if the wind went dead on us, we can still drift with the tide back to Changi Sailing Club. the current at 2-30pm was quite strong. on going into the club's beach, i lost concentration and my boat started to drift towards the pontoon. fortunately, the club operations staff was on hand to tow me in.

Sailing from CSC

2009-08-06T11:53:00.000+08:00

last thurs 30july09 my brother and i sailed from Changi sailing club to Pasir Ris. the whole trip took 1 hour 15 mins. each of us took the Pico. we sailed off at about 3 pm.

yesterday wed 5aug09 both of us sailed again. this time we reached punggol point and beached up. started at 11 am. reached punggol at 1230pm. left at 1 pm and reached the club at 2.30. on the way back there was a slight drizzle.

2007-01-17T21:06:00.000+08:00

Our Sailing Champions
Singapore has won three world titles at the Optimist World Sailing Championship which ended in Uruguay which ended on 9 Jan 2007.
Griselda Khng 15, emerged as the top female and second overall champion at the World Championships.
The team of five sailors beat three-time Gold medalist Peru to secure the IODA Challenge Cup (team racing title). Singapore also walked away with the Miami Herald Trophy (the Nations Championship) awarded to the country with the best aggregate score of their top four sailors. The Republic's five-member team, including Timothy Seet and Sean Lee, both 15, and Russell Kan and Rachel Lee, both 13, all lie within the top 15 overall.

2007-01-17T09:50:00.000+08:00

13th Singapore Straits Regatta 17 -20 Jan 2007
The Singapore Straits Regatta is one of Asia's premier regattas. The regatta coincides with the North-East Monsoon, providing excellent high performance racing conditions of steady breeze and great weather. In 2007 the races will be held in the waters off the Republic of Singapore Yacht Club and Riau Yacht Club (Nongsa Point Marina). The Regatta is open to racing and cruising yachts. A variety of course formats will be adopted to ensure the highest level of competition over ocean courses in the Singapore Straits and Riau waters. Visit the website http://www.straitsregatta.com/

2007-01-05T22:34:00.000+08:00

The Sydney Hobart Race 2006 (26December 2006)
Most of you would had caught this news on the TV. The race started with near perfect conditions. The next morning, the mast of Maximus broke and one crew suffered a serious head injury but in no mortal danger. Four other crew were also injured.By the first day nine boats had retired due to a variety of technical problems caused in big part by the treacherous weather. Miraculously, no fatalities were recorded.
This brought about a grimsome reminder of the race in 1998 where the outcome was disastrous.
It was the worst tragedy in the 54 years race history. Weather reports of 45 - 55 knots was forecasted. In reality conditions in excess of 70 knots greeted the sailors. 6 sailors perished in the extreme conditions. 55 had to be rescued and 5 yachts went down in the huge seas.

2007-01-01T14:07:00.000+08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2007
Thanks to all of you who had supported and visited my blog.

2006-12-17T20:29:00.000+08:00

15th Asian Games Doha 2006
It is confirmed now that SingaporeSailing had garnered 5 gold medals, 3 silver medals and 2 bronze medals. The golds came from the Men 420 and Women 420, Men Laser, Laser 4.7 Open and the Keelboat Beneteau 7.5 Open.
The sailors in the Men 420 are Shermon Cheng Feng Yuan and Justin Liu Xia Man. The Women 420 sailors are Lim Tze Ting and Sarah Tan Wei Lin. The Men Laser gold medalist is Maximilian Soh Khyan Tat. The Laser 4.7 Open medalist is Colin Cheng Xin Ru.
The 5 keelboat sailors are Ivan Tan Hsiao Loon, Justin Wong Ming Ho, Renfred Tay, Teo Wee Chin and Roy Tay Jun Hao.
The silver medals came from the Men 470 (Terence Koh and Xu Yuan Zhen)and Women 470 (Elizabeth Tan Li Yong and Toh Li Ying)and Laser Radial Open (Koh Seng Leong).
The bronze medals came from Men Optimist(Sean Lee Teik Ren) and Hobie 16 Open (Chung Pei Quan and Melcolm Huang Jing Jie)

2006-12-12T22:54:00.000+08:00

15th Asian Games Doha 2006
One more sailor had secured another gold medal for Singapore. He is Maximillan Soh sailing in the men Laser Open. Sean Lee settled for the bronze medal in the Optimist event. Koh Seng Leong was rewarded the silver medal in the Laser Radial. I will keep you posted once the rest of the results are officially released.

2006-12-12T16:18:00.000+08:00

15th Asian Games Doha 2006
Our Singapore sailors had done exceptionally well. So far, they had bagged 3 gold medals in these events. They are the ladies 420 Class, Laser 4.7 Open and the men 420. The ladies team comprises of the duo Sarah Tan and Lim Tze Ling. The men team are Sherman Cheng and Justin Lau. Colin Cheng did the honours in the Laser 4.7 Open.
Kudos to our sailors. There will be more good news soon when the all the other races wrapped up. Stay tune.

2006-12-10T09:27:00.000+08:00

Starhub sponsors regatta in 8-10 Dec 2006
This is a big event coming up i.e. 30th Singapore Laser Open & 4th SAFYC Byte Championship
Date : 8 - 10 Dec 2006
Venue : SAF Yacht Club (Changi)
More details at http://www.safyc.org.sg

2006-12-03T13:05:00.000+08:00

Monsoon Cup, Terengganu, Malaysia (29Nov-3Dec 2006)
The Monsoon Cup is part of World Match Racing Tour international sailing circuit, and the Tour’s first Asian venue.
It debut in 2005, and has put Pulau Duyong, Terengganu on the world sailing map, attracting the world’s top ranked sailors to compete in this prestigious event.
A match race can be described as a duel between two identically-matched boats with a winner - and a loser.
When two boats are on the starting line, the race is called match racing. Match racing has its own set of rules, which are slightly different from the regular racing rules that create very close, aggressive competition in which collisions are certainly not rare.
The World Tour (a series of 8 races) will award $100,000 in prize money at the end of the season. The champion will be crowned the World Match Racing Champion and will win $30,000 and a BMW X3 3.0i (valued at $45,000), provided by Tour partner BMW AG. The $100,000 prize purse is awarded to the top eight skippers.
Terengganu is one of Malaysia’s most-celebrated east coast states, well known for its exotic islands, pristine white beaches, crystal clear waters, quaint traditional villages and an unparalleled legacy of history and culture.
For more details, visit the website http://www.monsooncup.com.my/
See video clips featuring Jacky Chan and Shah Rukh Khan in the website.

2006-12-02T19:52:00.000+08:00

Sail Yacht vs Motor Yacht
Yesterday, i met a salesman selling motorboats. He said that given a choice between a sail yacht and a motor yacht, most would choose the motor yacht. This is the perennial discussion with most sailors are faced with. Buy a sail yacht or a motor yacht?
If both have the same boat length, the sail yacht will probably cost much more. There are many accessories required as masts, ropes, halyards and sails. There are more than one sail required on the yacht. There is one mail sail, a genoa and likely several storm jibs if this is an ocean going cruiser. However the captain need at least three crew in order to go out sailing. If there is no wind, the yacht is not going anywhere but to turn on the motor to get going.
In contrast, a sailor can reach a destination even on a windless day on a motor yacht. As long as the captain is competent and know the characteristics of the boat, he do not need a crew to help him operate the boat.
Personally, I prefer a sailboat over a motorised boat. I like the challenge of working with the elements to get the boat sailing. I think this is the same sentiments of most sail yacht owners.

2006-11-26T17:27:00.000+08:00

Sailing – A book review
I had read this book several times. The author is Dr Ben Tan, a well-known local sailor. The book title is “The Complete Introduction to Laser Racing” (ISBN9971-88-759-2). I would like to share some parts of the book that I feel are useful to both Laser novice and experienced sailors.
These parts covering the various aspects of boat rigging, sail tuning, racing techniques are useful. A sailor can clearly understands how the boom vang (kicker) and mainsheet tension, cunningham (downhaul) and outhaul affect the sail trim. For e.g. the Cunningham affect the upper third of the sail. The middle third of the sail is controlled by the boom vang (kicker) and the lower third is determined by the outhaul. It shows the sailors how to trim the boat in different wind conditions. In light wind, the sail should be fuller. In strong wind, the sail should be as flat as possible to spill the wind at the top of the sail. When sailing upwind, the sailor need to hike out in order to keep the boat as flat as possible. With a big-fleet racing that is typical of the Laser class, places are gained or lost at the marks within seconds. Being able to pass the boats at the marks involve not only superior boat handling, but also a sound knowledge but also a sound knowledge of the racing rules and a war chest of tactical tricks.

2006-11-26T11:35:00.000+08:00

Yours truly with part of the Clipper Uniquely Singapore crew
Here is a photograph of me with some of the Singapore Clipper crew. This was taken at the Boat Show 2005. At that time the boat was still in production, hence only the boat model. The crew came off as seasoned sailor baptised by the challenges of the tough races. I am the guy in the yellow shirt in the photograph.

2006-11-22T20:41:00.000+08:00

Christofle/Asia-Pacific Boating Awards (Boat Asia)
Best Asian Megayacht Builder (100ft plus) - Raffles Yacht (Sngapore-China)
Best Asian Yacht Builder (under 100ft) - Horizon yachts (Taiwan)
Best Megayacht (100ft plus) - Galaxy (Benetti, Italy)
Best Motoryacht (70ft-100ft) - Ferretti 731 (Italy)
Best Motoryacht (40ft-70ft) - Princess 42 (England)
Best Motoryacht (under 40ft) - Sea Ray 340 Sundancer (USA)
Best Sailing Yacht (under 100ft) - Swan 100S (Finland)
Best Brand Essence in Asia - Sunseeker (England)
Best Boat Show in Asia - Dubai International Boat Show (UAE)
Best Marina in Asia - Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club
Best Asia-based Charter Company - Sunsail
Best Yacht Mangement Services - Simpson Marine
Best Asian Maritime City - Singapore
Yachting Event of the Year - Phuket King's Cup Regatta (Thailand)
Personality of the Year Award - Wang Chaoyong, China Team (America's Cup)

2006-11-20T18:41:00.000+08:00

2006 Phuket King's Cup Regatta (2 - 9 Dec 2006)
Venue : Kata Beach Resort, Phuket The Phuket King's Cup is Asia's biggest and most popular regatta. More than a regatta, the week long event consists of great parties, great sailing and lots of fun. Inaugurated in 1987 to clebrate the 60th birthday of His Majesty the King of Thailand, the event has been held every year ; the celebrations start from the first week of December. With the Royal Patronage of His Majesty the King, the Regatta is organised by the Phuket King's Cup Regatta Organising Committee under the auspices of the Royal Varuna Yacht Club, in conjunction with the Yacht Racing Association of Thailand, the Royal Thai Navy and the Province of Phuket. Visit the website for more information.

2006-11-18T08:55:00.000+08:00

Langkawi International Boat Exhibition (24-27 November 2006)
Venue:Telaga Harbour
Langkawi,Malaysia
Malaysia's new international boat show bringing together the key players of South East Asia's marine and yachting industry. Timed to coincide with the Grand Finale of the 2006 Darwin-Bali-Langkawi Yacht rally and the 2006 Raja Muda Selangor International Regatta.Link to website

2006-11-16T21:27:00.000+08:00

Sailing solo around the world alone
This is the ultimate in sailing i.e. sailing around the world alone. It is like clmbing the Mount Everest for a mountaineer.
Sir Robin Knox-Johnston is widely acknowledged as the pioneer in non-stop solo racing. He took 313 days to complete the journey on board his boat, Suhaili in 1968-69 over a distance of 48,000 km. He sailed out of Falmouth, England and back to Falmouth via New Zealand. Then he sailed with the most basic equipment and a boat which today only deserve a place in the museum. He faced spells of acute loneliness on his boat. In the storms, he was also inflicted with injuries from skin tears and broken fingernails. Though injured and energy sapped due to physical exhaustion, he had to maintain a cool head to deal with the situation and continue with the race. It was a life changing experience for him. He won the race for the coveted Golden Globe trophy and more pertinently, a place in history.
In the same race, the sailor Bernard Moitessier found his inner calling and headed for the Pacific Islands instead of finishing the race. He is quoted in saying “I am continuing non-stop towards the Pacific Islands because I am happy at sea and perhaps also able to save my soul”.
Image from www.aroundalone.com

2006-11-15T19:59:00.000+08:00

Keelboat Conversion Course
These are the fellow sailors in the keelboat conversion I attended in the SAFYC (Changi). On the right of the picture is the instructor Rupert Ong. He is the guy with the white long sleeve and the white hat. I am in the centre of the picture, the guy with the gloves with the pink band. Look! We were having such a great time.

2006-11-14T22:34:00.000+08:00

Parts of a Dinghy

Here is a close-up look at the parts of a dinghy. In my earlier post, you would have come across these terms ; boom, mainsheet, tiller, kicking strap,dagger board. The boom is attached to the mast via the gooseneck. One end of the base of the mainsail is secured by a rope tied to the clew at the stern (aft)end of the boom. The other end of the base of the mainsail is tied down at the mast by the cunningham. (which is not shown in the picture). The daggerboard in the centre of the boat can be adjusted up and down depending on the points of sailing. On the run, the daggerboard is fully pulled up. On the close haul, the daggerboard will be pushed down all the way. The tiller controls the rudder.

Image from 64thseascouts.co.uk

2006-11-13T21:13:00.000+08:00

Points of Sailing
The points of sailing is an important theory of sailing. Assuming that the wind comes from 12o'clock, there is a zone of "no sails" roughly from 11o'clock to 1o'clock. when your boat turn into this zone and the sailor do nothing, the boat is said to be "in irons". The sail of the boat will luffs and the boat will be stationary. Besides the "no go" zone, there are 5 other points of sails. 1.close haul 2.close reach 3.beam reach 4.broach reach 5.running.when the boat is at the 10o'clock and 2o'clock position, the boat is sailing in a close haul position. when the boat is at 4o'clock and 8o'clock, the point of sail is close reach. if the boat is at 3o'clock and 9o'clock, this is the beam reach (this is the fastest point of sail). when the boat is pointing at 6o'clock, it is on the run i.e. the wind is blowing behind the boat.(this is the slowest point of sail).

2006-11-13T19:58:00.000+08:00

Commonly used knots in sailing
These are four knots that most sailors are familiar.

The Figure 8 Knot - this is usually used as a stopper knot for e.g. the end of the main sheet.

The Round Turn and Two Half-Hitches - it is used to tie a line tightly around an object. It can be used to tie a boat up a pole at the dock

The Bowline - this is a very useful knot that even the scouts learnt. It can be used as a loop around an object. it is commonly used as the knot at one end of the outhaul i.e. at the clew at the end of the boom.

The Cleat Hitch - it is used to secure the end of a line to the dock cleat.

2006-11-08T23:34:00.000+08:00

13th Singapore Straits Regatta 17 -20 Jan 2007
The Singapore Straits Regatta is one of Asia's premier regattas. The regatta coincides with the North-East Monsoon, providing excellent high performance racing conditions of steady breeze and great weather. In 2007 the races will be held in the waters off the Republic of Singapore Yacht Club and Riau Yacht Club (Nongsa Point Marina).
The Regatta is open to racing and cruising yachts. A variety of course formats will be adopted to ensure the highest level of competition over ocean courses in the Singapore Straits and Riau waters. Visit the website http://www.straitsregatta.com

2006-11-08T23:00:00.000+08:00

Royal Langkawi International Regatta 2007 (RLIR 4 - 9 Feb 2007)
The fifth edition of Malaysia premier event promises to be bigger than the previous regatta. A total of 50 yachts are expected to compete in this year regatta. The RLIR is a part of of the Asian Regatta Calendar drawing regular boats as well as new participants who actively race in regional yacht circuits. Visit the website http://www.langkawiregatta.com

2006-11-07T21:50:00.000+08:00

Why sailing is fun
In Singapore, sailing in the east coast, there are occasional water sprouts forming. These water sprouts are less than a metre high and last for less than a minute. Getting hit by these water sprouts really gives you a real kick.
When the weather is fine, light winds and the waters are not choppy. You can stop the dinghy and just enjoy drifting aimlessly in the vast open waters. You feel at one with the elements. These are rare moments of solitary solace away from the hustle of the maddening city. Just dangle your feet over the dinghy and enjoy the solitude.

2006-11-05T11:34:00.000+08:00

Starhub sponsors regatta in 8-10 Dec 2007
This is a big event coming up i.e. 30th Singapore Laser Open & 4th SAFYC Byte Championship
Date : 8 - 10 Dec 2006
Venue : SAF Yacht Club (Changi)
More details at http://www.safyc.org.sg

2006-11-05T11:15:00.000+08:00

The Andaman Sea Rally 2007
The Andaman Sea Rally is a race from Phuket, Thailand to Port Blair in the Andaman Islands. It will take place from 13 - 27 January 2007.
contact Mike Bein at info@andamansearally.com. futher info at http://www.andamansearally.com

2006-11-04T23:10:00.000+08:00

Sailing Articles
Recently i had submitted five articles on sailing. You can find them at http://www.articlescity.com. Look under the Sports category. Use "sailing" as the search word. Enjoy your reading.

2006-11-01T21:11:00.000+08:00

2006 Phuket King's Cup Regatta
Date : 2 - 9 Dec 2006
Venue : Kata Beach Resort, Phuket
The Phuket King's Cup is Asia's biggest and most popular reagtta. More than a regatta, the week long event consists of great parties, great sailing and lots of fun.
Inaugurated in 1987 to clebrate the 60th birthday of His Majesty the King of Thailand, the event has been held every year ; the celebrations start from the first week of December.
With the Royal Patronage of His Majesty the King, the Regatta is organised by the Phuket King's Cup Regatta Organising Committee under the auspices of the Royal Varuna Yacht Club, in conjunction with the Yacht Racing Association of Thailand, the Royal Thai Navy and the Province of Phuket. Visit the website for more information.

2006-10-31T18:48:00.000+08:00

Thrilling Sailing in a Catamaran.
Which dingy gives the sailor the most exhilirating experience of speed on the water, Undoubtedly, it must be the CAT; short for catamaran. All the boats i had intoduced to you in my earlier blogs are monohull. The catamaran is a twin hull design boat. Two common catamarans found in the SAFYC is the Hobie and the Nacra. Catamaran can be sailed alone if the sailor is competent. Beginners are likely to sail in pairs. Catamaran also come with trapeze. This allows a sailor to hike out of the boat to keep the boat flat. In good wind conditions, the catamarans can easily clock speed up to 10 knots.

2006-10-30T21:08:00.000+08:00

My Favourite Dinghy
What is my favorite dingy? After my basic sailing course on the Lark, I started sailing on the Topper. I was not able to continue to sail the Lark because the Lark were phased out in the Club. Besides, the Lark need two sailors; one helmsman and one crew. The Topper (43kg) is made from polypropylene, a composite plastic material, hence the boat is more sluggish. The Topper is robust and virtually indestructible. This is an ideal boat for beach resorts. The sailor can sail right up the beach without causing damage to the boat. The Laser boats are made from fibreglass. The Lasers are more lighweight due to the material. Therefore, it can cut through the water with less resistance. Consequently, the Laser is faster than the Topper. Next I moved on the standard Laser (56kg). In light and medium winds, the Laser is a fast and manageable boat with a new sailor. However in strong winds, an inexperienced sailor will have problem sailing and controlling the boat. If you are at least 75kg, it will be easier to sail and control the boat. As i am a light weight sailor (about 60-65kg), i eventually move on to the Laser Byte (45 kg). I feel I have better control in all conditions of wind including strong wind conditions. If i bring my children along, the Laser Pico is ideal. The cockpit has enough space for one adult and one child. So, if I sail alone, it is the Laser Byte. With the Kids, the Laser Pico.

2006-10-28T20:12:00.000+08:00

ASEAN Marine Tourism Symposium 2006
The Organiser is Bintang Melewar Sdn Bhd. the Symposium title is "Yangon - Manila Bay:A New Cruising Playground. The objectives are:
- To provide a brief and initial background and outline the definition of "marine tourism" and what it means to the economy and environment of ASEAN nations.
- Inform on the benefits to such econmies, with examples from other global marine tourism destinations.
- Provide a summary of the achievements and findings of the 2005 Marine Symposium and follow-up actions.
- Be the platform and actual event from which to launch the Asean Marine Tourism Council (AMTC) and its proposed country-based membership drive.
- Establish a clear path forward with objectives and goals with tasks ahead for AMTC and its members.
Date : 1 Nov 06 to 4 Nov 06
Venue : Sutera Harbour. Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia
Conact person : Victoria Hilley victoria@asiaextreme.biz

2006-10-27T21:20:00.000+08:00

I received a post from one of the member,maeng. his question is "I thought body weight plays an important role in sailing, other than that, it's a sport that Asians generally stands a better chance against Caucasians. " my answers :
Asians had done well in the smaller boats such as the Optimist and Laser Byte. Yes for the heavier boats like the standard laser, the Caucasians had done consistently better than the asians. Asians generally has smaller physique but if we can match the caucasians weight for weight, then the competitive edge will be the skills level.

2006-10-26T20:36:00.000+08:00

Sailing provides a level playing field for everybody. This is especially true in dingy races. All sailors sail the same design boat. What makes the difference is the sailors' familarity with the dingy. How he rigs his boat to suit the sailing conditions. Another is the skills level of the sailor. A sailor inherent ability to sense changes in the wind strength, direction and the effects of the currents and react appropriately will give the sailor an edge over others.
Even the disbled persons can enjoy sailing. They can sail in especially designed dingy for disabled persons. Alternatively, existing common dingy can be customised to allow the disabled sailors to handle the dingy with ease. In Singapore, the SDSC(Singapore Disabled Sports Council) provide opportunities for disabled persons to enjoy sailing.Our local sailor Jovin Tan Wei Qiang sails competitively in the Sports Classification -(Celebral Palsy) PNS class2. Visit the SDSC website for more information.

2006-10-25T20:22:00.000+08:00

I received a post by maeng, my ex-colleague. his question: Which role does a newbie sailor usually play? and what is route of advancement?my answers -
Usually a new sailor crewing in a keelboat will likely be the winchman, be it portside or starboard. There is no fixed route of advancement. the newbie will have to work with the captain to see where he best fit in after trying out the various positions. To steer the boat, you need to possess the PPCDL i.e. Private Pleasure Craft Driver License issued by the MPA (Maritime Port Authority). Thanks once again for your comment.
You can also check the on-line resources that Google had placed links on my blog. You will notice Google is intelligent to serve only related relevant links on my blog. Go and click on them for other sailing information.

2006-10-24T14:25:00.000+08:00

When we think of keelboat sailing, you will need a crew. The key person is of course the Captain or helmsman who control the steering.The next is the mastsman who raise the main sail. On the port (left side of the boat) is the winchsman and one on the starboard(right side of the boat) is another who control the winches which affect the trim of the sail.The other is the spinnacle guy who takes charge of raising the spinnacle from the hatch. It takes a team to get the boat going. For the adrenalin charged, some sailors sailed solo. Of course, these boats are smaller, typical length about 20 feet. In fact, there are many solo races that circumnavigate the globe. The more recent ones are the Mini-Transat(Transverse the Atlantic Ocean), Vendee Globe and the Route Du Rhum. These races are very popular with the Europeans. I will give you more info in my subsequent posts. Look out for it. Remember my earlier post, our local gal Elaine Chua did the Mini-Transat in Sep2005.

2006-10-23T21:05:00.000+08:00

There are several local sailors that made their mark. One of the notable is Dr Ben Tan. He is a specialist in Sports Medicine. He had experience in sailing the Lark, Fireball, 470, and finally the Laser. His best sailing years in the Laser class was when he won the 1994 Asian Games Gold Medal and four consecutive Southeast Asian Games Gold medals. He finished 37th at his first Laser World Championship in 1989 and completed in five other World Championship. Ben's ISAF World Ranking was in the top 50, and he finished mid-fleet in the 1996 Olympics in Savannah. He was thrice awarded the title of Sportsman of the Year in Singapore, as well as the Singapore Youth Award, the Public Service Star, and Public Service Medal.

2006-10-21T23:15:00.000+08:00

Langkawi International Boat Exhibition

24-27 November 2006

Telaga Harbour

Langkawi,Malaysia

Malaysia's new international boat show bringing together the key players of South East Asia's marine and yachting industry. Timed to coincide with the Grand Finale of the 2006 Darwin-Bali-Langkawi Yacht rally and the 2006 Raja Muda Selangor International Regatta.Link to website

2006-10-20T20:21:00.000+08:00

This is the first time Singapore participated in this Clipper Race 05-06. This have the support of the Singapore Tourism Board.This takes the crew round the world over 7 legs. For some crew, this is their first exposure to sailing. Crews can choose tosail on some legs of the race. For those who are all out for the adventure, they choose to sail on all the legs. Here are the Singaporeans who took the challenge. They are Chia Meng Tze,Director (F-Age 42), David Beevers Senior Director (M-Age 46),James Lim Cheng Yong, Cook (M-Age 44),Susan Tai,Dentist (F-Age38),Tan Thong Meng,Teacher (M-Age 29) Vincent Wee Su Meng,Journalist (M-Age 36). Kudos to all these sailors. Below are the details for the 7 legs. Singapore finished first twice. The first in the leg from Victoria,Canada to Panama. The other first is the leg from Jamaica to New York. The race was flagged off on 18/9/05 and completed on 11/8/06. Singapore finished fifth overall.

Leg	From	To	Via	Distance
1	Liverpool	Brazil	Portugal	4,500 miles
2	Brazil	Durban		4,650 miles
3	Durban	W. Aus		4,350 miles
4	W. Aus	China (Qingdao)	Singapore	4,400 miles
5	China (Qingdao)	W Coast Canada	Japan (Yokohama)	5,240 miles
6	W Coast Canada	Caribbean		5,250 miles
7	Caribbean	Liverpool	NY & Jersey	4,120 miles

2006-10-19T20:06:00.000+08:00

I always get this question from my colleagues; sailing looks difficult and there are some many ropes which makes sailing complex. Really, it is not difficult and complex. when you are on the dingy, there are only two parts of the dingy that you need to handle. They are the main sheet(rope that controls the boom) and the rudder extension. Depending on the direction you are sailing, the left hand holds the main sheet and the right hand the rudder extension(or the other way round). There are two maneuvers that you need to master and you can sail all single-handed dingy. First, is tacking. Tacking means moving the dingy across the wind. Jibing happens when you sail with the wind from behind. When jibing, the boom will swing from one side to the opposite side. Beginners need to remember to duck under the swinging boom. A lot of new sailors learnt the hard way nursing a bruise on the head being hit on the boom. Mastering these two basic moves will enable you to sail any dingy and later even the keelboat.

2006-10-18T18:18:00.000+08:00

The Laser is the world most popular dingy sailed worlwide. In the Olympics, it even has a veteran class. The original laser was designed by Kirby. He was a naval architect and a top Canadian International 14 sailors.The design came out of Kirby doodling in his office. Originally the boat name was Weekender. By the time it went into commercial production, the name was changed to Laser. That happened in 1970. To date, over 150,000 Lasers have been sold and production had run at some 6,000 to 12,000 botas per year.A bright testimony to its popularity.

2006-10-17T22:18:00.000+08:00

In Singapore, keelboat sailing is not so hot. However, with the government support some of our local sailors got to sail around the world on Uniquely Singapore. This recently completed race is organised by the Clipper Venture Plc. Some take the off beaten track. She is none other than our local sailor Elaine Chua. She had completed the MiniTransAct race solo on her boat Feng. you can read about her race in her website.

2006-10-14T12:38:00.000+08:00

The haze had also affected my sailing. Last Saturday when the haze hit 150, the sailors had to stay on-shore instead of training on the sea. Some children were having irritated eyes and sore throats. If the haze is bad today, i will just hit off to the gym instead

2006-10-09T20:25:00.000+08:00

The more known marinas in Singapore are SAFYC (SAF Yacht Club), RSYC (Republic of Singapore Yacht Club), Changi Sailing Club and Raffles Marina.

2006-10-08T14:22:00.000+08:00

For those who need to know the locations. here are the GPS readings.
Sembawang 1'28.28"N 103'49.18"E
Changi 1'18.95"N 104'00.96"E
Sea Sports Centre 1'19.00"N 103'58.70"E.

2006-10-06T22:47:00.000+08:00

My sailing club is the SAF Yacht Club. The main clubhouse is in Changi, just outside the CNB. The other location is in Sembawang. If you love the beach, just head off to the Sea Sports Centre.

2006-10-05T22:47:00.000+08:00

Sailing can be done in a group or alone. you can choose the dingy which best suit your physique i.e. your height and your weight and even your age. Children sail the Oppy (British slang for the Optimist, teenagers can sail the Laser Byte and adults can sail the standard Laser.

2006-10-05T17:06:00.000+08:00

I started basic sailing in 1998. now i can sail the Lark, Laser, Laser Byte and Laser Pico. had also done some in-house race and crew in some members Keelboats

2006-10-05T10:23:00.000+08:00

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