The Royal Langkawi International Regatta celebrated its eagerly anticipated 20th edition by serving up one of the best weeks of yacht racing the island has seen in recent years.
A week-long highlight every year on the Southeast Asian sailing calendar, the 20th Royal Langkawi International Regatta (RLIR) unfolded this week in Langkawi from January 15th to 20th, 2024, marking a significant milestone in the event’s history.
The highly anticipated regatta at the Royal Langkawi Yacht Club featured 32 boats and some 240 participants, drawing sailing enthusiasts from 12 countries, including Malaysia, Thailand, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Australia, Singapore, the USA, Japan, Hong Kong, New Zealand, China, and Vietnam.
Malaysia’s local sailors were joined by scores of resident expats and international visitors, all playing a part in this popular regatta which kicks off the region’s sailing calendar each year.
Spanning six classes — Racing, IRC1, IRC2, Multihull, Sports Boats, and Club Class — the RLIR on Saturday awarded prestigious trophies, including the Prime Minister’s Challenge Trophy, LADA-IRC Challenge Trophy, and more. Noteworthy as usual, the Tunku Abdullah Sportsmanship Award is a highly coveted honour, celebrating excellence in sportsmanship on both water and land.
The CEO of Langkawi Development Authority (LADA), Yang Berbahagia Dato’ Haslina binti Abdul Hamid flagged off the first day’s race on the start boat at 9.39am on January 15. For the 18th time at the RLIR, Simon James was tasked with running the show as the regatta’s Principal Race Officer.
Ahead of the prize-giving ceremony and gala dinner on January 20, RLIR expressed its gratitude to co-partner Belt and Road Regatta (BRR) and sponsors, including Langkawi Development Authority (LADA), Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB), Kedah State Government, and others. Special thanks were also extended to media partners from Malaysia and around the region.
Supported by the Malaysia Sailing Association (MSA) and the World Sailing and Aseanarean Bluewater Alliance, RLIR invites all to explore further details at www.langkawiregatta.com.
FULL LIST OF WINNERS
The Prime Minister’s Challenge Trophy went to ‘Witchcraft,’ skippered by Nick Burns in the Racing class, who won all 10 races.
The LADA-IRC Challenge Trophy was earned by ‘Mata Hari,’ helmed by Vincent Chan in the IRC 1 class. In a very closely contested class, ‘Mata Hari’ finished just one point ahead of the runner-up ‘Char Chan.’
The PSC-IRC 2 Challenge Trophy went to Jeremy Camps’ ‘The Blue Angel’ in the IRC 2 class who won 8 out of 9 races and was well ahead of his next rival ‘Piccolo.’
The Langkawi Sports Challenge Trophy was won by the ‘RSYC Racing Team’ in the Sports Boats class. Skipper Rizal Mahadi Sazili won 7 out of 10 races.
The Malaysia Multihull Challenge Trophy was well-earned by ‘Twin Sharks,’ skippered by John Newnham. The new generation racing catamaran ‘Parabellum’ was a fierce challenger in the Multihull class and finished only two points behind.
And finally, the RLYC Commodore’s Challenge Trophy went to ‘Marikh,’ helmed by Wan Fadli Wan Ahmad, who scored equally with second place ‘Kimikimi’ in the Club class.
Vincent Chan’s ‘Mata Hari’ crew was a popular-vote winner of the Tunku Abdullah Sportsmanship Award.
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