Windsurfers preparing to start
Sun, salt, and sea - all the conditions were in place this morning for the practice race of the AYG sailing regatta ... except for the wind. That filled in soon enough, though, allowing the postponement flag to come down at a quarter past eleven, in time for a noon start.
The races on both courses got off without a hitch. Close to shore, the windsurfing girls flagged off first on course Bravo, with the boys ten minutes after. The Bytes were further out on course Alpha, where the sequence was also girls followed by boys.
Windsurfing Girls
The fleet began with an individual recall, with Thailand's Siripon Naewduang-Ngam caught on course side a minute before the start signal, unable to make it back below the line in time. She recovered spectacurlarly from her poor start, however, to round the top mark first, just ahead of Hao Xiumei of China, whose early tack to the right side of the course paid off well.
The second lap of the windward-leeward course saw Naewduang-Ngam extending her lead while Hao fell back on the second upwind, giving Hong Kong's Man Ka Kei and Audrey Yong from Singapore a chance to catch up.
The race finished with Thailand the clear winner, Hong Kong in second, and Singapore pipping China to third by mere boat lengths.
Windsurfing Boys
Ten minutes after the girls, the windsurfing boys were off to a roaring start. Korea, Thailand, and Japan took the early lead off the start, pumping furiously to get ahead. Like his teammate earlier, Wei Bipeng of China tacked out early to the right side and eventually came out a full minute ahead of his next competitor, Japan's Kuramochi Daiya, at the top mark. He was able to hold this lead all the way to the finish to take first, while Kuramochi struggled to fend off nearby competitors Korea and Hong Kong.
Nakaret Vantang of Thailand was clearly not going to settle for his fifth position round the top mark, however, and he took every opportunity to catch up. He managed to slip into second before Japan by the end of the race, leaving Kuramochi to settle for third.
Byte Girls
On Alpha course, the Byte girls started like their windsurfing counterparts did, with an individual recall. Gu Min of China failed to return to restart, however, and was therefore scored 'OCS' (On Course Side) for the race.
Najwa Jumali from Singapore proved victorious for the race, leading Thailand's Jittiwa Thanawitwilat and Japan's Nagamatsu Sera to the finish. Thailand and Japan were second and third respectively.
Byte Boys
Singapore also led the fleet in the Byte boys category, with Darren Choy showing his prowess out on the race course. It is a pleasing result for the Singaporeans, whose goal for the practice race was to test the waters and gauge the competition.
"We haven't seen all of them in action yet," said Serena Wong, sailing team manager for Singapore, before the race. The practice race is the first chance for all competitors to get a feel for actual racing competitions before the regatta officially begins.
Aprinanda Hasbula Simamora of Indonesia and Ahmed Muhammad Mustafa from Pakistan finished second and third respectively in the Byte boys division.
Official racing flags off at noon on June 30. The action will be covered via live blogging on www.ayg2009.sg
Read the live blog of the practice race here.
