IRC 1 Class boats had a field day in light winds over Luzon waters over the weekend with Irresistible pulling off the victory by sailing into this island paradise by mid-morning Monday.
With an elapsed time of 43:53:42 and corrected clocking of 41:34:07, co-skipper Harry Taylor and DB Brizuela and their four crew members scored their first victory in three stints in the annual race covering 200 nautical miles.
It was the second time the same type of boat ruled the Manila-Boracay race following Viking Express’ triumph in the inaugural staging of the event in 2001.
Upgrading done the last two years proved a big help as Irresistible, built in Bataan in the mid-80s, beat Vivaldi (J 35), Fast Exit (X 99) and Sandoway (BH 36) for the IRC 1 Class and overall championships.
Centennial, a Sydney-made 46-footer proudly flying the national tri-color, topped the premier IRC Racing Class but finished only fifth in the overall competition, yielding the crown she won in 2005 and 2006.
"It’s their moment," said Centennial skipper Ernesto Echauz.
Hours before the awarding ceremony at Fairways and Blue Water last night, Taylor and his group were back in the waters, gearing up for the four-day President’s Cup Regatta set to begin this morning.
Sailing experts, however, said it could be anybody’s race just like the Manila-Boracay Race 2007, the kickoff event of the eStandard Insurance Boracay Series sponsored by eStandard Insurance, Smart Infinity, American Express, Oakley, Suunto, Johnnie Walker, Fairways and Bluewaters, San Miguel Super Dry, Sea Air, Clinique, Asia Pacific Boating, Fragrant Harbour, Asian Yachting, The Philippine Star, Manifesto, Calibre Magazine and Crossover 105.1.
The President’s Cup Regatta will be in-shore races in the Boracay waters also to be participated in by close to 30 boats from the Philippines, Singapore and Hong Kong.
Irresistible could now be a marked boat after her victory in the Manila-Boracay race, thanks to the condition grounding the big yachts for hours along the course. Sailors call it "parking lot condition" when winds died down forcing boats to stop.
"How the wind blew favored the little boats this time," said sailing committee’s Martin Tanco.
Claudio Altura’s Vivaldi finished second with a corrected time of 43:03:14, Arvin Simtoco’s Fast Exit third at 43:25:10 and Klass Huisjes’ Sandoway fourth at 43:25:20.
Sharing the spotlight was Rainer Blum’s China Rose which ruled the PY Cruising Class at 44:26:14, followed by Austen Chamberlain’s Sorcerer at 46:49:14.
Of all the boats, Mandrake was the first to hit Boracay, arriving here Sunday midnight. Next came Freefire, then Karakoa and Centennial.
Smaller boats are normally slower but carry lighter IRC handicaps, computed based on the measurement of the boat, sail and mast among others.