AKLAN provincial officials welcomed yesterday participants and foreign guests of the 7th Standard Insurance Subic Bay to Boracay Regatta Race, the only internationally acclaimed series of racing events in the country.
Aklan Gov. Florencio Miraflores and Vice Gov. Gabrielle Quimpo saluted the 18 participating regatta teams, led by last year’s winner Centennial III, that left Subic Bay last Saturday morning.
The tournament continues for the Boracay Cup on Tuesday, with a combination of passage and windward/leeward over the next four days.
Miraflores thanked the Philippine Sailing Association and the Subic Sailing Club for institutionalizing the twin races and making the province an important destination of the prestigious Asian Yatching Grand Prix.
Aklan, home of Boracay Island, contributes 30 percent of the tourist arrivals to the country and part of this unprecedented arrivals are the sailing enthusiasts, their families and crew to the island, according to Quimpo.
The 7th edition of the regatta race is well participated this with boats representing the Singapore, China, Germany, Malaysia, China, Australia and the Philippines once again vying for the top place, said Ricky Sandoval, chairman of the organizing committee.
Syd Fisher’s Dubois 90 Ragamuffin, skippered by David Witt that holds the fastest time, will compete for the first time in the local race.
By taking only 14 hrs, two minutes and 17 seconds on the 220-nautical mile race, Ragamuffin shaved the previous record set by Hong Kong magnate Frank Pong’s Custom Dibley 75 Jelik back in 2013.
Ragamuffin with its crew of 14, led the fleet out of Subic Bay, where they dropped the spinnakers, turned left and enjoyed fast reaching conditions down through the Verde Island Passage.
All the regular competitors have recorded their fastest race times to Boracay, said Sandoval.
Overall winners in each three class of the combined Subic Bay to Boracay Race and the Boracay Cup Regatta series will bring home the impressive hand-crafted solid brass trophy replicas by Fernando Cacnio, a multi-awarded Filipino visual artist.
The twin regatta races are backed by Speery Topsider, Lighthouse Marina Resort, Cebu Pacific, PLDT-SMT Nation, Tanduay Rum, Watercraft Ventures Corp., Subic Bay Freeport Chamber of Commerce and Seawind Boracay.