SUBIC BAY—Philippine Sailing Association team, helmed by Emerson Villena, is so far ahead in the new class known as the FarEast 28R after six races of the Subic Bay Regatta Cup in the freeport zone and will win the competition.
Villena, a former 470 dinghy champion, has the most experience. He won all the six races and has a firm grip on proceedings with two more races left Friday morning in the race presented by Standard Insurance Inc.
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“The PSA team is now the eventual FarEast 28R champion even if they do not compete in the remaining two races. They are leading by eight points against second place since the races started last Monday,” according to event administrator Zed Avecilla.
To promote keelboat sailing in the country and in preparation for coming international regatta competitions, the sail boat was first introduced in the Philippines this year. It is a well-designed, easy to handle and high performance uniform class racing sailboat.
The PSA team has five total points with one drop, Avecilla said. On the other hand, Alan Chua’s Centennial II and Bernice Foo’s Singapore Sailing/Singapore Maritime University are neck to neck.
After six races, Centennial II garnered 13 points while Singapore Sailing has 14 points. They are tied with 11 points at second place last Wednesday, in the race backed by Tanduay Rum, Pepsi Cola, Broadwater Marine, Nano Fixit and JC and organized by Subic Sailing Club.
Team Japan skippered by Yukie Ikawa and Sean Michell’s Subic Sailing are tied with 20 points after six races and sit at fourth and fifth places, respectively.
Although the Keelboat Association of Taiwan Team captained by Joser Hsieh is back markers placing last they are gaining in every race from the experience.