Subic Bay—Defending champion George Hill’s Antipodes claimed line honors in the 2nd Subic Bay around Verde Island Passage Race, but Centennial III skippered by veteran sailor Judes Echauz nosed out the Hong Kong entry in the corrected time.
Despite many wind direction and speed changes over the 200nm course, Antipodes made 13: 28:18, with an elapsed time of 25:28:18 in the IRC I Racing Class.
Last year, the record time set by Antipodes was a total sailing time of 22:54:9.
Never out of sight of each other, Centennial III finished at 13:53:53 and eclipsed Antipodes in the IRC I stakes by 13 minutes.
Centennial III led the way down to the Verde Passage, but Antipodes came out on top and held on for the long run back home.
Ray Ordoveza’s Excel 53 Karakoa crossed the finish line with 29:23:40 for third place in the 2nd SBVIP, presented by Standard Insurance Inc., and supported by Tanduay Rum, Broadwater Marine, Nano Fixit and Lighthouse Marina Resort.
“It was very tiring and technical race in close company with Antipodes. But we held on and happy to take the overall IRC I title,” said Echauz.
Despite having to anchor for a while, George Hackett’s Mills 43 custom Misty Mountain came third in the IRC overall stakes and claimed first place in the IRC II class.
Bobby Benares’ Beneteau 44.7 Sabad came second place, while Albert Altura’s Beneteau First 40 Hurricane Hunter retired on its first outing.
In the absence of an IRC certificate, Jun Avecilla’s Beneteau First 36.7 Selma Star and Michael Raueber’s Swan 65.1 Emocean 1 have joined Stephen Wu Shifu’s Oceanis 45 Asia Pacific Sailing in the Cruising class. After the arbitrary handicaps were applied, they ended up in that respective order.
Verde Island Passage is a strait that separates the islands of Luzon and Mindoro, connecting the South China Sea with the Tayabas Bay in Quezon province and the Sibuyan Sea in Romblon, beyond.
This is the eighth-point scoring regatta on the annual AsianYachting Grand Prix, where all the skippers and yachts are awarded points based on their overall placings at the end of the regatta.
The scores are included in the race for the 2018-19 AYGP Skipper and Yacht of the Year title at the end of the season.