Friday, 12 June 2026
Following a briefing by Race Officer Simon James, the 12 entrants in the 5th PSC Squib Keelboat Championship sailed out of the marina. With no engines allowed, the fleet gathered on the starting line, with the Committee Boat , Pia on station on the north shore.
Race 1
Race Officer Simon set a windward-leeward course. With only a mild tide, the fleet started along a long line. Those sailing inshore, led by Jerry sailed by Thomas and Alessandro, successfully gained an advantage over those who chose the offshore route.
After rounding the first mark, a variety of spinnaker and non-spinnaker boats converged at the leeward mark before sailing upwind again to the windward mark. There was plenty of place changing throughout the fleet. Alice retired with a broken halyard.
| Sail No | Boat | Name | Cty/Rgn | Place | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 362 | Jerry | Thomas/ Alessandro |  | 1 | 1 |
| 564 | Quicksilver | Benny/Nur Shazin Mhd Latif |  | 2 | 2 |
| 723 | Lady VG | Rama Menon/Justin | | 3 | 3 |
| 685 | Peach 2 | Riizal (Tom)/Irsyad Ismail | | 4 | 4 |
| 780 | Cabaret 7 | Jeremy/Eppy |  | 6 | 6 |
| 691 | Emily | Evan Ho/Yoon | | 5 | 7 (PEN) |
| 376 | Kittiwich | Martin/Charles | | 7 | 7 |
| 645 | Second Wind | Ronan/Michael/Melissa |  | 8 | 8 |
| 287 | Skybird | Jason/Matt | | 9 | 9 |
| 292 | Recaa 2 | Aqasya/Jade/Amirah | | 10 | 10 |
| 285 | Buck Up | Haris / Raden | | 11 | 11 |
| 447 | Alice | Richard/Billy/Dan | | DNS | 13 |
Race 2
For the second race, Race Officer Simon set a Triangle-Sausage course, offering more variety and a better opportunity for overtaking due to the reaching legs.
The usual even start saw boats crossing the line in all directions, with many position changes as the fleet beat toward the weather mark. Cabaret 7 took a flyer across the centre of the river and emerged as the leader around the first mark, followed by Emily and Peach 2.
The reach to the triangle mark saw some boats flying spinnakers while others chose not to. Initially, the non-spinnaker group benefited, but by the time the fleet reached the mark, the spinnaker boats had gained the advantage. The fleet gybed onto a broad reach towards the leeward mark in front of the committee boat, where the spinnaker boats again benefited.
After rounding the leeward mark, Cabaret 7 led the fleet back to the windward mark. Unfortunately, after misreading the Sailing Instructions, Cabaret 7 failed to realise that another lap was required. While dropping their spinnaker, Peach 2 and Quicksilver sailed through.
To add to their misery, Cabaret 7 touched a mark and, being close to the committee boat, completed a 360-degree penalty turn. As noted in the previous race, Lady VG had done the same in almost exactly the same location.
On the reach to the triangle mark, Quicksilver and Cabaret caught up with Peach, but after rounding the triangle mark, Peach sailed away.
Race 2 Results
| Sail No | Boat | Name | Cty/Rgn | Place | Points |
|---|
| 685 | Peach 2 | Riizal (Tom)/Irsyad Ismail | | 1 | 1 |
| 564 | Quicksilver | Benny/Nur Shazin Mhd Latif | | 2 | 2 |
| 780 | Cabaret 7 | Jeremy/Eppy | | 3 | 3 |
| 723 | Lady VG | Rama Menon/Justin | | 4 | 4 |
| 645 | Second Wind | Ronan/Michael/Michelle | | 6 | 6 |
| 691 | Emily | Evan Ho/Yoon | | 5 | 7 (PEN) |
| 376 | Kittiwich | Martin/Charles | | 7 | 7 |
| 362 | Jerry | Thomas/Alessandro | | 8 | 8 |
| 292 | Recaa 2 | Aqasya/Jade/Amirah | | 9 | 9 |
| 287 | Skybird | Jason/Matt | | 10 | 10 |
| 285 | Buck Up | Sean Suresh (Sea Scouts) | | 11 | 11 |
| 447 | Alice | Richard/Billy/Dan | | DNF | 13 |
Emily received a penalty, which dropped her further down the order.
End of Day 1 Standings
It is difficult to fully describe the amount of place changing that took place throughout the fleet. The Squibs, being one-design keelboats, are so closely matched in speed that a single mistake can see a boat quickly lose several positions.
At the end of Day 1, the standings are:
- Quicksilver – 4 points
- Peach 2 – 5 points
- Lady VG – 7 points
- Jerry – 9 points
- Cabaret 7 – 9 points
A great day of sailing and congratulations to Race Officer Simon James for setting two excellent courses.
With two days and probably six more races to be sailed over the weekend, every crew still has a chance of victory and lifting the prestigious 5th PSC Squib Keelboat Championship Trophy.