Updates

As we step into Year 2018, we would like to formally introduce our 14th Executive Committee! Introducing our Madam President & TDO — Bernice Foo. Under her lead, this lady ensures that the club is in order. Next up, our Vice President — Kenny Chee! Apart from being known as “Teddy Bear Kenny”, he is Bernice’s right-hand man (first sidekick). Bernice’s second sidekick is Honorary General Secretary — Darryl Tan! Despite being known for his quirky personality and sassiness, he definitely does a job well-done as the club’s HGS. Being a handyman, this guy eagerly takes over as Logistics Director — Isaac Peck! A strong passion in fixing and piecing things together, we are definitely lucky to have him take on this role! Although she whines a lot and drinks water on the downwind, we trust in our Finance Director, Chermian Lim, to keep our accounts and funds safe. Lastly, we have our Marcomms Director, Nicole Quek! Having a “mother-like” figure, she hopes to fulfil exco duties while discovering her American Dream.

New year, new adventures to be had with SMU SAILING! Join us on the 25th Jan 2017, as we dive headfirst to what the rest of 2017 has to offer us. Hang on tight as Adventure Awaits!!

Anndd the votes are in…introducing to you the new incoming 13th Executive Committee of SMU Sailing!

President – Ko Yumei
Vice-President – Germaine Lim
Honorary General Secretary – Lee Cheryl
Training and Development Officer – Alison Chia
Finance Secretary – Tan Dexun
Logistics Officer – Sng Jia Ping
Marketing and Corporate communications Officer – Cherise Lei

The 13th Executive Committee elections are just around the corner! 8 courageous year 2 sailors have stepped up to run for a position in the Exco. Click on this link to check out the nomination write-ups from each of the candidates. Elections will be happening on the 7th September 2016, 7pm at SOE SR 5-2. Good luck to the candidates and always remember that “Leadership is an opportunity to serve”.

19th WCSR (Race day 1 & 2): SMU sailing put on a great showing in the first weekend of the19th Western Circuit Sailing regatta. We had a total of 5 teams representing across 2 classes, IRC B and SB20s. Over the weekend, the sailors faced various conditions, ranging from light tricky winds to heavier breeze with choppy seas. Despite that, one constant was the sailors’ sheer determination to perform in any conditions thrown at them.

In the IRC B class, both teams sailed up the leaderboards from early on and it became an internal battle for the overall lead! SMUve and SMUmad will enter Day 3 in 1 and 2!

Race day 1 &2: The RSYC Regatta kicked off on day 1 with a gloomy start, with rain greeting our enthusiastic sailors. After the skies cleared up, the team had to wait another 2 hours out at sea for the winds to pick up, with Jimmy taking a dip in the waters while waiting.
Finally, the sailors started their races for the day. SMUmad had the lead for the first race in the IRC B class, but painfully lost the title to SMUve due to an error in finishing. SMUve made good calls in their second race, allowing their team to claim the second race as their own. Meanwhile in the J24 class, Shengli had consistent performance, finishing first in all their races. The last race saw winds picking up tremendously, with SMUve experiencing a near broach and SMUMad having troubles with their mains halyard.

Ahoy! The PRW team have landed safely at their destination! By the look on their faces, it seems they have already gotten everything sorted, from boat checks to their accommodation!

Race day 0: Day 2 of Phuket was our first day out on the water. After a late breakfast, the team went through our play book and clarified our individual roles during our race manoeuvres. Heading out the An Yo beach, we rowed out in a rubber dinghy(a first for a regatta) to the greet the Weasel, the team’s weapon of choice for the next 4 days of racing. The sailors quickly rigged up and were put through their paces as they practiced and troubleshot almost all their manoeuvres. A productive day of training to say the least, from a slipping mains halyard to a dodgy spin sheet, it was fortunate that these defects were spotted early and addressed before actually racing commenced. We ended off with dinner by the beach backed by a picturesque sunset and stroll along the night market in front of the hotel capped off the evening! The team is pumped for the second day of training tomorrow and hopefully can get a chance to do some pacing with other boats!

Race day 1:It was a pleasant change as the sun decided to shine upon the sailors today for their first day of racing! The day was not too productive as the winds went as light as 3 knotts, during the first few hours from the warning signal. The Phuket Race Crew entertained themselves with a merry sing-a-long session, as well as catching up on lost sleep.

In the end, the committee managed to squeeze in one race for the day. The crew emerged 2nd, earning themselves a neat bottle of Mont Clair for the day.

Race day 2: The team had a slow start to the day when races were postponed due to the light and inconsistent winds. This gave the members of the team who were under the weather some much needed rest and respite from their afflictions. At promptly 1pm the AP flag came down and the crew of The Weasel scurried to the start line.

Race 1 was an exciting duel between the fantastic fox (The Fox) and wily weasel (The Weasel/Team SMU). Both sides took turns to take the lead andall almost seemed lost when The Weasel completely missed rounding the downwind mark on the first attempt (THE HORROR). But the wily weasel outsmarted and outran the the fantastic fox on the upwind leg to scamper to victory for the first race.

It’s that time of the year again! TOGR! Our favourite summer regatta! What a great way to kick start the summer.

TOGR DAY 0: After a great boat check yesterday, our sailors headed out into the Pattaya waters for practice races today! The teams were greeted with strong winds and choppy waves — a pleasant surprise! It was a good practice round for all the boats though the conditions proved to be challenging. A storm came after one round of practice race, the sailors quickly sailed back into the marina to seek shelter. Nataya’s engine failed to start on the return trip and dragon’s engine also died while trying to rescue Nataya. It was great to see so many different boats out on the water today, here’s wishing all the boats the best of luck for the next 4 days of racing!

Race day 1: It was an intense day of racing for all the teams today as winds got from strong to even stronger throughout the day. There were a total of 3 races and sailors fought a good fight today, with DRAGON mostly taking the lead (infront of all the other SMU boats) on most of the races. Albeit being at the back of the fleet most of the time and experiencing a couple of broaches here and there on the downwind, the sailors pushed through the tough conditions and sailed their best today. After racing, we had a fantastic seafood dinner by the sea at this quaint restaurant called “The view”, where we saw the sunset. Thank you OSL for the lovely dinner treat! When we got back to the hotel, we had a team debrief and the sailors from each boat shared their tips and happenings on their boat during races with everyone. Keep up the positivity and the energy sailors! Don’t give up and all the best for the next few days of racing!

Race day 2: The sailors woke up today feeling pumped and ready for yet another 3 more races ahead. The wind conditions were stronger than yesterday’s and the waves were even more relentless. There were talks amongst the other pro-boaters about the jibs they used in this kind of conditions by the lawn. And knowing that all our boats were pretty light, the lovely Kevin Scott then brought over some number 3 jibs to help us avoid being too overpowered in these strong conditions. The races were as usual very eventful, with Naiad (BloveLY) getting an OCS in the second race, Nataya (Tripple A) skied their spin halyard during the break right before the third race, Dragon (Crash team racing) skied their jib halyard that same time as well and Stingray’s (PQ’s KReW) main sheet block coming off after the general recall for the third race. After yesterday’s team debrief, many of the boats improved from the useful tips and tricks imparted. The team then went over to the Movenpick hotel for the daily prize givings and cocktail party. Overall, a good second day of races, hang in there team!

Race day 3: The sailors are half way through the regatta and are all starting to get used to the strong conditions over at Pattaya. The winds were slightly lighter than yesterday’s but the sailors were not complacent and sailed the hardest they could. There were not much crew mistakes as all the trimmers trimmed to their best and the foredeck performed clean hoist and drops. Stingray (PQ’s KReW) experienced a Chinese gybe on the last down wind but had a fast recovery. Overall, the 2 races today was really a test of the sailor’s endurance and tactics. Tomorrow will be the last day of races, give your best sailors!

^Poor thing, one of our song tiows broke down right infront of the u-turn before the entrance of the marina. So we had to push it out of traffic and walk all the way into the marina.

Race day 4: Final day of races and everyone is pumped and ready to end it with a bang! The wind conditions were the same though there were signs of rain in the morning. The starts for the last 2 races were not too ideal for the boats Nataya, Naiad and Stingray as they struggled to start on time. Stingray almost crashed into Naiad and Fox in the first race giving the crew quite a heart attack. The sailors finished all the races with their best ability. Even though the teams were at the back of the fleet most of the time as the other platus had seriously insane height and speed, the sailors never admitted defeat and always gave their 110%! After races, we headed back to ambassadors for a final team debrief about the whole regatta. Everyone shared their key takeaways in terms of both sailing and non-sailing. The day ended with the closing ceremony, a great birthday celebrations for 2 of our lovely team mates Alison and Lionel, and of course kangaroo court! Overall, though the team didn’t manage to bring home a podium finish, the sailors learnt a whole lot during this regatta and can’t wait to train harder for the next one.

 

USLA 2016: Tonight is a good night for SMU Sailing! We brought home the GOLD award for the SMU Excellence in Student Life Award and for the first time, we won the SMU Alumni Association CCA Award! A few of our sailors took home some great awards tonight as well. Amanda Ng won the SMU Outstanding Achievement Award and our MVP, Ms Terena Lam won both the SMU Outstanding Achievement Award in Student Life and SMU Excellence Award in Student Life Gold Award! Congratulations SMU Sailing! We want to thank the 11th Executive Committee, the Office of Student Life and SMU Sports Union for all their support and hard work that brought us these wonderful achievements today!