Subic to Boracay Race and Boracay Cup Regatta 2012
Last year’s double winner Sam Chan’s TP52 Free Fire is set to defend its title in the forthcoming great sailing events, the Subic Bay to Boracay Race and the 4-day racing quest for the Boracay Cup.
Under the auspices of the Philippine Sailing Association, the yearly sailboat race is strongly supported by the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) and the provincial government of Aklan.
Subic Bay will host 2 of the 12 prestigious regattas of the Asian Yachting Grand Prix Championship 2011-2012 that will determine the Asian Yachting Skipper and Yacht of the Year, all of which are of international standard, comparable with the most popular sailing circuits in the world.
The Subic Bay to Boracay Race and the Boracay Cup Regatta will officially start on 24 February and the overall awards will be presented on Friday March 2, 2012.
Following the Rolex China Sea Race which will finish in Subic Bay, Subic Bay will host the Commodores Cup Regatta in April.
Competitive sailing action in the Asian Yachting Grand Prix Championship 2011-2012, started last year with the China Coast Regatta, Hongkong-Vietnam Race, Rajah Muda Selangor in November and the Phuket King’s Cup in December. These races are part of the Eastern Qualifying Circuit.
In the meantime, the Royal Langkawi International Regatta and the Singapore Straits Regatta which will be held in January and the Six Senses Phuket Raceweek in July.
They will form the Western Qualifying Circuit.
The Top of the Gulf Regatta and Coronation Cup and the Sawadee.com Regatta Samui are the last two common events will be contested between the months of May and July 2012.
This highly competitive championship will help to promote the Philippines as a preferred sailing destination in the region.
Former Asian Grand Prix Yachtsman winner Frank Pong says, “The Subic Bay to Boracay Race is one of the most challenging and tactical races that I enjoy and Boracay is the Mecca of sailing in Asia and is a must for all serious sailors”.
The “2nd Subic Bay to Boracay Race” is a successor to the discontinued Manila-Boracay Race and with its inaugural great success together with the holding of the Boracay Cup Regatta 2011, got its place as part of the coveted Asian Yachting Grand Prix Circuit.
The Subic Bay to Boracay Race is a 200 mile ISAF Cat 3 Offshore race and the starting signal will sound on February 25, 2012 off the Lighthouse Marina Resort, Subic Bay Freeport Zone, Zambales. Depending on the size of the boat the race takes between 20-40 hours.
Frank Pong put on his 75ft Reichel/Pugh Jelik II set the inaugural race record for the 200 nautical mile course at 23 hours, 37 minutes, 58 seconds.
This will be followed by four glorious days of windward-leeward races and races around the beautiful and pristine island of Boracay known as the Boracay Cup Regatta from February 28 till March 2.
Around 30-40 Grand Prix Race Yachts and 300-400 local and foreign based top notch sailors vying for the prestigious Asian Yachtsman of the Year and Yacht title participate in these magnificent sailing events.
Both events are organized by the Saturday Afternoon Gentlemen’s Sailing (SAGS) Club, in conjunction with the Subic Bay Yacht Club, Watercraft Ventures, Inc. and The Lighthouse Marina Resort.
Sponsored by Cebu Pacific, San Miguel Brewery, Petron, PLDT, Resort World Philippines, Tanduay, Nigi Nigi Resort Boracay, Crafts of Boracay, Philippine Coast Guard and Philippine Tourism Authority.