Friday January 11, 2013
HiFi ready to shed bridesmaid’s tag
By K. RAJAN
Damage control: New Zealand’s HiFi crew get cracking after one of their sails was torn during Race Four of the Royal Langkawi International Regatta yesterday. — GARY CHEN / The Star LANGKAWI: Hong Kong boat HiFi are ready to cast off their perennial bridesmaid’s tag after emerging as the team to beat in the Royal Langkawi International Regatta, which has reached its halfway stage.
HiFi, skippered by former Olympian Neil Pryde of New Zealand, breezed into the top spot after winning Race Four and Race Five in 1’25:06 and 1’34:30 respectively to lead the Racing Class category yesterday.
The Welbourne 52-feet vessel, making its seventh appearance in the regatta, endured a dramatic race as it tore a hole on one of its sails in Race Four.
The 73-year-old Pryde was happy to see his team “in a comfortable position after three days of racing in unpredictable wind conditions”.
“The slight wind condition is good for us ... our boat is built for this kind of situations. We ripped our sail during the fourth race but the crew handled the situation well to win the race,” said Pryde, who’s making his return to sailing in Langkawi after taking a six-month break due to health reasons.
“I guess we are hungrier this time around to win the regatta after finishing second in the last six regattas ... the crew are all fired up and is consistently doing its best to win the races.”
Results
Race 4: 1. HiFi (Hkg) 1’25:06, 2. Jelik (Hkg) 01’30:05, 3. Katsu (Aus) 01’30:22, 4. Uranus (Mas) 01’31:48, 4. Walawala 2 (Sin) 1’33:00. Race 5: 1. HiFi (Hkg) 1’34:30, 2. Walawala 2 (Sin) 1’42:23, 3. Uranus (Mas) 01’43:27, 4. Utarid (Mas) 1’45:30, 5. Katsu (Aus) 1’46:03.
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