MIRI: Two boats from the Royal Malaysian Navy will be among an armada of 47 yachts registered to take part in this year’s Borneo International Yachting Challenge (BIYC).
Rac e c o – chai r ma n Dat uk Lee Kim Shin when contacted yesterday told the Borneo Post that the 9th season of the Borneo Race runs from July 21-27.
BIYC 2012 comprises Miri Bay Regat t a, Mi ri- Kot a Ki nabalu passage race (2 Gates) and the Kota Kinabalu Bay Regatta.
“BIYC starts this weekend with the Miri Bay Regatta and is the first international yachting event held in the waters off Borneo. The race is a joint effort of Sarawak, Sabah, and the Federal Territory of Labuan. The event is organised under the auspices of the Malaysian Yachting Association,” informed Lee.
“Since 2003 we have had an average of 20 boats from all over the world participating, from as far as St Vincent,” remarked Lee who added that this year the start of the race has been timed to coincide with the schedule of ‘Sail Malaysia Passage to the East’ rally.
“We received t remendous i nc r e as e i n t he number of participating yachts this year. There are quite a number of new comers to the race this year.
Among those coming back to the race is favourites and defending champion Selma Star owned and skippered by Jesus Jun Avecila of the Philippines,” said Lee.
Lee added that the BIYC will complete the South China Sea sailing circuit made up of Hong Kong to San Fernando Sea Race (the Philippines), President’s Cup Sea Race (the Philippines) and the Koh Samui International Regatta (Thailand).
The BIYC is a Category 3 event, catering to five categories of boats, namely racing, cruising, sports, classic and ocean multi-hull.
The overall winner of the Borneo International Yachting Challenge trophy will be the yacht with the least accumulated corrected times of the Miri Bay Regatta, the MiriKota Kinabalu passage race and KK Bay Regatta (IRC class only).