SAILING action hits fever pitch with the staging of two upcoming prestigious events in the country this year with the Standard Insurance 8th Subic Bay to Boracay Race (SBBR) and the Boracay Cup Regatta (BCR) from February 17 to 24.
Philippine Sailing Association chairman Ernesto Echauz said all is set for the staging of the Subic Bay to Boracay Race where more than 15 boats and 200 sailors will negotiate the 200-nautical mile route that will take the competitors from the yachting capital of the Philippines, Subic Bay, to the shores of Bataan, Batangas, Mindoro, and finally in the island paradise of Boracay.
A series of races, Echauz said, will also be held in Boracay for the Boracay Cup Regatta, which fires off February 21 to 24.
Returning for this year’s SBBR event is Scallywag, the former Ragamuffin 100 which came up with the new record of 14 hours, 23 minutes, and 17 seconds in 2015.
Scallywag has a new owner in Seng Huang Lee of Hong Kong but will still have the same crew under skipper David Witt.
The Echauz-owned Standard Insurance Centennial III, the second overall in the IRC Cruising Class 1, will also compete in the Subic Bay to Boracay Race determined to win the division after Custom Dibley 75 Jelik of Hong Kong’s Frank Pong won in 2016.
“We have an all-Filipino team that is a combination of national athletes, members of the Philippine Navy, and employees of Standard Insurance,” Echauz proudly said during a press briefing on Tuesday at the Kamayan Restaurant-Padre Faura.
Echauz said the route will remain scenic yet difficult with the winds coming from the northeast coming into play in the race, especially at the tricky Verde Passage.
The two events that are organized by the Subic Sailing Club and under the auspices of the Philippine Sailing Association is just part of the 2017 Philippine Sailing Grand Prix that also includes the 10th Commodores’ Cup Regatta on April 19 to 23.
The SBBR and the BCR are presented by Standard Insurance in cooperation with the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, Subic Bay Freeport Chamber of Commerce, Subic Bay Hotels, Attractions, Toursim Stakeholders Visitors Board, Zambales, Olongapo, Malay, and Aklan, and sponsored by The Lighthouse Marina Resort and Watercraft Ventures.