By Jerome Lagunzad
Hong Kong-based GTS 43 Mandrake III ended reigning champion Centennial III’s reign in surprise fashion by claiming the overall title in the inaugural Subic Bay Around Verde Island Passage Race and Subic Bay Cup Regatta competitions over the weekend.
Helmed by Fred Kinmonth and Nick Burns, Mandrake III edged Centennial III, skippered by veteran sailor Judes Echauz, for the overall championship by 16 minutes and 19 seconds in the SBVIPR and only just a solitary point in the SBCR races.
Centennial III, first-ever boat team to capture three straight titles in the previous Subic Bay to Boracay Race and the Boracay Cup Regatta, prevailed in the lone race of the IRC Racing Class I in the SBVIPR and even swept all of its six races in the SBCR.
But that proved not enough to emerge as the overall winner since Mandrake III accumulated a total of six points for both events (five points in the inshore race and a point in the offshore), beating Echauz’s Centennial III by just one, according to event administrator Zed Avecilla.