Selma Star

Multi-titled Subic -based Selma Star/C! Calibre sailing team will shoot for the third straight win in the 6th Borneo International Yachting Challenge 2009 slated from October 9 to 15 in Borneo, Malaysia.

Skippered by veteran sailor Jun Avecilla, president of Selma Shipping Phils. Inc. and the Lighthouse Marina Resort in Subic, the team has captured top honors in 2007 and 2008 in the prestigious sailing tournament.

Team Selma Star/C! Calibre, which is based at the Subic Bay Yacht Club has competed in national and international regattas such as the Manila to Boracay Race, the Presidents’ Cup Regatta, China Coast Regatta, China Cup and the Singapore Straits Regatta winning in the former and the latter.

Also known as the Borneo Race, BIYC is the first truly international yachting event in the waters off Borneo organized under the auspices of the Malaysian Yachting Association.

A Category 3 event, the race caters to five boat categories of boats, namely racing, cruising, sports, classic and ocean multi-hull.

Sailing action kicks off on October 10 with inshore races in Miri followed the next day with the event’s highlight, the 100-nautical mile Miri - Labuan Passage race in which the fastest boat is expected to finish in under 20 hours.

The race continues with the Labuan Harbour Regatta on October 12, the Labuan to Kota Kinabalu Passage Race on October 13, and concludes with the Kota Kinabalu Bay Regatta on October 13.

The five-day extreme sailing event will take sailors once more to the exotic waters of the Malaysian states of Sarawak, Labuan, and Sabah.

According to event organizers, the Borneo International Yachting Challenge will complete the sailing circuit in the South China Sea region made up of the Hong Kong to San Fernando Sea Race and the President’s Cup of the Philippines and the Koh Samui International Regatta of Thailand.

Borneo Race is supported by Tourism Malaysia, the Ministry of Tourism, the Ministry Urban Development and Tourism, the State of Sabah, Sabah Tourism Board, Sarawak Tourism Board, and Labuan Corporation.