Echauz’s Centennial III surges out front

BORACAY—Weathering strong winds, Centennial III rolled up the gigantic sail inspired by the national tri-colors and charged closer to victory in the Boracay Cup Regatta.

Centennial III, skippered by businessman Judes Echauz, snatched the lead from defending champion Jelik of Hong Kong’s Frank Pong on the penultimate day of the four-day race Friday off this island paradise.

Centennial III clocked four hours, 19 minutes and five seconds in the IRC racing class after tackling huge waves under cloudy skies in the 51-kilometer (28 nautical miles) course held around Carabao Island and Boracay.

Karakoa, Ray Ordoveza’s Excel 53-designed boat, placed second (4:21:00) and Antipodes finished third, 3:06 behind, in the race sponsored by Standard Insurance and backed by Cebu Pacific.

“We have regained the lead, but there are two races left,” said Echauz, president of the Philippine Sailing Association. “Anything can still happen.”

Centennial III wound up fifth last year and Echauz hopes to turn everything around after installing a brand-new keel.

Winds of up to 20 knots marked Day Three and, according to organizing committee co-chair Jun Avecilla—the other co-chair is former Malabon Rep. Rickey Sandoval—a wind spout off the island’s northern tip was virtually the only difficult obstacle the sailors faced during the day.

The Filipinos showed a lot of promise coming into the race, winning the Subic-to-Boracay race early this week.

Jelik, the race favorite, got off to a rousing start on Day 1 after clearly beating the 15-man Centennial III to the finish.

But Centennial III surged ahead Thursday to finally wrest control entering the final day. The boat with the lowest accumulated score will be crowned champion.