Tag: sailing experience
Who’s the HOTTEST?
by Natalya on Dec.28, 2009, under Contest, General
After a thorough reading by our team, we have decided that Norzuhaira to be the winner of the “Are you HOT enough to get WET” blog contest!
Norzuhaira explained to us her love for sailing and it seems that she has a thing or two about sailing now that she got her experience on the ‘HOT SEAT’ with us.
We are glad that all our winners enjoyed their sailing experience and each has their own story to tell from their weight problem (to fit in with the team’) ,the weather at Terengganu, to their fear of falling into the water.
However, we also open the door to our winners to get to know the race team from Adam Minoprio to the well-known Skipper, Dato’ Peter Gilmour. Of course, we are glad that the winners and fans got to know about FIREFLY more and more each day.
We hope to have more activities next year!
Till then, congratulations to Norzuhaira! We hope that you will remember your experience with us always!
Read about her experience here at http://blog.fireflyz.com.my/2009/12/my-monsoon-cup-experience/ now!
Happy Christmas and Happy New Year! Have a good day y’all!
My Monsoon Cup experience
by Natalya on Dec.15, 2009, under Contest, General, Someone said...
Have you been on a sailboat before? For me, it is an experience that resulted in a love for sailing and a dream to cross seas and oceans on a yacht of my own.
I was given the opportunity to renew my love affair with sailing recently, when I won a competition organised by Firefly, one of the sponsors of the Monsoon Cup 2009. It gave me the chance to be on one of the 12 boats competing in the final World Match Racing Tour event of the year, albeit as a spectator. I am not familiar with match racing but it is still a sailing regatta and I relished the chance to see world-class sailors in action.
If it’s gonna be a rainy day / There’s nothing we can do to make it change / We can pray for sunny weather / But that won’t stop the rain
James Morrison’s Please Don’t Stop The Rain
It is the monsoon season in the East Coast and I arrived in Kuala Terengganu that was cold, windy and wet. It felt good to be back in KT, now a favourite holiday destination of mine. If I had enough money, I’d seriously consider buying a beach-fronting property somewhere near Pulau Duyong or further up in Setiu, but that is another story.
I managed to sneak into the press conference of the first day and was introduced to Datuk Peter Gilmour, who is a key person in the organisation of the Monsoon Cup as well as the skipper of the Yanmar Racing Team.
My ‘hotseat’ moment came on the second day, when I got on board Team Origin’s boat, led by Ben Ainslie, a British triple Olympic gold medallist. The five-men crew raced against Torvar Mirsky and his Mirsky Racing Team.
I had wind in my hair and felt again the rush of adrenaline as we sailed upwind, the main sail tight in the middle. Team Origin worked really well together that the skipper only shouted once and it was directed at a media boat that was in the way. They won against Mirsky, of course. Ainslie and Team Origin went on to win the rest of their races in the qualifying round and was the top team in the quarter-final. They however lost to Adam Minoprio and ETNZ / Black Match Racing Team in the finals but managed to sneak into third place in the overall WMRT ranking for 2009 behind Minoprio and Mirsky respectively.
The third day of races saw me lining up to get on to another boat and this time it was on Sebastien Col’s of French Match Racing Team / ALL4ONE.
They were racing against Phil Robertson, a Kiwi youngster skippering Team New Zealand WAKA Racing. I must say I felt like a lucky charm because Col won against Robertson. As we sailed back to the marina, I managed to talk with Col for a bit. He told me he had practically lived on a boat until he was 9. Memang betullah dia orang laut. I told him about my sailing idol – Dame Ellen MacArthur – and he said he knows her. I wish I was brave enough to ask for if he could help me get in touch with her. I wasn’t that brave.
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Being at a sailing event brought back memories of my secondary school days. It also made me realised that while I can go on about wanting to be a crew on a boat sailing competitively, I should have sought out the opportunities available much earlier and that maybe I am more suited to cruise sailing on my own or with a few friends and not racing against another boat for a prize. I don’t think I am able to dedicate my whole life to the sport, like Ben Ainslie or Sebastien Col do. They’re both a year younger than me but they’ve been sailing competitively all this time.
I think I’ll stick with writing. Unless someone buys me a boat, I might do another, different kind of RTW with it. Hmmm….
Firefly Review- Episode 17: I’m HOT enough to get WET!
by Natalya on Dec.15, 2009, under Contest, General, Someone said...
Posted by azuan in :: All Posts ::, Brand Review, Featured Articles, Firefly Airline on 12 12th, 2009 | one response
Sailing with world class professionals on board the Foundation 36 (F36) yacht, being up-close and personal experiencing the pros at work on an actual race flight, getting soaking wet in the midst of the race thanks to the monsoon rain, chill out with the pro right after a match race.
These are just some of the ‘once in a lifetime’ journey that I experienced last week in the Monsoon Cup 2009! Thanks to Firefly Airlines, I am still literally on cloud nine about the whole “Hot Seat” experience in Pulau Duyong Terengganu.
Its all begin a couple of weeks back when I was chosen as one of the 4 winners for the Firefly Airlines Monsoon Cup Hot Seat Contest. Being the contest winner, I had the privilege to be flown to Monsoon Cup to experience being part of the race on the Hot Seat, a special spot for an observer on board the F36 yacht during the race flight.
It would be impossible to capture the whole experience in words and photos but here are some snapshots of the experience of a lifetime!
December 3rd 2009- Thursday
An early morning Firefly flight on board 9M-FYA, ATR72-500. A smooth flight despite the overcast clouds and rainy weather.
Spent some time doing last minute revision on Monsoon Cup, thanks to this info card from the seat pocket.
As expected it was raining that morning in Terengganu, a usual sight in Monsoon Season.
Monsoon Cup is obviously a big thing in Terengganu. Locals are talking about it and almost everywhere, you can see something on Monsoon Cup, including this baggage carrousel.
and buntings throughout Kuala Terengganu. I find “Pakat Gi Ramai-ramai” wordings rather cute!
After a short drive I find myself at the Ri-Yaz Heritage Marina Resort & Spa in Pulau Duyong, the venue of Monsoon Cup.
The home of the tenth and final event on the World Match Racing Tour.
Sights of a world-class sailing event!
Being able to witness live such a grand event with millions of people watching at home from all over the world made me very proud of Malaysia. It was definitely a great platform to promote images of Terengganu and Malaysia to the whole world not to forget the local brand names such as Firefly whose brandings can be seen throughout the venue. Well done!
It was a round-robin competition day with many race flights from morning till the evening. It was interesting to see the close one-on-one races including those involving Taring Pelangi our sole Malaysian representative.
While it was entertaining just watching the race live, I was there for a mission. To be on the HOT SEAT and part of the race!
A brief explanation of what’s The Hot Seat all about!
Meet Linda, one of the person in-charge of the Hot Seat. We had a big laugh that morning as she could not believe my weight! Since Hot Seat is part of an actual race, our weight were taken into consideration to ensure fair race to both parties. I blamed it on the muffins I took that morning on board Firefly!
I was so heavy that the other boat has to take all three of this mineral water to match my weight!
I was randomly assigned to the Minoprio team on the Firefly F36 boat! Cameras were not allowed so no close-up photos during the race.
I was glad that I did not take my camera along as most of the time I had to fully concentrate on the race. While I factually have no function being on the Hot Seat, I still have to follow the instructions of the skipper.
The skipper, Adam Minoprio is a friendly yet very professional guy. Before our race flight started, we had a short chat with the rest of the crew and I told them a bit about my blogging assignments and Firefly Airlines and they only have good words about the airline!
The guys were super serious during the race and I was shifting side from one side to another throughout the race. In those 20 minutes at least 10 times we were switching sides to give the optimum balance to the boat. The tension and anxiety were super high with skippers from both teams giving instructions and coming out with the best strategy.
Halfway through the race, the monsoon hit us and we were drenched by the sudden downpour. The race went on and Minoprio won that particular flight after a great strategy that brought them ahead of the competitor at the last stretch of the course. Minoprio ultimately went on to win Monsoon Cup!
It was one heck of an experience witnessing the guys maneuvering the boat, strategizing to win the race. The guys are sharp and both psychologically and physically strong and not to mention have the look and appearance to die for. They were so fit that throughout the 30 minutes in the boat, I was the most ‘out-of-shaped’ guy and look like a pink panda on the Hot Seat in between the good looking guys!
Being on the Hot Seat alone was enough to make the trip worthwhile. As the contest winner, I also had the opportunity to access the Firefly hospitality lounge and enjoy the race at the comfort of the lounge. A great view of the race with free flow of food and beverages!
Monsoon Cup is not just about the race. It’s also a week long carnival at the race venue and around Kuala Terengganu. Throughout the race days, thousands of locals enjoyed the carnival. Local games, mini zoo, trishaw ride, mini concert, flight simulator, batik demonstration are some of the activities held at the race venue!
Being one of the main sponsors, Firefly had its presence felt by everyone.
Never in my life would I imagine myself on a racing boat in an actual race in Monsoon Cup. Through Firefly Airlines, I had this money-can’t-buy experience that I will cherish for the rest of my life.
All I can say is just that being pampered as the contest winner in such a nice way means a lot more than just “thank you” can say! Nevertheless thank you from the bottom of my heart.
