Nurul faces Gilmour first up in Monsoon Cup

10:05 PM Tue 2 Dec 2008 GMT

'Dato Peter Gilmour gives match racing tips to Nurul Ain during training. Monsoon Cup 2008' Gareth Cooke - Sub Zero Images &copy Click Here to view large photo

Local aspirant Nurul Ain Md Isa, making her debut in the Monsoon Cup, will face a tough first hurdle as she is drawn to race against her mentor and four-time World Champion Dato' Peter Gilmour when the round robin competition starts tomorrow.

Nurul who was actually training side by side with Gilmour during practice today said it came as a shock to know that she would actually be racing against her master in the very first race of the Monsoon Cup.

'We were training on separate boats first but Gilmour jumped on to my boat and gave me some tips and advise. I was simply flattered because it is not common for another competitor, especially one whom I was going to race against, to come around and give valuable pointers for the race,' said Nurul after wrapping up her practice session today.

Nurul who earned the right to represent the country in the Monsoon Cup after winning the Malaysian Match Racing Championship that doubled up as the Malaysian Qualifier that offered a single spot for the Cup.

She added that conditions were ideal for sailing today although the under current was strong.

'I prefer the wind to be a light breeze during competition because it will serve as an advantage to competitors who are much heavier than us. Our total body weight for the entire crew is a little more than 300kg while most of the teams have a total weight of more than 400kg.

'When the wind is strong, the boat with added weight would not tilt easily while ours would easily tilt while turning or swerving to the right or left,' she said.

However, Nurul was modest in her expectations for the competition, claiming that whether she wins or not would not really matter as there was a lot to be gained by just competing against the best sailors in the world.

'This is about the only time young sailors like me in Malaysia can meet or race against world class sailors and skippers and staging the Monsoon Cup would certainly be a platform to expose aspiring sailors like me,' she said.

Meanwhile, Gilmour who is also the person responsible for initiating the Monsoon Cup as well as bringing the World Match Racing Tour to Malaysian shores, said he too was surprised to know that he would be racing Nurul in the first race of the round robin.

'She (Nurul) is very talented and has the tenacity to learn. She is also able to readily absorb advice or instructions and that would auger well for young sailors like her,' said Gilmour, winner of the 2005 Monsoon Cup and runner-up last year.

The Monsoon Cup that will be officially flagged off by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin tomorrow (2pm) will feature 12 world class teams competing against each other in a round robin competition before the top eight advance to the quarter-finals.

www.monsooncup.com.my

by Rurrum Communications

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Nurul faces Gilmour first up in Monsoon Cup

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