Watch the world's fastest sailboats compete for the Monsoon Cup 2005 at Pulau Duyung, Terengganu, from 29 November to 4 December 2005.

This inaugural race in Malaysia part of the Swedish Match Tour, the world's leading professional sailing series. The event in Malaysia marks the fourth of the ninestage series which began in Portugal in July this year and ends in Sweden in July 2006.

The Monsoon Cup 2005, the 50 th official event of the Swedish Match Tour, will pit top sailors against each other. They include twotime Swedish Match Tour sailing champion Australian Peter Gilmour, New Zealander Russell Coutts, and Englishmen Ian Williams and Ben Ainslie. A total of 12 teams will vie for the RM400,000 cash prize.

Started in 2000, the Swedish Match Tour aims to unite the world's best match race regattas under one banner. It attracts professional skippers with experience gained at the Olympics and world championships, earning much international coverage and publicity for the events. An overall match sailing champion is crowned at the end of the year.

Match racing is the Formula 1 of sailing, where two identical yachts compete in an intricate oneonone
duel to gain the leading position on a short racecourse. The first across the line of two laps
is the winner. The short route means the races are quick, thus placing emphasis on boat handling and knowledge of tactics and rules.

The Monsoon Cup 2005 propels Malaysia into the international scene and puts the state of Terengganu on the worldclass sailing map. Pulau Duyung joins the ranks of the world's major match
sailing venues by holding the event which also jumpstarts a threeyear multimillion dollar
developmental plan on the island. Upon completion, Pulau Duyung will house a marina with 180 berths, a 50tonne Travelift and a 5star resort.

The Monsoon Cup 2005 will be beamed to over 550 million viewers worldwide via satellite sports channel ESPN, promoting Malaysia as a destination for worldclass sailing in line with the
government's effort to promote the country as a venue for staging international sports events.

For more information on the event, kindly contact the organiser, TBest Events Sdn Bhd at 0321422882 or log on to www.monsooncup.com.my

Related links:
www.swedishmatchtour.com

www.narrowstep.com

Issued by: Communications Division, Tourism Malaysia
Date: 20 October 2005