A bit of topsy turvy wind prediction marked the first two races of the regatta, as on the first day little wind was predicted but the fleet was able to get away quickly with ten-knot winds. And then today, Monday November 17th, with more wind predicted, PRO Simon James had to lead the fleet a few nautical miles north of Pangkor Island until he caught a sustained gust of six knots.
At 13:24, Simon dropped the AP, and the second leg of the Raja Muda Selangor International Regatta was underway with two rolling starts (Racing and Premier combined and then Sports, Club and Cruising combined) as all five classes sailed the same 65NM passage race from Pangkor to Penang.
Sarab Jeet Singh’s Windshikher took line honours in this race (08:06:00) followed closely by Ray Roberts Hollywood Samurai (08:09:44) and Shatoosh (08:12:47), but when their handicap was figured in Hollywood Samurai emerged victorious in six-boat class one (Racing), followed by The Next Factor, Windshikher. Blitz, Aftershock, and Uranus in that order.
The two-boat class two (Premier) saw the sleek Shatoosh, skipped by James Caleem, defeat RSYC Commodore Ramasamay Menon Rama Rama VG, by 3:40 on corrected time, as owner Peter Cremers was able to join Shatoosh just in time for the race after missing the first day of competition with work commitments.
The three-boat class three saw the same order of finish as race one with Lee Yi Min’s Jolt beating Matt Whittingham’s Insanity by just over 11 minutes on elapsed time. Amir Zohri’s Malarbar placed third in the class.
Class four with six boats competing saw Peter Jong’s Kesini with Suzanne Updike helming take top spot beat out Keith Garry’s Beaux Espirit by 1:24:00 on corrected time. James Duke’s Kimikimi was third. Maduzi with the Raja Muda of Selangor Tengku Amir Shah on board took fourth spot in the class followed by Steve Manning’s Black Baza and then Dennis Chan & Joon Ming’s Duan Duan.
Class five also had six boats competing and Amir Zohri’s Dash beat Keith Miller’s Sade, representing the Red Cap Sailing School in Langkawi, on corrected time though Sade did win the class on elapsed time. Marikh helmed by Muhammad Husaini bin Mohd R was third followed by Ken Yap’s Millennium who edged Red G, skipped by Azlan (formerly VG Offshore) by a 1:20. Yukinori Kirihara’s Lucky Marlin rounded out the class.
There is an eighth class sailing in the regatta though the two boats that comprise it are not officially racing. The first, Alex Nah’s Virgo, continues to be plagued by bad luck on the Raja Muda as this time its engine gave out and it was towed part of the way by Sade.
The other yacht, Siranan, features two remarkable individuals: Kamil Jonathan Muhiudeen who helped start the Raja Muda regatta with the Sultan Sharafuddin of Selangor and Dato’ Johann Ariff as well as Barbara Euser, who in the midst of a circumnavigation around the world was the only woman to compete in the single-handed Transpac in 2004 & 2008 on Islander, her Bristol 34.
The evening before the second passage race, a prize-giving ceremony for the first race was staged at the Puteri Bayu Beach Resort where regatta participants were treated to a martial arts dance performance before the awards were handed out by the Emir, Tengku Amir Shah.
Yachts had to be particular careful entering the area around Straits Quay. They had to be guided in as a massive land reclamation project is underway and sailors had to be very careful navigating their way because of all the dredging underway.
This regatta is steeped in tradition and part of that continues on Tuesday the 18th with the famous Raja Muda rickshaw race on the boardwalk of Penang’s Straits Quay Marina followed by the regatta’s inaugural trivia quiz and then inshore harbour racing in Penang the next day.
It is also a great opportunity for the regatta participants to catch up with former regatta chairman John Ferguson, who is currently the Straits Quay marina manager. John played a vital role in the growth of this regatta and still has many friends participating in the regatta and on the committee as well.
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