A day that started with a few hundred grumbling sailors setting out in cold drizzling rain turned into a day featuring tremendously exciting race with winds gusting over 20 knots. The rain was so thick at the beginning of the day that race officials couldn’t even see the shoreline while they were setting the marks.
Once visibility returned, PRO Simon James sent classes one-three (Racing, Premier & Sports) on the same coastal course though they had three different starts. He then sent classes 4 and 5 (Club & Cruising) on a shorter around-the-islands course.
Nick Burns’ Blitz took the racing class by 01:51 over Rolf Heemskerk’s The Next Factor on corrected time though Sarab Jeet Singh’s Windshikher did earn line honours (02:13:03).while finishing third on corrected time. Hollywood Samurai finished 36 seconds behind Windshikher, and Steve McCoaghy’s Aftershock and Ahmad behind Fakrizan bin Deraman’s Uranus, rounded out the standings in the six-boat class.
The coveted Raja Muda Cup is up for grabs for the final day of racing tomorrow as Hollywood Samurai and The Next Factor are tied with 15 points each with Windshiker a point behind them and Blitz two points behind Windshiker: all three spots on the podium are up for grabs tomorrow.
The two-boat class two (Premier) saw Peter Cremers’ sleek Shatoosh, again defeat RSYC Commodore Ramasamay Menon Rama Rama VG. The beautiful Warwick 75will repeat as Jugra Cup winner, clinching its fifth title in the class.
The three-boat class three (Sports) saw overLee Yi Min’s Jolt defeat Matt Whittingham’s Insanity by over ten minutes while Amir Zohri’s Malabar was five minutes behind them. And that will eventually be the order of finish in this class.
Similar to class one all three spots on the podium are up for grabs in the six-boat class four (Club) with James Duke’s Kimikimi holding a three-point lead over Keith Garry’s Beaux Espirits, who in turn holds a three-point lead overPeter Jong’s Kesini. Racing today saw Beaux Espirits win the class followed by Kesini, Steve Manning’s Black Baza and Kesini. Maduzi with the Raja Muda of Selangor Tengku Amir Shah on board took fifth spot followed by Dennis Chan & Joon Ming’s Duan Duan in sixth.
Class five (Cruising) with six boats registered saw Red G (formerly VG Offshore), skipped by Azlan, claim victory. Amir Zohri’sDash was second, Husaini bin Mohd R Marikh was third and Keith Miller’s Sade was fourth. Ken Yap’s Millennium was given an FPA and Yukinori Kirihara’s Lucky Marlin did not compete.
The evening’s award presentation was held at RLYC Charlie’s Bar, but the event was marked by a somber note as Nick Burns paid tribute to his long-time friend and sailing partner Fred Kinmonth, who recently passed away that morning, at his home in Scotland from motor-neuron disease. Eight bells for Fred, who competed in numerous Raja Muda regattas, predominately on Mandrake, though his last appearance was a victory on Witchcraft in 2023.
The regatta has been hailed as a “tactician’s regatta” as the strong currents, tides, sea and land breezes demand the utmost concentration and planning. Years past, pirates made the Straits of Malacca one of the most dangerous passages on earth. But today, it’s not pirates that sailors fear, but container vessels, fishing trawlers, and floating debris. The regatta’s night passages can be particularly hazardous as many of the fishing vessels use the “Bic” system for illumination (flicking their lighter on just before a yacht’s bow is set to cut them into two). However, the very visible presence of both the Malaysian Maritime Police and the Malaysian Coast Guard make maneuverability much easier for the regatta’s participants.
At night, in the Straits of Malacca, in the darkness, you get a sense of what the sailors of yore had to endure during their expeditions. Imagine being out there without any form of electronic gadgetry, caught in a raging thunderstorm without any visible landmarks, not knowing what was lurking in wait for you.
