Peter Cremers’ sleek Shatoosh continued its unbeaten streak as it was the first yacht to start and finish the third and final passage race of the 32nd annual Raja Muda Selangor International Regatta with an elapsed time of 06:36:14. PRO Simon James, through a series of five rolling starts, sent Shatoosh and the Premier Class (class two) off first on the race from Penang to Langkawi. Finishing a couple hours behind the sleek Warwick 75 on corrected time was Rama Menon’s Rama Rama VG.
Class one (Racing) saw Sarab Jeet Singh’s Windshikher take top spot as it finished only 57 seconds behind Shatoosh on corrected timeand just over six minutes ahead of Nick Burns’ Blitz on corrected time in the class. Ray Roberts Hollywood Samurai followed Blitz by 01:07 and Rolf Heemskerk’s The Next Factor, Steve McConaghy’s Aftershock, and the Malaysian Navy’s Uranus followed in sequence in the six-boat class. Hollywood Samurai leads this class by three points (17) over The Next Factor and Windshikher who are tied for second with 20 points each heading into the penultimate day of the regatta.
The three-boat class three (Sports) saw Lee Yi Min’s Jolt finish first followed by Matt Whittingham’s Insanity and Amir Zohri’s Malabar. That is the same order as the overall standings in this class.
James Duke’s Kimikimi was the winner in a very close six-boat Class four (Club) beating Peter Jong’s Kesini by 15:30 on corrected time. Maduzi with the Raja Muda of Selangor Tengku Amir Shah on board was next 01:07 behind Kesini. Keith Garry’s Beaux Espirits tailed them by 02:45.Steve Manning’s Black Baza was then fifth finishing 1:34 ahead of Dennis Chan & Joon Ming’s Duan Duan. Overall, Kimikimi sits in top spot tied with Kesini (9 points each) while Beaux Espirit is in second, one point behind.
Class five (Cruising) with six boats also competing saw Marikh, helmed by Muhammad Husaini bin Mohd R Amir Zohri’swin top honoursbeating Red G, skipped by Azlan (formerly VG Offshore) by 01:27 on corrected time though Red G was first over the line in the class with an elapsed time of 08:57:29. Keith Miller’s Sade was next to finish shading Mohd Azhar’s Dash by 33 seconds on corrected time. Ken Yap’s Millennium was fifth and Yukinori Kirihara’s Lucky Marlin did not compete. Dash has the overall lead in this class by two points over Sade and Marikh is in third spot.
The regatta consists of three overnight passage races, 260 miles (418.43km) in total, plus three days of harbour racing in Penang and Langkawi. With regatta dinners almost every night, a rickshaw race and lots of opportunities to socialize as the onshore activities can be just as demanding as the sailing. The event attracts a large variety of yachts, from top class IRC1 racers to slow classic cruisers, all of whom have to cope with unpredictable weather and changing tactics during the nine-day mix of races past tropical islands.
Each of those three passage races (Port Klang to Pangkor, and then on to Penang and finally Langkawi) invariably end up giving all crews a very testing work-out both in terms of weather conditions encountered (anything from light-and-shifty through to blowing-old-boots, with quick and dirty tropical squalls to contend with), and in endurance – each race is long enough to keep all the boats sailing through the night, but not long enough to drop into a rotating watch system. Three very long sprints, in effect. And then there are the tactical and navigational challenges to cope with, from the notorious rounding of the Kra Bank on the way into Penang to the ever-taxing decision to “stay in” towards the coast or “go out” looking for offshore breeze – neither option carries any guarantees. Not for nothing has the event long billed itself as “Asia’s most challenging regatta”.
The RMSIR is one of the region’s few offshore yacht races, along with the Rolex Sydney-Hobart and the Rolex China Sea Race, and is recognized by the prestigious London-based Royal Ocean Racing Club. Since its inception, the regatta has attracted a loyal band of followers who turn up year after year, often with bigger and better yachts each time.
The month of November typically marks the height of the northeast monsoon on Peninsular Malaysia where sailors can expect anything from glassy waters and light breeze to a sea heaving with two metres of swell or higher and 30 knot squalls blowing off the coast. In other words, these northeast monsoon months bring conditions that are challenging enough even for seasoned sailors.