|
1998
Raja Muda International
Regatta - Summary Return
to AsianYachting.Com
Homepage
The Raja Muda International Regatta is considered the most difficult and tactical regatta to win over the other regional day-sailing regattas. As the degree of difficulty in yacht racing increases and severely tests the yachtsman’s navigation skills on the overnight passages between Pt Klang, Pangkor, Penang and Langkawi.
RSYC Commodore Dato’ Abdul Aziz and his voluntary RMIR 98 organizing committee and the Royal Selangor Yacht Club staff must be congratulated for shouldering the workloads and responsibilities towards the annual RMIR and pursuing sail training programs to get Malaysian sailors up to speed, despite the present regional economic downturn. As no major sponsor could be found the club had to rely on local advertisers and smaller sub-sponsors like QBE and Club Marine Insurance to undertake some of the costs involved in running the RMIR 98. They have become a committed partner to developing pleasure yachting pursuits in the Austral-Asian region.
Newcomers from Australia, Trevor Taylor on Neftenga a Humphries 50 and Dale Peterson on his Swan 57 Cowzie Dancer where welcomed along with Hong Kong’s Allen Fan Yu Hao’s yacht O’Feeling and Singapore’s X-EL racing team. Andreas Bienz, the Swiss Olympic yachtsman has chartered the Singaporean yacht Jenny 3 for a second time crack at the RMIR and the crew are running hot after placing 2nd in racing class at the newly time slotted Singapore Straits Regatta completed only 7 days before.
After many years of careful restoration work Malaysia’s own Richard Curtis has completely refurbished the old Eveline and Capt. Hennings has prepared his German registered Baiana to take on the visiting classic yachts of Jenzminc from Australia and Kim Buntings, Star of the West en route from New Zealand. With Capt. Arrifin skippering Dato’ Megat Najmuddin’s catamaran Windsong the Malaysian entrants seemed to be well represented and poised to put in their best performances.
The uncharacteristic 12 to 18 knot north to north westerly wind persisted to blow down the Malacca Straits between Pangkor and Penang during race 2, and paved the way for very quick finishing times. Only 10 minutes of corrected time separated first place Jenny 3 and forth placed Neftenga, with Australian Maid putting in another big performance to take 2nd place by 4 minutes and 15 seconds from a fast finishing Gotcha. In the cruising division the big boats also came to the fore with Hijjas Kasturi’s maxi sized Mia taking the honors and the Swan 57 Cowrie Dancer taking 2nd place over the smaller yachts like Simba and Second Serenade. Return
to AsianYachting.Com
Homepage
The entire cruising class fleet could not complete the coarse within time and where awarded a DNF. Jenzminc and Star of the West remained locked in 1st and 2nd placing in the classic class and Bob Zorner’s Australian catamaran The Boss dominated in the multihull class.
As the new windward/leeward coarse was being laid inside Kua Bay between the picturesque Langkawi Islands it had become evident to Afendy and his loyal group of race officers that the previous nights blustery conditions had moved on, leaving only a variable 5 to 8 knot light southerly with flat seas. The overall RMIR 98 title bolder and podium places had gone down to the wire and would depend on how the yachts reach the finish line on this final race of the five-race series. All local hopes rested with Amir Zohri and his Gotcha racing team, as another win would threaten the lead held by Singaporean-based Jenny 3.
Jenny 3 put together another impeccable performance although slowed as they dueled with Karakoa to win over Gotcha by a slender margin of 13 seconds on corrected time. Martin Axe guided Serang to a valuable 3rd placing helping Gotcha to secure 2nd overall and relegate the Australian Maid team to third place overall. Ray Ordoveza’s crew on his new yacht Karakoa must be congratulated for they took five line honors awards although could not convert them to wins after handicap calculations had been applied.
Bob Zorner’s Australian catamaran The Boss out classed the two other designs to score five strait firsts on line and handicap on the trot. As predicted in the classic class Jenzmic took first place over Star of the West who outperformed Eveline and Baiana who where probably too busy having a good time enjoying their yachts and entertaining their guests. Next years RMIR will mark the 10th anniversary of this annual regatta and already the dates of 19-27 November 1999 have been set. Ivan Lee the RSYC manager has indicated that the emphasis will be to celebrate this milestone of achievement and all inquiries regarding prospective entries, crewing, chartering yachts and sponsoring this prestigious regatta can be directed to him at the RSYC, Jalan Limbongan, 42000 Port Klang, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia. Tel: 603-3686964 Fax: 603-3688650. Return
to AsianYachting.Com
Homepage |
Reflecting
back over the 1998 Raja Muda International Regatta brings back some
happy memories of competing against an International star studded lineup
of yachts on Malaysian waters. Combined with the joy of winning and
dispersed with some unfortunate moments of despair and disappointment
for some. The most memorable of all is starting well and keeping the
yacht moving as fast as possible towards the finish line with whatever
the Malacca Straits weather gods could produce between the 23rd –
28th of November 1998. 
Winners
of the RMlR classes can stand proud of their yachting achievements and
have historically gone on to take the annual Sir Thomas Lipton Perpetual
Cup Series and podium finishes at the Singapore Straits Regatta, the
Kings Cup in Phuket, Thailand and the Presidents Cup in the Philippines.
Although
the number of international competitors who come to Malaysia to contest
decreased to 17 yachts, the quality of the 27 strong fleet which included
10 of the best prepared Malaysian yachts assembled around the RSYC pontoons
in Port Klang on Nov 22nd was impressive. The Raja Muda of Selangor,
Tunku Idris hosted a grand opening dinner and welcomed back past competitors
Jon Wardill and Capt. Jason on Australian Maid, Ray Ordoveza
and his new Philippine racing yacht Karakoa and the Thai and
Singapore racing teams on Octopussy, Fizzbizz and Simba
in the cruising division.
Malaysian
hopes in the racing classes rest with the Rahim brothers on Gotcha
and Martin Axe on Serang along with Commodore Dato’ Abdul
Aziz’s yacht Impiana and George Viczena’s newly rigged
Radford 50 Capricorn. Past RSYC Commodore Hijjas Kasturi’s
80 foot yacht Mia and present Vice-Commodore Gee Boon Kee’s
Hunter 40 Second Serenade are out to defend the cruising class
titles and Mohammed Arshad on Sang Bayu and Wan Azuar on his
newly purchased Panacea are hoping to gain some valuable racing
experiences. 
When
racing started in earnest the visiting big guns came out in force. Australian
Maid fired the first broadside by taking the first overnight leg
from. Pt. Klang to Pangkor followed by Karakoa and Jenny 3.
Malaysia’s Gotcha managed a credible 4th in racing and Boon
Kee’s crew on Second Serenade a 2nd in the cruising division
behind Singapore’s Simba. 
The
RMIR has also become known for its mixed social activities with good
OLE Malaysian makan (tasty food) and hospitality thrown in. 1998 was
no exception with presentation dinners at the Lumut Yacht Club and the
Langkawi Yacht Club. In Penang the Boom Boom Bang Bang night club provided
an excellent venue to stage pirate’s night, where the hidden talents
of the Philippine race juror put a new dimension to the old Shakespearean
statement "The world is but a stage".
The
recipe for success over the short Penang triangle course lasting only
a few hours requires a good start followed by the crew quickly optimizing
the boats speed to the conditions being experienced. Jenny 3’s
Olympic helmsman specialty is triangle races and selected the best coarse
after correctly predicting windshifts and current directions to take
first place from the bigger yachts Karakoa, Australian Maid and
Neftenga. Gotcha finished a distant fifth and the shining star
of the Malaysian yachts began to dim or be overshadowed by the bigger
yachts performance.
Race
4 saw a surprising lull in proceedings, as the entire fleet lay becalmed
for up to five hours after the start in Penang. For those who patiently
tried to sail their boats were rewarded with nature unleashing an explosive
night of mini thunderstorms and produced a wet and furious scramble
to the finish 1ine at Langkawi. The Gotcha crew bounced back
into contention and sailed itself into the history books to become the
first Malaysian owned yacht to ever win a race in the premier racing
class of the RMIR. Perhaps the years of perseverance had finally paid
dividends as Serang, Malaysia’s other hopeful made it a
one-two finish for the nights work to be followed by Singapore’s
X-EL and Jenny 3 in 4th. With the larger yachts being
relegated to 7th or worse the series opened up for a Malaysian-Singapore/Swiss-Australian
finale showdown. 
As
the mid-day starting gun signified the commencement of racing Gotcha,
Jenny 3 and Karakoa emerged unscathed from a crowded and
noisy starting area, with speed and determined to outdo each other in
the fickle conditions. Geoff Bishop, a visiting Australian sailmaker
joined the Gotcha’s crew, who responded in earnest and sailed
an almost perfect race, only to loose valuable minutes when they become
entangled on the last rounding buoy’s mooring line. 
In
the cruising division Simba had accrued enough wins to secure
first overall. Boon Kee’s Second Serenade came back to take
first place in the last race after repairing a stranded forestay that
had kept them from competing on races 3 and. 4 Cowrie Dancer
and Hong Kong’s O’Feeling took out 2nd and 3rd overall,
respectively.