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Raja Muda continues with its 28th thrilling regatta

Raja Muda continues with its 28th thrilling regatta

Raja Muda continues with its 28th thrilling regatta

Raja Muda continues with its 28th thrilling regatta

Raja Muda continues with its 28th thrilling regatta
Raja Muda continues with its 28th thrilling regatta

Southeast Asia's Yachting Magazine Vol. 13 No. 1, Jan - Feb 2018

by: Easy Branches Team

Setting sail

lThirty-one yachts took part in the 28th sailing of the Raja Muda Selangor International Regatta (RMSIR), with crews coming from as far as Australia and Japan to compete in the event. The 8-day challenge consists of three overnight passage races, totaling 260nm, 3 days of har-bour racing in Penang and Langkawi, plus five prize-giving parties, along the way. This regatta is described as “very character building and a chal-lenging event”, and it lures back sailing teams, year after year.

Although suffering a medical emergency, after defending the IRC 1 title last year, Sarab Singh has recovered and his crew of the Wel-bourn 52 Windsikher II, returned and looking forward to making it a three-peat. Phillip Turner’s Reichel/Pugh 66 Alive skippered by Duncan Hine, returned from Australia and expected to be in the running, after their familiarization in the 2015 regatta. Never underestimate the smaller yachts in this class: Nick Burns/Fred Kinmonth’s Sydney GTS 43 Mandrake III; Gordon Ketelbey’s Farr 40 Ramrod; and Geoff Masters Mills 41 Meraki are all capable of exerting pressure in the handicap stakes and claiming the prestigious Raja Muda Cup.

At 72ft long Geoff Hill’s Smith 72 Antipo-des topped the size scale and has won the Premier Cruising Class before but would like to avenge the Malaysian Armed Forces Farr 520 Zuhal skip-pered by Mohd Masyuri, after a tight fought battle that won them the Jugra Cup last year. Andrew Cocks Simonis Voogd 56 Starlight are always in the mix and has the potential to beat the rivals.

Richard Barnhurst’s Beneteau First 45 Fast-Track is making their debut, while David Fuller's chartered Beneteau 44.7 Fujin has scored IRC handicap wins in all the top classes, are excited about having a tilt at this title.

A strong contingent of Malaysian yachts entered the IRC 3, Cruising and Classic Cruis-ing classes. RSYC Commodore and RMSIR chairman Jeff Harris took charge of the J130 Jing Jing going head-to-head with John Kara’s Beneteau First 45 Insanity. The Port Klang yachts faced stiff competition from Hong Kong’s Paul Stripp’s Azuree 40 Lion Rock, the Aussies on Max Palleschi’s IOR Farr 40 Prime Factor and Atul Sinha’s Van de Stadt 39 Simba from Singapore—came ready to exert some pressure on the local yachts.

The Cruising class was the biggest with nine yachts entered and. Chris Mitchell's Naut 40 Lady Bubbly was back to defend his title. The usual suspects Rama’s Dehler 34 V.G.Offshore: Ken Yap’s Hunter 326 Millennium 2: Dato Alex Nah’s Hunter 49 Virgo: and Arne Hayn's Dehler 34 FlamOff Delite; took on Pang Kim Ann Daniel’s Hanse 400e Mystic River; Bob & Judy Howison’s Elan Impression 434 Kinabalu representing Singapore. Hailing from Australia, Tristram Denyer Dufour 350 Iseulta, and Japan's Yasuto Fuda’s Yamaha 31 Fortissimo X, vary dra-matically in design and performance, but would keep the arbitrary handicapper busy.

After many years absence, one of the founding fathers of the RMSIR, Dato Johan Ariff's Swan 46 La Samudra II skippered by.

23Dominic Liddell, graced the Classic Cruising class. Other grand ole dames competing were the Royal Malaysian Armed Forces Contessa 32OD Marikh skippered by Lt Khairul Azmi: Adale Ad-ham's Oyster 55 Chantique skippered by Hakim A. Klunker: Simpson Marine’s Ericson 38 Francis skippered by Mohd Hafizi: and Jeremy Camps Maxi Mixer Old Pulteney Cabaret 6, skippered by Martin Grantham: all expecting a right royal bat-tle for the right to emerge victorious in this class.

Rounding out the classes, Guy Scott’s Stealth 12.6 Afterburner was the only multihull entered this year and was a bit lonely, but with plenty of other yachts around to compare the speed difference, was able to vie for overall line honours.

Folding sail

Folding sailThe final day of the 2017 Raja Muda got off to a wet start when morning rain led to the AP flag being flown and the last two Langkawi inshore races being pushed back for a bit.

Once the all clear was given and the race back in progress, the boats raced in relatively favourable conditions with winds at an average of 10 knots and the sea relatively calm.

Class 1 defending champion Windsikher (Sarab Jeet Singh) managed to stave off stiff competition to retain the division title and the prestigious Raja Muda Cup for the third time. Coming in second was Otonomos Mandrake III (Fred Kinmonth and Nick Burns) with Ram-rod(Gordon Ketelbey) taking third place. Philip Turner’s Alive (skippered by Duncan Hine) may have won the regatta’s line honours but had to be content with fourth placing overall after the handicap. Meraki (Geoff Masters) finished fifth.

The Class 2 race remained close right up to the end but Antipodes (Geoff Hill) eventually pipped strong contender FastTrack (Richard Barnhurst) by a single point to reclaim the divi-sion title and the Jugra Cup. Starlight (Andrew Cocks) finished third, leaving Class 2 defending champion Zuhal (the Malaysian Armed Forces, skippered by Mohd Masyuri bin Rahmat) in fourth place.

In Class 4, Fujin (David Fuller) built a strong lead early on in the overall race to put enough distance between any possible con-tenders to secure the Class 4 title and JCC RE Challenge Trophy. Prime Factor (Max Palleschi) narrowly edged past Jing Jing (Jeff Harris) to claim second place in the overall division standings, leaving the latter in third.

Class 5 defending champion Lady Bubbly (Chris Mitchell) had to settle for second place af-ter Kinabalu (Bob Howison) extended its narrow lead to win the Class 5 title and Royal Langkawi Yacht Club Trophy. Japan’s Fortissimmo X (Yasuto Fuda) came in third.

La Samudra 2 (Dato Johan Ariff, skip-pered by Dominic Liddell) competed to honour the late Fay Khoo and honour their former sailing mate they did. La Samudra 2 sailed to the top of Class 6 to win the overall division title and the Eveline trophy. Finishing second and third in Class 6 were Old Pulteney Cabaret 6 and Marikh (the Malaysian Armed Forces, skippered by Jamil bin Ahmad Urayah).

The final awards ceremony for the 2017 RMSIR were held at the Royal Langkawi Yacht Club. Datuk Seri Mirza Mohammad Taiyab, Director General of Tourism Malaysia, present-ed the Jugra Cup to the Antipodes team while Royal Selangor Yacht Club Commodore and RMSIR Chairman, Jeff Harris, presented the Raja Muda Cup to Windsikher (commissioned from Garrards of London in 1994).

The regatta used the Yellow Brick (YB) Yacht Tracking system, which is used in top international sailing events such as the Rolex Sydney Hobart, World ARC 2017, Rolex Fast-net, Sydney Gold Coast Race and many others. It was used during the RMSIR passage races from Port Klang to Pangkor, then Pangkor to Penang and lastly, Penang to Langkawi provid-ing essential safety information if an on-board emergency occurs.

The RMSIR was established in 1990 by the RSYC’s Royal Patron, the Sultan of Selan-gor HRH Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah (who was then Raja Muda Selangor) together with Dato Johan Ariff and Jonathon Muhiudeen. Yachts competing in the regatta range from top class IRC1 racers to beautiful classic cruisers with long overhangs dating back over 100 years. Skippers and crew have to cope with the unpre-dictable weather, changing tactics and heavy shipping traffic in the Straits of Malacca, all of which make the regatta a matchless experience.

Known for its unpredictable winds, weather and tide, the RMSIR provides excite-ment for even the most experienced of sailors, along with an interesting challenge. Add to that a little bit of sightseeing and fun social events at every stop and you have a regatta with everything. 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 sailors2017

2017 RMSIR OVERALL RESULTS

CLASS 1 – RAJA MUDA CUP

PLACING BOAT NAME SKIPPER
1st Windsikher Sarab Jeet Singh
2nd Otonomos Mandrake III Fred Kinmonth / Nick Burns
3rd Ramrod Gordon Ketelbey

CLASS 2 – JUGRA CHALLENGE CUP

PLACING BOAT NAME SKIPPER
1st Antipodes Geoff Hill
2nd FastTrack Richard Barnhurst
3rd Starlight Andrew Cocks

CLASS 4 – JCC RE CHALLENGE TROPHY

PLACING BOAT NAME SKIPPER
1st Fujin David Fuller
2nd Prime Factor Max Palleschi
3rd Jing Jing Jeff Harris

CLASS 5 – ROYAL LANGKAWI YACHT CLUB TROPHY

PLACING BOAT NAME SKIPPER
1st Kinabalu Bob Howison
2nd Lady Bubbly Chris Mitchell
3rd Fortissimmo X Yasuto Fuda

CLASS 6 – EVELINE TROPHY

PLACING BOAT NAME SKIPPER
1st La Samudra II Dominic Liddell2nd
2nd Old Pulteney Cabaret 6 Martin Grantham
3rd Marikh Jamil bin Ahmad UrayahPLACING

Raja Muda continues with its 28th thrilling regatta

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