It's Raja Muda time again

by Guy Nowell, Sail-World Asia on 18 Nov 2016 The tide is ebbing in the lower reaches of the coffee-coloured Klang River, the sun is shining, and there’s a sea breeze from the west across the balcony of the Royal Selangor Yacht Club. 28 boats tied up alongside the pontoons in front of the clubhouse, sailors checking the weather forecast, and cold beer on the tables.

It’s Raja Muda time again.

Tonight the opening ceremony and dinner will be attended by Dato Rashidi, Deputy General of Tourism Malaysia, and tomorrow morning the fleet will be away down the river to the sea and the start of the Raja Muda Selangor International 2016, the 27th edition of this thoroughly different event.

RMSIR involves three coastal passage races of (90nm, 70nm, 60nm) from Port Klang (Kuala Lumpur) travelling north up the west coast of Malaysia to the jewel-like archipelago of Langkawi, stopping ay Pulau Pangkor and Penang along the way. In Penang there is a day of inshore racing as well as other racing entertainment in the form of battling rickshaws along the waterfront at Straits Quay Marina, and a further two days of cans racing in Bass Harbour, Langkawi. It’s an eight-day odyssey that takes its toll on boats and crew – both from the sailing and the social points of view. “It’s a marathon, not merely a series of sprints.”

Numbers are a little down for this most eclectic of events, but there is still plenty of quality in the entry list. A newly-introduced TP52 Class has attracted only one entry in the shape of Kevin Whitcraft’s THA72, but a seven-strong Class 2 will be contested by four past winners of the Raja Muda Cup (Team Hollywood, Ray Roberts; EFG Mandrake, Burns/Kinmonth; Fujin (formerly Ichiban), David Fuller; last year’s winner, Windsikher, Sabab Jeet Singh) so there’s sure to be some hard-nosed racing going on there.

Geoff Hill’s Antipodes – winner last year - is a regatta regular in the Premier Cruising (Class 3), and is joined by Andy Cocks’ Starlight, the Royal Malaysian Navy on the Farr 520 Zuhal, and Adrian Bell’s RMSIR debutante, Outlaw. Take no prisoners! Seven boats in Class 5 include past winner Chris Mitchell’s Lady Bubbly, and the centenarian Eveline (Trevor Richards) is back in Class 6 for yet another voyage of discovery up the coast. They are joined by three boats from the Langkawi Sailing School (Kay Sira, Sade 2, Aeolus XC) and Jeremy Camps’ venerable Impala, Old Pulteney Blue Angel.

Over the years the Raja Muda has become something of an institution. It is a challenging event, with boats having to cope with everything from powerful tropical squalls rolling off the coast to frustratingly light wind. There’s always a flat patch somewhere along the route – it’s just another aspect of the challenge. And don’t forget coastal currents, fishing nets and the infamous Kra Bank – best avoided. But after downtime in Pangkor, and a run ashore and a spot of history in Penang, the event (almost) always wraps up with a fast race into Langkawi followed by two days of buoy racing in the unreasonably picturesque surroundings of Bass Harbour, not to mention some strenuous celebrating at the Royal Langkawi Yacht Club to close out the regatta.

First warning signal at 12.55h tomorrow, but first there’s tonight’s opening dinner to get through. Next report will be from the charmingly rustic environs of the Sea View Resort at Pulau Pangkor as the sun sets beyond the anchorage. There’s not much not to like.

Standing by on 72.