Raja Muda 2016 – a Pause in Penang

by Guy Nowell, Sail-World Asia on 22 Nov 2016 It took a while to get here, for some, but when the Raja Muda Selangor International Regatta arrives in Penang, it draws a breath. Sail in last night (or this morning, or even this evening; crikey!) recover at Healey Macs with fish and chips and Kilkenny, line up for some rickshaw racing (not discardable, but not in the NOR either), spend a day inshore racing tomorrow, pick up the prizes at a posh do tomorrow night, and then start racing to Langkawi the next day. Did I say pause?

Last arrival at the Straits Quay Marina this evening was the crew of Eveline, at 1815h, having started from Pangkor yesterday at 1300h. That’s a long time going slowly, and the crew must like each other a lot. We know crews that sent someone for a swim in less than half that time, for snoring too loudly.

Anyway, the Evelines arrived just too late for the RMSIR annual Penang Rickshaw Races, in which brave runners and even braver passengers are required to ride/run/race/dash/trudge a couple of hundred metres after consuming a mandatory beer which is no longer mandatory if you are not of the beery persuasion.

For reasons yet to be discussed, this year’s Rickshaw Races passed off in an efficient, brisk and entirely clinical fashion which may well have robbed what used to be a delightfully ‘loose’ sort of event of a good deal of its charm. There was no questionable sporting behaviour, and no blood on the concrete. Some of the aggressive pizzazz seems to have been missed.

Anyway, from a starting field dominated by the Royal Malaysian Navy, the Royal Malaysian Navy were the winners, and the first prize of a bottle of Old Pulteney was awarded to Cmdr John Ferguson RN (Ret) in his capacity of RO. Cheers, John!

Tomorrow the Raja Muda gets back on the water for the Penang Inshores. Breeze, please, Louise.

Standing by on 72.