Raja Muda 2008 – who pays the Bomoh?

by Guy Nowell, Sail-World Asia on 19 Nov 2008 Penang is the first stop on the Raja Muda schedule where cans racing takes over from passage racing. Penang is undoubtedly one of the most delightful destinations in all of Asia, a combination of modern bustle and Colonial architecture – especially when the fleet is moored at the Tanjung City Marina, right in front of Penang’s max-cultural district, Georgetown.

Over the last few years it has almost become a tradition that the Penang Inshore races start late – so Regatta Director John Ferguson made the obligatory phone call to the “bomoh” (enchanter / witch-doctor / ju-ju man / what-you-will) yesterday, and specifically ordered WIND for the afternoon today, and NO RAIN this evening for the prizegiving party… In the event, there was not much wind at the beginning of the afternoon, too much later, and a sprinkle of rain in the evening. Does the bomoh get paid in advance, or retrospectively?

After spectacular rain and wind during the night, today dawned hazy and Asian-overcast, meaning that the land wasn’t going to heat up enough to generate a sea breeze. And so it was: the official start time of 1200 hrs came and went, with painted ships resting gently on the painted sea. While the fleet was waiting for the “off” we were treated to Raja Muda Radio on channel 72 playing ‘Riders on the Storm’ – a very poignant request at the time. Race Officer Jerry Rollin even invited members of the press onto the Committee Boat – but that’s a bit like Hotel California, “you can check out, but you can never leave”, he finds jobs for bods, so the media moguls stayed put on the souped-up Special Forces camera RIB.

At 1230 a few zephyrs put in brief and intermittent appearances, and the RO decided that they were going to grow (they did) and they were enough to haul down the AP and get the racing started (they were).

Classes 1, 3 and 4 (IRC) were racing on a windward/leeward course, with Classes 2 (Premier Cruising) and 6 (non-IRC) packed off on a 4½ mile reach out to sea and back. Inshore breeze was 3-4 knots at the start, and never went over 8 knots.

All starts went away cleanly, and in Class 1 Jelik led the fleet up to the top mark, closely followed by Quantum Racing. Really. But by the time they came round again HiFi had found the afterburners and moved into a close second place on the water, going on to claim the race on handicap. “We know we are very quick downwind in the light” said Pryde. “We just have to be on the right side of the course for the upwind legs – and not make mistakes. It was light and shifty stuff all the way round the track, and Quantum Racing even scrambled over the finish line one second in front of Mandrake at he back of the division.

Ben Copley’s Swan Club 42 Katsu found her feet in Class 3 to beat the resurrected Bashford 41 Moya Hin by 5 minutes on corrected time. Equally significant was the Malaysian Navy Zuhrah’s forth place, suggesting that straight-line racing might be more their forte at the moment, rather than around the cans. Katsu and Zuhrah are now sitting on equal points half way through the regatta, so there’s plenty to play for in that division.

The biggest division of all, Class 4, also saw an upset on the podium with Graham Lind’s Sumatra taking a well-earned first place. The Class 4 boats went around the racetrack in small sub-divisions, so there was plenty of ‘mark action’, and Jonathan Mahoney was well pleased with a third 2nd place in a row, putting Happy Endings at the top of the division table.

If the inshore racing was a little on the pedestrian side, not so for Classes 2 and 6 and their out-and-back race. Some boats had trouble distinguishing between a passing mark and a rounding mark, but the whole fleet headed for the horizon anyway – albeit by marginally different routes. It was the coming back that was more interesting when a storm cell developed out at sea, in just the right place to blow all of them home in style. Yasooda took full advantage of the blow to romp home for line honours, but a fast-finishing Baby Tonga held them off on corrected time. Boats recorded wind speeds of up to 35 knots in the middle of the squall – just the sort of weather for Gavin Welman’s Hallberg-Rassy 53 Rascal (1st) and Simon Morris’ Sirius (2nd).

Eveline, the Grand Dame of Class 6, never actually made it to the offshore mark, saw the incoming storm, and decided to run for home. Unable to reef, she enjoyed the ride while it lasted, and ended up substantially off course and with press-ganged crew member Kevin Green, editor of Australasian Sailing, wondering whether he was sailing in Asia or back in his native Scotland.

Back at the Committee Boat, and the slated second race of the day was postponed – the incoming heavy weather looked really very ugly, and local rainstorms have a habit of leaving no wind at all behind them. Following on from the late start to the day it was a wise move, and the Race Officer has promised to try to run the ‘missing’ race in Langkawi on Saturday.

The prizegiving dinner tonight was held in the courtyard of the Khoo Khong Si, the ancestral home of the Khoo family in Penang, and now a listed monument. Three protests were lodged after racing today, and such is the dedication of the Raja Muda IJs that they were obliged to move Protest Hearings to the Khoo Khong Si in order not to delay the attendance of Penang’s Chief Minister, Mr Lim Guan Eng, at the event. Have protests ever been heard in such sumptuous surroundings? ('Meetings' at the Khoo Kong Si? Sounds like gangsters' 'table talk' to us!)

The fleet races again tomorrow, to Langkawi, a mere 55 nm to the north of Penang, and the last stop on the Raja Muda itinerary.

Short results:

Class 1 (IRC)
1 HiFi
2 Quantum Racing
3 Jelik
Class 2 (IRC)
1 Baby Tonga
2 Yasooda
3 Virgo
Class 3 (IRC)
1 Katsu
2 Moya Hin
3 Australian Maid
Class 4 (IRC)
1 Sumatra
2 Happy Endings
3 Phoenix
Class 5 (Multihull)
There is no Class 5
Class 6 (non-IRC)
1 Rascal
2 Sirius
3 Millennium

Overall Results after 3 races
Class 1
1 HiFi (3)
2 Quantum Racing (7)
3 Fortis Mandrake (9)
Class 2
1 Yasooda (4)
2 Baby Tonga (4)
3 Virgo (6)
Class 3
1 Zuhrah (6)
2 Katsu (6)
3 Moya Hin (8)
Class 4
1 Happy Endings (2)
2 Super Duper (9)
3 Phoenix (12)

Full results at www.rmsir.com