RMSIR 2010 – ‘Dash, smash and crash’ at the Penang Trishaw Races

by Guy Nowell, Sail-World Asia on 24 Nov 2010 Raja Muda Selangor International Regatta 2010 - Take ten Penang trishaws, and hope there are five serviceable ones left afterwards. Take 12 teams of wannabe F1 trishaw racers (team = driver + passenger) from among the crews racing in the Raja Muda Selangor International Regatta, give them a beer and let them loose…

The Penang Trishaw Races are just as much a past of this regatta as the sailing, and this year might have generated higher average ‘boatspeed’ (over a rather shorter distance) than the two passage races run to date. Four heats, four trishaws to a heat. Down a pint of beer and pedal like hell round a 50m sausage a few times. Try not to spin out, roll, or (most importantly) collide with other members of the racing fleet – RRS 44.1 will be strictly enforced – meaning that if you crash your trishaw and cause ‘serious damage’ then you are probably a little damaged as well, and are going to have to retire anyway.

Many have suggested that the trishaw races should be included in the regatta proper, but that might just skew the results in favour of the young, fit and naïve and disadvantage the old and bold, but that’s a technicality. For the time being, this event stays on the calendar as the best afternoon’s entertainment available without actually going afloat.

Results of the heats are all a bit of a blur, but five good healthy crashes and one black flag for cheating later, and the final was a face-off between a crew from Rapscallion, one from Mata Hari and two from Hi Fi. Eight laps of a 50m course may not sound like much, but don’t forget to take into account the softest tyres in the world (all that rolling drag, man…), non-functioning brakes (oh yes, you’ll need them on the downhill corners), a shifting payload (stay still in the front, you) and steering geometry (what?) that Mr Ackermann never even imagined. Add in a complete disregard of the non-existent rules, and you have a recipe for a great afternoon at the Tanjung City Marina sponsored by Finnegan’s Bar Penang. And don’t forget some exceptionally dodgy ‘driving’, too…

At the end, it was one of the Hi Fi crews that rolled out as the winners, but the result was almost academic – everyone had a good time anyway. Now, what was that about adding the trishaw races to the main regatta programme..?