Come the 17th of this month, I will be covering in depth the Raja Muda race, known in full as “Raja Muda Selangor International Regatta” as a competitor. This epic race is only a small piece of a much larger competition which is then broken down into many classes of Yachts. The race itself came ahead in 1990, and is the senior keel boat sailing regatta in Malaysia. As a premier event, it shares a grand reputation as a true off-shore sailing regatta with no other event in the country. A fact which brings pride to a lot of the local competitors and residents. The race itself was commissioned by the current Sultan of Selangor, when he was crown prince of Selangor. As a result, local media, and some international (Maybe more so than usual thanks to the “Peaceful” demonstration the previous Sunday) will be giving live coverage of the race.
I myself will be part of the Blue Royale’s crew, the Yacht itself is 32ft overall, and will have a crew of five, despite being able to manage with a minimum of two. The class that the Blue Royale will be a part of is the IRC4, which stands for International Racing Certificate, 4th class. This class has no minimum entry standards, but the maximum size any keel boat can be is 40ft overall, and that exceed that will join the IRC3 series. The other classes are the cruisers (Ships which have no International Racing Certificate for whatever reason) and the sailboats with the IRC.
The event itself officially starts upon the Friday the 16th of November to the 24th of November, and spans over several destinations, all of which seem fairly notable. The starting point of the race is in Port Klang, from the Royal Yacht Club situated here. I’m currently sat in their lounge, and most likely about to request another jug of water, the temperature is a scorching 32°C , and although that is timid in comparison to somewhere like El Azizia (Admittedly yes it is a desert) it’s my fifth day here from good old Britain where we have at the moment an average of 9-11 °C.
So I’m sure you’ll understand why I’m dieing slowly out here.
The second destination is Pangkor, where the third is Penang, followed by the finish at Langkawi. Each of these are night stopovers, and allow sufficient resupplying if needed.
The 16th starts with a party to celebrate the start of the race, with the host none other than his royal majesty. The party consists of a meal and some presentations, as well as a customary “Good luck” speech at the Royal Yacht Club, where the competitors get to share some friendly banter, and mingle with one another.
Friendly jostling such as sabotage of another’s Yacht is prohibited, but it is not unknown for European competitors to use water guns at one another when close enough while racing to do so. As the the race features a police escort outside interference is kept to a minimum if any.
I haven’t heard of any RPGs being used as by way of friendly competition, but would be interesting to see the effect one would have on a passing yacht…
The 17th is when the action starts, and the race is underway. The first destination is Pangkor which is a clear 82 miles away from here in Port Klang, which will be reached overnight by the morning. This small yet lush tropical island is the first stopover in the race, aka; the first chance for a good nights rest for a restless crew. Before the thought of rest is given due consideration, a prize giving ceremony is situated on the beach, and will have to be attended. The beach gathering will have some key attendees such as local officials, and some other local figures.
Come midday on the 19th, the race is once against in full flight as the Yachts leave the island in the afternoon. This section is another overnight race, and come the following day arrival in Penang should be immanent, if not, somethings gone wrong with certain crews…
But if all goes to plan by midday, you should be ashore the beautiful state that is Penang. Personally I haven’t been there for about 7 years, so it will be nice to see if anything has changed, or if it has become something for the better or worse. As Malaysia’s 8th most populated state, it is bound to have had a lot of expansion since I have been there. Back to the race though. This is definitely one of the highlights of the race, well will be for myself, as you get to explore the island, and take a day or so off from racing as you will not be setting off till the 22nd. The evening though is to be taken up by another wine and dine event, where the appearance of a local mystery VIP is expected. Over the time you are here, there is many smaller races that happen about the port, as well as other little parties and such.
The last stretch is on the 22nd as I briefly mentioned which will once again be an overnight affair, and will come to a close the following morning in Langkawi, which will be a first visit for me so I cannot wait to stride ashore. Commonly tagged as an island, it is actually an archipelago, one of 99 to be exact. The Friday will be a free day, where any and all competitors can freely roam about and sample some of the tourist delights. According to some local sources, Langkawi is scattered with luxurious five-star hotels, and many attractions which cause it to rival with Penang for title of the tourist hot-spot in the area. The final big event is the following day, with the main events prize giving being awarded.
Bon’ Voyage!
-Askura
