Capt Marty's Sailing Memoirs - 2nd Raja Muda 1991

As the well established Asian Regattas reach their 20th anniversary, Capt Marty has been asked to recall any recollections of racing on the early events. While walking down memory lane for the 20th Raja Muda program guide, it was decided to put together a series of short stories, while the memories still float around in the mind somewhere. So here is the first on what we originally called the Austral-Asian Tour from Darwin, North Australia to Phuket in Southern Thailand. Many boats have gone before us but in 1991 we were the first to try and make an organised route, competing on a chain of events through Indonesia before embarking on the early Raja Muda and King's Cup regatta's.

Pioneering the Austral-Asian Tour
Despite growing up in very remote parts of North Australia, youngsters can still possess the worldly ambition to compete on some of the classic yacht races of the time. The magnificent spread of Darwin Harbour (Biggest harbour in the world) made family orientated pleasure boating activities a priority in life and the Darwin Sailing Club became the focal point in the rapidly expanding community. When general surgeon Mr Jon Wardill purchased the Cassidy 55 Evelyn IV and renamed her Australian Maid in 1989, it opened the door for many local sailors to compete on selected International racing events. After three successful years on the Aussie East and North coasts including the early Hamilton Island Raceweek's, Cairns - Pt Moresby, Brisbane - Gladstone, Darwin - Ambon and Sydney Hobart Race classics, it was a chance meeting with renown Malaysian architect Hijas Kasturi, who entered his 75ft Kembara in the 1991 Ambon Race that saw a drastic change in sailing plans.

By accepting the invitation to compete on the 2nd Raja Muda Int Regatta in 1991, the annual foray into Indonesia just got extended. So instead of returning to Darwin from Bali it was a matter of exploring the rest of Indonesia to Singapore and then up the Malacca Straits to find the Royal Selangor Yacht Club somewhere in Port Klang, Malaysia. The first person to greet the crew was Auntie Lillian Lee, who introduced Commodore Dato Johan Ariff and welcomed the first real racing boat to grace the event with open arms. Arriving a month early was no problem, as Auntie was the RM publicity officer and kept us busy with open days for the media and sightseeing tours on the way to local dinghy events her boys were competing in. The rest of the entertainment was provided by a hearty group of expat members and visiting cruisers that propped up the bar each evening.

The Sultan and Raja Muda of Selangor were regulars on the weekends and rubbing shoulders with Royalty and respecting the Malay culture soon became normal practice for at least some of the crew. Others found it difficult to stick to their usual Aussie steak and chips diet but found the beer cold and friendly hospitality to their liking.

Being held up with work commitments Dr Jon could not make it for the Raja Muda and left it to his trusty Capt Marty Rijkuris and crew boss Jason Beaver to guide the boat safely along the treacherous Malacca Straits. This left a hole in the crew list and as there was a distinct lack of people looking for a ride, we had to make do with what we could scramble together. The club treasurer Mr Foo decided he wanted to find out what this sailing lark was all about. Auntie Lillian signed on and bought along Felicia's voluptuous 16 year old daughter Fenia (that turned into a real handful, fending of all the horny sailors) plus a media crew from the local Star newspaper.

Three storms were encountered on the first leg from PT Klang to Pangkor Laut Resort, which had the media crew asking "Why do you do this?" To make matters worse it took most the next day to struggle against the incoming tide, in near becalmed conditions, only to finish twenty seconds over the time limit. Despite filing for redress after crossing the finish line (Be it in the process of being lifted), Australian Maid did not get reinstated and Roger Eastham's Wet Express consequently went on to take top spot on the podium. A blistering pace between Penang and Langkawi saw the makeshift crew set a new unofficial record at the Pelangi Beach Resort finish line but eventually had to settle on second overall. However much to the Commodores' displeasure, they did manage to win the media stakes as the Aussie Maid story filled the lifestyle section in the Star newspaper on consecutive weekends and thanks to Auntie's hard work even appeared in golf and motor sports magazines in the months to come.

As they say in the Classic's "The rest is history!"

Welcome to the 20th Raja Muda
If you are looking for a crew position or want to charter a yacht for the 20th Raja Muda Selangor International Regatta 2009 goto: http://www.rmsir.com Festivities begin at the Royal Selangor Yacht Club, Pt Klang on Friday 13th November and continue along the island hoping route to Langkawi till Nov 21st. During stop over's in Pangkor and Penang numerous activities like tri-shaw racing, windward/leeward racing and fancy prize giving presentations are being planned. The public are welcome to go down to the marinas along the way to cheer on there favourite team and get a taste of what yacht racing is all about. NOR, Program of Events and eventually the regatta media coverage along with photos will be posted at: http://www.rmsir.com If you want to join in the fun contact them by Phone: +603 3168 6964 or Email: info@rmsir.com

Keep in contact with Aussie Maid while on Tour
Over the last 20 odd years, 4,000 plus sailors have competed on Jon Wardill's Australian Maid which is still lining up and competing on some Asian events. The crew have formed a social Facebook group Australian Maid on Tour to keep in touch and coordinate the boat and crew movements. So if you think you could fit in with a very bawdy Aussie crew that like to have fun on and off the water goto: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=42836451253

Future CM Sailing Memoirs are in the process of being prepared. 5th Phuket King's Cup 1991, Early Darwin Ambon Races, Inaugural 1973 Darwin to Dili Yacht Race, 1989 Sydney Hobart Race plus a few others are in the pipeline. If anyone out there can help with old photos to accompany the story's, they will be very much appreciated.