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Welcome to the AsianYachting NEWSLETTER SPONSORED BY the 11th Malaysia Int. Boat Show
Don't miss the only boatshow in S.E. Asia this year (MIBS) at Admiral Marina, Pt Dickson on the 9th–11th November. 1. Editorial
2. Asian News
3. International
Editorial Despite the present political whip cracking and the economic ups and downs being experienced in S.E. Asia, yacht racing in Malaysia is receiving a tremendous boost. Previously confined to a small but dedicated group of sailors who find the time to race the Royal Selangor Yacht Clubs yearly program, this coming weekend sees the introduction of the Admiral Marina racing program in Port Dickson. The focus will be on providing bi-weekly international standard yacht racing in S.E. Asia. Browse and take a copy of the Notice of Race, Racing program and Sailing Instructions. Many of the regions top racing yachts like Peter Ahern's 'Yo' and Amir Zohri's 'Gotcha Lagi' are based at Admiral Marina and with DK Composites building the popular Farr 40 and Mum 30 only 45 minutes away in Malacca the competition is expected to be tough. In fact, a few months ago when the Admiral's Cup was abandoned this marina was probably one of a few in the world to have Ray Roberts Coral 45 and DK's Farr 40 berthed there with experienced Sydney 40 sailors ready to go racing! AsianYachting will be there. Kicking off latter this month students will be able to experience first hand, the thrill of sailing through a Learn to Sail program on Malaysia's favourite racing yacht 'Gotcha Lagi'. Sail training by qualified instructors for a small number of crew will become available on the races and delivery trips giving personal attention to hands-on offshore experience and introduce new sailors to the important yacht handling drills aboard. With the Malaysian team for the September S.E.A. Games already in training (see program at http://AsianYachting.com/news/S.E.A.Games.htm ) and the Asean Regatta and only boatshow in S.E. Asia this year (MIBS) to be held early November at Admiral Marina expect the waters of Pt Dickson to become an extremely popular place to meet as the sailors provide an interesting spectacle offshore. Many boat owners are expected to take this new found opportunity to hone their crews skills before the Raja Muda International Regatta held latter in November and the Phuket King's Cup in Thailand during early December. Asian
News
1. Good news for television viewers the 4 events that form the Asian Yachting Circuit 2000/2001 which where filmed by Andrew Owen's team from Proteus Sports - Hong Kong are to be broadcast by Star Sports at the following times. Date - Day - Start - Yacht Racing
Event - Channel - Country/ Region 17-Jul Tues 1730 - Raja Muda Int. Regatta
- Star Sports - Asia Pacific 2. Bad news for boat operators and owners who wish to keep their yachts in Thailand. The Thai Customs department have imposed a 217% import duty on all pleasure craft staying longer than 3 months in the kingdom. This is being heavily enforced and although the tax seems to be negotiatable it has forced many boat owners including 4 times King's Cup winner Bill Gasson to move their yachts south to Malaysia and Singapore. As they are forbidden to return perhaps a boycott of this years Kings Cup by all competitors should be considered to highlight the severity of the imposed tax to the Thai government, which seems to be a money grabbing exercise by greedy customs officials and has been described by some more like a stick-up or akin to Highway robbery. 3. Even the 3000 year old traditional sailing design the Sandeq has not escaped the advances of modern technology. This spectacular outrigger craft originally enabled the Austronesian tribes to settle the islands of Indonesia in a craft seaworthy enough to commercially ferry passengers over long stretches of open sea. Still today, the Sandeq continues an ancient heritage of boat-building, navigation and transportation which has had it's influence on Western naval architecture: The narrow hull and the huge sail area are fashioned for fast running under sail and with a favouring wind these boats can speed up to 25 knot, about 50 km/h. Some modern tri-maran and catamaran designs have been modelled after these early Austronesian vessels. A 300 nautical mile staged race for 30 of the Mandar Regencies fastest Sandeq's will be held between the 10th to 16th of August and should not to be missed if you are visiting the region. The race will start in Majene with stop overs and display races at Polewalion, Ujung Lero, Garongkong and finishing in Makassar the capital of Sulawesi at the famous Losari Beach in the heart of the city on Indonesia's Independence day. All along the coastal course of the race, local governments will hold cultural festivities, boat-racing exhibitions, music festivals and events to entertain competitors and spectators on the way. 4. Phil Vidal (ex Latitude 1 editor in Singapore) has joined the Australian International Marine Export Group (AIMEX) as Business Development Manager. --------------------How to become
a Sponsor of this Newsletter?--------------------- INTERNATIONAL
1. The Arafura
Games Sailing events in Darwin, Northern Australia for Laser
Radial Women & Men, Laser Full Rig Open and Tasar Open concluded on
25 May with medal presentations on the lawns of the Darwin Sailing Club.
Organised by the Darwin Sailing Club and the Northern Territory Yachting
Association the results can be viewed at http://AsianYachting.com/news/ArafuraGames.htm
2. Volvo Ocean Race - Here's a page of facts and links on the 7 syndicates which will start on September 23, 2001 from Southampton UK. 3. The Times Clipper 2000 - The fleet departed Mauritius on Wednesday June 6 for Race 12 of 2,400 miles to Cape Town otherwise known as the Tavern of the Seas. The boats re-victual here for the crossing of the Southern Atlantic to the port of Salvador in Brazil. Leaving Salvador, the final leg of The Times Clipper 2000 sees the yachts head north to a newly introduced stopover in New York. To ensure a close and exciting finish, they will also enjoy a high-profile 3-day race stopover in Jersey, Channel Islands, before the final sprint to the homecoming celebrations in Portsmouth on 21st September 200. Website:http://www.clipper-ventures.com Clipper Venture’s other round the
world yachting event have announced that the recently acquired
Around Alone race will be starting in the Autumn of 2002. All the exciting
details are on the new web site. 5. Together Alone - Race Director, Don McIntyre, announced that Australia's around the world yacht race has been cancelled due to lack of support only six months prior to its scheduled start. Competitors in the International Open One Design 50 yachts are expected to contest Clipper Venture's Around Alone starting in September 2002. One of the fully crewed Class III McIntyre 55 yachts will undertake an expedition around the world via Cape Horn with stops at both South Georgia and Kerguelen Island. 6. Oz-Med Rally 2002 - The organisers of the Blue Water Round the World Cruising Rally have met many yachtsmen in the Austral-Asian region who are interested in joining the event to cruise to the Mediterranean in company. The Oz-Med Rally leaves Darwin at the end of September 2002 stopping in Indonesia-Singapore/ Malaysia-Phuket-Sri Lanka-Djibouti-Eilat-Suez and Crete before arriving at Gibraltar at the end of June 2003. Details can be obtained from the website www.yachtrallies.co.uk or from Peter Seymour by e-mail: pandarally@aol.com --------------------------
SPONSORS OF THIS ISSUE --------------------------
This months
newsletter was also brought to you by . . . . . . . .
The RSYC in Port Klang is now taking
enrolments for the 2-day Learn to SAIL courses
scheduled for 9/23 and 10/24 of June Contact Letchu
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