Miri Malaysia Solo Global Challenge
AsianYachting Press Release

What the future holds...
22 June 2007
Future plans for 43 year old Malaysian sailor Capt. Ariffin Abdul Aziz and his Miri Malaysia Solo Global Challenge on Troy Yaw's re-modeled custom built Sydney 46 Ulumulu have been put on hold for up to four months. Reconstruction delays have put back the re-launching in Newcastle, Australia. (See Don Buckley's photos) and the sudden passing away of Ariffin's mother had to be urgently addressed. Consequently the delivery from Australia to Miri, Sarawak will not get underway till late July or early August. As it is getting latter and latter into the southern hemisphere winter season the departure date may have to be further delayed till early next year when the daylight hours are on the increase in the Southern Ocean.

Meanwhile this gives Troy Yaw's team more time, to set up the 24-hour communication and media center at Miri Marina to monitor the journey round the world. Once the boat is underway AsianYachting will be streaming Google tracking plus coordinating the posting of Daily Reports and Press Releases on the internet. One of the ideas coming forward to generate some community spirit in Malaysia is creating a Miri Malaysia Solo Global Challenge Classroom. This will be a unique opportunity to reach young children and create a great story by following his around the world adventure. The Classroom curriculum is expected to be available to schools, individual students and their parents for the September to June 2007-08 academic year. Students will be able to follow Capt Fin on his courageous solo sail as he battles the elements and himself over 30,000 miles of open ocean, round the four Cape's and across the equator twice.

The Classroom idea has proved very popular with other round the world racers and with all the technology available these days, is expected to become an exciting global adventure, seeing students caught up in a unique learning experience as the adventure on the high seas unfolds before their very eyes. They'll enjoy tracking Ulumulu and communicating with Capt Fin via the Internet as he sails across the oceans, once touched by the legendary Captain Joshua Slocum, the first sailor in history to complete a solo circumnavigation, over 100 years ago.

Troy Yaw and Capt Fin are actively seeking suppliers and sponsors to partner them on this unique sailing adventure, to be the second Malaysian to sail around the world. Other marketing opportunities are available like International branding for the education program and signing up for the pre and post-circumnavigation promotional tour. Just in case they get back to Miri in time, Capt Fin has also entered Ulumulu on the 4th Borneo International Yachting Challenge from September 2nd - 8th. If he intends sailing solo on the Labuan to Miri Race he may have to apply for special permission from the International racing authorities.

Since Datuk Azhar Mansor's Jalur Gemilang accomplished his mission in 1999 at 190-days, Capt Fin expects to complete his arduous journey in 180 days - 10 days less than Datuk Azhar did. He will be the second Malaysian to follow in the footsteps of other famous circumnavigators to attempt a 28,649 nautical mile voyage lap of the world. Capt Fin told the Borneo Post recently "I don’t mind being the next Malaysian to skipper my buddy Troy Yaw's boat, as the family run Samling Strategic Corporation Sdn Bhd are backing the project and the Sarawak government are giving their undivided support for my attempt to break the Malaysian record".

For more information on the Miri Malaysia Solo Global Challenge and enquire about the sponsorship opportunities Email: Karen gohhc@samling.com.my or Capt Marty at: info@asianyachting.com

You can keep up with all the current news at Capt Fin's - Team Ulumulu website at: http://www.teamulumulu.com/

Miri Malaysia Solo Global Challenge in June
Tuesday 13th March 3007 - AY News and Views
All things going smoothly, the 43 year old Malaysian sailor Ariffin Abdul Aziz will be setting off in June this year on a 28,649 nautical mile circumnavigation lap of the world. Timed to celebrate Malaysia's 50th year of Independence and Visit Malaysia Year 2007 the Miri Malaysia Solo Challenge aims to propel Malaysia's lesser known cruising destinations onto the International sailing stage. Capt Fin expects to complete the arduous journey in 180 days - 10 days less than Datuk Azhar Mansor took in 1999. Despite starting and finishing in Miri, Sarawak making Fin's course distance 3649 miles further than Jalur Gemilang sailed. The custom built Sydney 46ft racing sloop Ulumulu has been undergoing serious modifications for solo sailing at Noakes yard in Newcastle, Australia and due for launching at the end of March. After completing sea trials, Capt Fin will sail the boat up the Australian east coast, then through Indonesia and expects to arrive in Miri by the end of May for the June departure date. Read more on how this adventurous journey came about and Fin's own personal take on how he rose up the racing crew circles in Asian waters and more... check out the new Team Ulumulu website here...

Sunday September 10, 2006

Solo sailing trip aboard Ulumulu
Source: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2006/9/10/nation/15388763&sec=nation
Modified, corrected and additional info by AsianYachting

MIRI, Sarawak: In an effort to propel Malaysia's cruising detinations onto the International sailing stage, Miri based Troy Yaw has launched a round-the-world solo sailing trip using his heavily modified champion yacht – Ulumulu.

Capt Ariffin or better known as Fin to his friends, is a Seremban-born sailor through and through, who has played a leading role on the Ulumulu Racing Team, since its inception back in 2003, has been identified as the person who will sail the refitted boat, solo, non stop around the globe from Miri to Miri on this arduous journey. The Miri Malaysia Solo Challenge will be the second round-the-world sailing trip attempted by a Malaysian sailor, after Datuk Azhar Mansor's feat seven years ago in 1999.

See First Edition of SEA News by Capt Marty, that was published as a column in a now defunct Singapore yachting magazine. When we first posted this article on the AY Website, it kicked started the monthly AY News & Views and ultimately can be held responsible for launching us into this crazy world of working with computers and learning to publish daily AY Race Reports from Asia's major events, using the Internet, local telecoms and e-mail services.

Sarawak Assistant Minister for Infrastructure Development and Communications Lee Kim Shin said the attempt would be the first voyage of its kind from this state. “The attempt is scheduled for next year. The sailor will set off from Miri. The yacht will carry the Sarawak and Malaysian flags.

“This attempt, if successful, will put Sarawak on the world sailing map. We (state government) want to promote this state, and especially Miri Resort City and Marina, as a sailing destination. “There are many boats cruising regularly past Borneo Island. The sailing world has a big population of sailors who travel in groups. “They communicate all the time with each other at sea and we believe that we can promote Sarawak as one of the destinations that they must stop and visit on their cruises,” he told The Star yesterday.

The Ulumulu yacht, belongs to prominent property developer Samling Corporation and is presently undergoing extensive refurbishment and fitting out in Sydney, Australia.

Ulumulu Racing Team under various disguises has won numerous regional sailing championships over the years, including the season ending Koh Samui Regatta 2005 in Thailand, 2006 Royal Langkawi Int Regatta and of course their own Borneo Cup in 2003, 2005 and holds the record on the 110nm Labuan to Miri overnight passage race.

INTERVIEW WITH ARIFFIN ABDUL AZIZ AUGUST 2006

Story by astridwynne@hotmail.com
Additional info added / edited by AsianYachting

Ariffin Abdul Aziz is a successful professional sailor. Most recently on the winning team at the 2006 Royal Langkawi International Regatta, with a firm hand on the helm of the Sarawakian Ulumulu Racing Team. He is also harbour master at Miri Marina. We talk to him about the how and the why of his chequred yachting career.

1. You were in the RM Navy and did that inspire you to become a sailor?

A little bit of input from there, because the navy has a sailing academy but I was never interested in that. My interests were: serve the country, see the world, and…er…play with some guns! That was initially why I joined the navy. I started sailing after I quit the navy back in 1987, when I went to Langkawi island and lead an island life for about fifteen years.

2. What was your job down there?

I was a water-sports coordinator at Pelangi Beach Resort. We had a lot of water-sports – water-ski, parasail, boat trips, sailing. But when the first Gulf War came, things just went bad. I had my own dive shop for a while but had to close that because not many people came after the Gulf War period. I sold everything, went off to the UK, did my RYA [Royal Yachting Association] Coastal Yachtmaster Course and some other stuff…

3. What did you do after the UK?

I came back in ’95 and worked as a boatboy at the RSYC [Royal Selangor Yacht Club] for a year, for the lowest wages in the world, you can’t believe…

4. Why did you stay when the wages were so low?

There was no other job! [laughs] back then for Yachtmasters. It was so competitive! Being me, an outsider, coming to a club that’s over 30 years old with this old crew doing the jobs… You have to start at the bottom and work your way up. That’s me… I started right from brushing the boat to driving the boat. And now Harbour Master in Miri Marina. Imagine that.

5. When did you get your first sailing job?

My first sail was from Port Klang to KK across the South China Sea with Dato Aziz on Impiana. That was a big passage, a month. And, automatically, I had a boat to skipper after that. 56 ft. And I did that for a year until the owner sold the boat…And a one year rest. I went back to Langkawi and opened up a bar…That’s my life… Opened up a bar on the beach front. Then the owner  bought another boat. So I had to give up the bar and start sailing and racing after that.

6. How long did you do that for?

I quit the job on that boat in the year 2000. And after that, I went back to my bar and ran it for three years. In between times, I raced and did boat deliveries to Darwin, Australia, to Bodrum in Turkey across the Mediteranean Sea with my fellow director at AsianYachting Ventures and Asian Yachtmasters Examiner, Capt Marty… A lot of people do that in this yachting world.

7. Why don’t the owners sail the boats themselves?

Because they don’t have time. When we crossed the Indian Ocean to Turkey, it was June, which is the middle of SW monsoon season. And the 65ft Tiawanese built boat wasn’t in perfect working order, so we had to manage it slowly and safely. It took us three months! We went all over the place. We went to the NW of Sumatra, down to the Chagos Archepeligo into Deigo Carcia - 6 to 8 degrees South of the equator, across with the South Easterly tradewinds to the Seychelles, up the Red Sea to Egypt and the Suez Canal, then spat out into the Mediterranean Sea to sail across and up to Bodrum in Turkey...

8. What attracts you about professional sailing?

Sailing takes you away from one point to another for free. It’s like a working holiday. I enjoy that. But as soon as the Gotcha boys picked me up, I was hooked on racing.

9. What is “Gotcha”?

A Malaysian Team called “Gotcha Lagi”, a very famous boat owned by the Rahim brothers and Dato Mokzani from Royal Selangor Boat Club, I raced with them for five years. We got a lot of trophies – 1999 Singapore Straits Regatta, 2000 Phuket King’s Cup Regatta [Thailand] and, of course the only Malaysian boat to have won our own Raja Muda and Langkawi Regattas.

After I finished there, I had the chance to be an apprentice on Ray Roberts high tech Farr 52 OD Hollywood Boulevard built by DK Yachts right here in Malacca and crew alongside his Aussie Workforce Marine Racing Teamates. At the time it was the only carbon fiber boat to come to these waters. We did about three series – we won the Samui, the Raja, we got a good placing in the Kings and the Singapore Regatta – but then he sold the boat. And I went back to my bar.

10. Is that what you’re going to do when get to old to sail?

Part of my contract is staying on for five years to upgrade all these new young sailors in Sarawak and Malaysia and develop the sailing community. And after that, sit there and hopefully drink cocktails for the rest of my life.

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