17th
Raja Muda Selangor
Regatta 2006
AsianYachting
Race Report 5 & Summary
25Nov06
Langkawi, Malaysia
All over bar the shouting...
As the high noon showdown time approached, most yachts left the Royal Langkawi Yacht Club marina early to study the current direction and wind conditions on Bass Harbour. Five to eight knots of breeze saw the racing classes away with a lot of jockeying for position and covering tactics being employed up and down the fleet. In several classes the pointscore is to close to call and good results in these races will determine the overall class winners. The decision to score the passage races with double points that must be counted or can't be dropped sees quite a bit of juggling the points and much to the upset of some yachts have had to drop a first place in the harbour races.
Jonathan
Mahony's Mumm 30 Happy Endings came to the fore today to pick
up both race six and seven today. All eyes were on the clash between Fred
Kinmonth/Nick Burns Mandrake that narrowly led the pointscore
and Bill Bremner's Foxy Lady that could execute an upset if the
conditions suite. Foxy Lady claimed second place and Frank Pong's
Jelik third, with Mandrake back in seventh place on
race six. A hush descended on the media boat at the start of race seven
as both RMN-Zuhrah and Mandrake were called over the
line. As the boats were tightly packed, Bill Bremner decided to take the
benefit of the doubt and returned Foxy Lady to the start line
in case they were over early. The ever irrepressible Neil Pryde on Hi
Fi took second place in race seven and Foxy Lady rebounded
with a third placing but not enough to clinch the series. Mandrake's
fifth placing was just enough to give the Fred Kinmonth/Nick Burns owned
yacht the overall IRC Racing title this year.
Jon
Wardill's Australian Maid gave Andrew Findlay's Impiana
a little luff off the startline which may have been the winning move at
the end of the day. Although Australian Maid led Impiana
by two points coming into the final race, Andrew Findlay's crew were expected
to stage a late comeback. After leading by the proverbial mile the wind
died out and the back markers closed right in, to look as if they may
have completed the task. When handicaps were applied Jon Wardill's Australian
Maid managed to beat Impiana by one second to lift the Premier
Cruising trophy. It can't get much closer than that.
A third and first place in race six and seven today for Neil Ankorn's
Farr 1104 Mat Salleh is enough to clinch the IRC Club Cruising
title. Graham Lind's Sumatra finished with two second places
which keeps them in second overall. Although Fatimi Afendi's Corina
11 dipped down the order in the final races they have done enough
in the passage races to retain third place. Heinz Heyer's Super Duper
first place in race six was a little too late to make an impression and
finished fourth overall. Capt Fin's Miri Magic had the benefit
of a new set of sails finally arriving in Langkawi and was very quick
of the startline and up the windward beats to jump a place and finished
fifth overall.
The
Multihull Class saw Tony Roberts Tactical Directions win four
out of five races and claim overall victory. Liam Nicholls bigger Gone
with the Wind had to settle on second place after taking most of
the line honours. John Mitchell's Merpati Putih came from Indonesia
and although a far cry from being a racing boat competed in all the races
to end up in third place.
First
place today for John Ramsden's Elan 434 Sofa So Good was not
enough to take the Non IRC Cruising title. Seventh place in the double
points non discardable race one has been their downfall. Instead it is
Mohd Hanif
Husain's Royal Malaysian Navy crew onboard Marikh that sailed
into first place overall despite scoring seventh place today. Gavin Welman's
Rascal stayed in the points with a second place today to end
up third overall.
Despite Dato' Richard Curtis's Bristol Cutter Eveline finishing with a first place after surviving a protest hearing, it is Simon Morris's Sirius 1935 that runs away with the inaugural Vintage Class title. Lindsey Stewart and Bruce Issel's Willow 11 have added to the fragrance and ended up third overall.
Although
Hans Rahmann's Yasooda claimed Premier Cruising line honours
at 21:21, it was Jon Wardill's 55ft Australian Maid finishing
only fifty one minutes behind the 70ft Yasooda to claim the handicap
victory. Peter Cremer's defending champion Shahtoosh improved
their overall standing by finishing with second place and Geoff Hill's
Strewth is always around when the trophies are being handed out
placed third. With two early wins to their credit, Andrew Findlay's Impiana
finished fifth and still top of the table but with the juggling of places
and introduction of the drop race will have to score well in the remaining
harbour race in Langkawi to stay in front of the hungry pack closing in
around them.
Neil
Ankorn's Farr 1104 Mat Salleh moved one step closer to the IRC
Cruising title by being the fastest in the class and added another handicap
win to their tally. Fatimi Afendi's very low rating on Corina 11
earned them second place to retain third overall despite having to retire
from the Penang Harbour races. Graham Lind's Sumatra was in the
running for the title with Mat Salleh coming into this race but
a third place last night leaves them with allot of work to do on the remaining
harbour races. Capt Fin's smaller 26ft Miri Magic 1 set a respectable
finishing time, only minutes behind the bigger boats which could probably
be down to the replacement Tacktick wind instruments finally arriving
in Penang.
Gavin
Welman's Rascal continues to improve each race and eventually
took first place in the Non IRC Cruising class. By correcting out into
second place John Ramsden's Elan 434 Sofa So Good have put themselves
in the running for the overall title with one race to go. Bryan Levinge's
Cavalier enters the podium places for the first time with a timely
third placing. Despite finishing fourth Mohd Hanif Husain's RMN entry
Marikh early win and second place on the passage races, keeps
them on the top of the leader board but will have to fend of John Ramsden's
charge on Sofa So Good to win this years title.
It
was Simon Morris's turn on Sirius 1935 to record another win
this time in front of 
22Nov06
Penang, Malaysia
At
seventy five foot long Frank Pong's Jelik usually leads the fleet
but after entangling a fishing net and dragging it along on the downwind
leg is was Nick Burns/Fred Kinmonth 51ft Mandrake leading around
the bottom mark, first time round. Their crew work and boatspeed looked
very slick and perhaps they were responding to part owners Nick and Mo
Burns return with perhaps some good news to share with the crew.
Bill Bremner's Sydney 40 Foxy Lady rebounded with second and
third places today but slipped to second overall, one point adrift of
Mandrake. Keith Dunn's Mount Gay 30 Lunch Cutter 11
rounded of the Race 3 podium placing's and RSYC Vice Commodore Vincent
Chan's Titan 36 Matahari second place in Race 4 gave the small
boats 1B class an upper hand over the big boats 1A, except for Mandrake
left trailing in their wake.
In
IRC Cruising, Graham Lind's Singaporean based Hustler SJ35 Sumatra
has been constantly climbing the podium placing's to cap it of with a
first place in Race 3 and second place in Race 4. A two way battle is
developing at the top between Sumatra and Neil Ankorn's Farr
1104 Mat Salleh and after scoring a 2, 1 today, Mat Salleh
has regained the top spot on the Overall standings by two points. Fatimi
Afendi's Race 2 winning Gibsea 42 Corina 11 fell by the wayside
after having to retire from both races.
John
Ramsden's Singapore based Elan Impression 434 Sofa So Good showed
just how fast they can sail by taking out the daily double of Line and
Handicap honours in the Non IRC Cruising class. Gavin Welman's Hamburg
Ratssy Rascal second place came in a nick of time to enter the
overall podium placing's in third spot for the time being. Garry Bryant's
Scipio of Parkstone third place is a welcome return to the podium
after dropping off the pace during race two.
Having
to sail the entire course 
Bill
Bremner's Sydney 40 Foxy Lady, Fred Kinmonth's Farr/Mills 51
Mandrake and Neil Pryde's crew on Hi Fi staged a magnificent
pirouette around the pin end of the start line together, then raised the
spinnakers in unison and raced out of Pangkor only meters apart (See Photos).
Foxy Lady's crew were all fired up after there Race 1 win and led the
way over the bigger rivals. The yachts trying to approach the line down
current struggled for up to five minutes before they cleared the line.
A long asymmetrical kite slide for most of the afternoon allowed the bigger
boats to streak away at the front of the fleet and surprisingly it was
Neil Pryde's Farr 52 OD Hi Fi that claimed line honours at 23:19
in front of Frank Pong's 75ft Jelik by five minutes. As the smaller
boats were forced to anchor when the tide changed, only finishing at 5
or 6 in the morning made it a big boat benefit on this occasion with Neil
Pryde's Hi Fi taking out the daily double of line and Handicap
honours over Frank Pong's Jelik and Fred Kinmonth's Mandrake
claimed there second successive third placing. Bill Bremner's 3:33 finish
time on Foxy Lady gives them fourth place and luckily managed
to finish before the wind dropped to keep an overall lead in the point
score.
Fatimi
Afendi's converted Gibsea 42 Corina 11 led out from the IRC Cruising
start and in amongst the crew the Rahim family and friends from the regatta
winning Gotcha Lagi Team have a wealth of experience on the Raja Muda,
so it was no surprise they came out on top for Race 2. Although Graham
Lind's Singaporean based Hustler SJ35 Sumatra managed to find
the fast lane to record the quickest time they had to settle on second
place but keeps them in the running. The leading five boats finished in
a pack within ten minutes of each other, so after handicaps were applied
Neil Ankorn's Race 1 winning Farr 1104 Mat Salleh calculated
out into third and left Capt Fin's higher handicapped Runnalls 8 Miri
Magic and Heinz Heyer's X 402 M/H Super Duper out the back
door.
Tony
Roberts Crowther cat Tactical Directions again got the better
on handicap of Liam Nicholls Grainger cat Gone with the Wind
despite beating them over the line by a little under an hour and declaring
exactly the same 3:09 hrs engine usage. John Mitchell's Merpati Putih
from Indonesia trailed at the back of the fleet and had to motor for eight
and a half hours to finish before eight in the morning.
In
the Non-IRC Cruising class or hot-water division were motoring is permitted,
participants have been busy coming up with new formulas using: time x
distance = speed over the course. Usually the high penalty incurred for
using the engine rules out getting a place but the the age old formula
does not take into account anchoring time or drifting backwards with the
current. On this occasion John Ramsden's Singapore based Elan Sofa
So Good with 2 1/2 hrs of motoring through the light spots finished
early at one thirty in the morning to score first place. Mohd Hanif Husain's
Royal Malaysian Navy crew onboard Marikh managed to sail all
the way and finished just before seven in the morning to take second place,
only missing out on first place by a mere five minutes on corrected time.
Doc Nicolson's Dubois 80 Intrigue finished after midnight with
1:22 engine hours to score third place and lift them up the rankings after
a dismal race 1 result.
The
Vintage Class for yachts over fifty years old is also turning into a maths
exercise of balancing out the sailing verses engine hours over the duration
of the race. Simon Morris's Sirius 1935 took out the honours
this time with only 1:18 of engine time. Due in part to the spinnaker
halyard getting jammed and being forced to carry the big kite through
the storm until a massive round up wrapped it around the rigging. Lindsey
Stewart and Bruce Issel's, Kim Jensen designed Willow 11 with
4:25 on the clock timed into second place. Past RSYC Commodore Hijjas
Kasturi's classic Mystico was fast out of the starting blocks
and sailed most of the way to finish up in third place. All the work under
taken 
Its
not all on the water racing at the Raja Muda as the sailors have a chance
to redeem themselves after a short rest, on the Trishaw Race held around
the Tanjong City Marina broad walk this afternoon by Penang Tourism to
keep the social program on track. Although they will have to preserve
some energy as two windward / leeward races are expected to be completed
for the racing classes tomorrow in Penang Harbour which introduces another
degree of difficulty in winning this event. All vessels can happily move
along on a reach or downwind run but put them on a upwind beat over short
courses is the traditional measure on how good a pedigree a yacht may
possess. Many a yacht has led the overall standings after the passage
races only to be let down on the four windward/leeward races expected
to be held both here in Penang and Langkawi. As if the difficulties of
racing overnight up the often fickle Malacca Straits is not enough but
putting together a crack crew that can get the boat smartly around windward
/ leeward courses is probably the single most reason which makes this
event the hardest regatta in the Asian region to win. No wonder, the Royal
Ocean Racing Club (RORC) with all their high UK standards have included
the RMSIR 06 into their
classic Asian program of endorsed events.
19Nov06
Pangkor Islands, Malaysia
From
the time Principle Race Officer Jerry Rollin announced "Clear Start"
for the six classes, till they completed 90nm's of offshore racing and
anchored up in the very tranquil Pangkor Island group none other than
three tropical storms had built up overland and descended upon the fleet
during the race. Depending where your placed along the track and whether
staying offshore or playing the coastal route was your option, these variables
ended up determining the boats overall placing's. Despite Frank Pong's
massive Reichel Pugh 75 Jelik taking line honours at 1:23:05
in the morning it was Bill Bremner's Sydney 40 Foxy Lady that
claimed first place on handicap by a healthy margin of a little under
an hour. Fellow Singaporean expat Keith Dunn on a Mount Gay 30 Lunch
Cutter 11 finished up second to give the smaller racing 1b class
boats a one, two score. Fred Kinmonth's Farr/Mills 51 Mandrake
claimed third place and just piped Neil Pryde's crew on Hi Fi
by a little over two minutes after trailing them in the early stages.
Bill
Bremner told AY afterwards that "This race win he considers to be
the best of all - They stuck to their game plan - go the inshore route
and prepared to play every shift to your advantage. Asian Andy and Bagus
Bruce got it right every time to be completely in sync with what's going
on around them. It was a miracle sail, we never stopped, even benefited
from some short spinnaker bursts on the inshore track where the storms
were coming from. We knew we had done well when approaching the finish
line we heard on the radio that Hi Fi was only a few miles ahead."
The
Premier Cruising Class also had a good go at it and the eight hi-tech
yachts ranging from 45 to 80 ft in length, in all their splendor made
a lovely sight on the Port Klang start line. Something to reward the committee
that have been working hard all year to achieve. As expected Hans Rahmann's
very powerful Judel/Vrolijk 70 footer Yasooda took line honours
but it was Andrew Findlay's Beneteau 45 Impiana that stole the
limelight by filling first place and also the best performing big boat
based in Malaysia. Aussie Geoff Hill's Lyons 49 Strewth showed
they are still on the pace with a hard earned second place and DR Jon
Wardill's Cassidy 55 Australian Maid had to do a bit of ducking
and weaving from Offshore to Inshore before re-familiarizing themselves
with the local waters and weather conditions to claim third spot.
The
IRC Cruising Class saw the reemergence of one of Kiwi Bruce Farr's early
yacht designs that put him on the road to fame and fortune. Neil Ankorn's
Farr 1104 so aptly named Mat Salleh (when referring to a foreign
person in Bahasa Malay language) set a blistering pace right from the
very start and stayed inshore to claim first place overall. Leaving fellow
RSYC member Fatimi Afendi's converted Gibsea 42 renamed Corina 11
on this outing with second place. Graham Lind's Singaporean based
Hustler SJ35 Sumatra are determined to do well again and are
happy with third spot at this stage in proceedings. Heinz Heyer's X 402
M/H Super Duper set the fastest time but was relegated to fourth
after handicaps were applied. The much anticipated appearance of Capt
Fin's Miri Magic - Team Ulumulu saw them take the unfavourable
offshore path to finish down in sixth place but did surprise the leaders
on a couple of occasions with her light weather performance.
Tony
Roberts Crowther multihull Tactical Directions got the better
on handicap of Liam Nicholls Grainger cat Gone with the Wind
although they had beat them over the line. John Mitchell's very cruising
houseboat Merpati Putih from Indonesia looked as if it was going
backwards for a while, had to use the engine for six and a quarter hours
to complete the course before the cutoff time was handed third place.
All
the work under taken by 
Each
November around these time, some of the grandest yachts in the region
make their way up the Klang River and find themselves crowded alongside
the 
The
crews on forty four competing yachts will have their navigation, seamanship
and team working skills severely tested over the next week up the west
coast of Malaysia. Weather wise, tropical thunderstorms have been as regular
as clockwork for the last couple of weeks. By two thirty in the afternoon
the building black clouds above open up and pelt down a torrential downpour.
In front of the storm, some short bursts of thirty to forty knots of wind
have been experienced. Not long after the rain starts the wind can completely
disappear, leaving yachts floundering around in a vacuum. During the overnight
passage races sailors can expect to experience at least three or four
rainstorms crossing their paths as they proceed up the coast. After the
1:00 pm starting gun fires the conditions experienced onboard and how
the crew handles them over the next twelve to twenty-four hours will determine
the eventual winner. Throw in the notoriously strong Malacca Strait currents
into the equation and it becomes a bit of a lottery. The rest is down
to luck and hope that you are in the right place at the right time.
Looking
down the list of entrants there are some skippers and boat owners that
have supported this event over the years and enjoy nothing better than
the crew camaraderie generated during a good blast up the straits on a
sailing boat. Ten racing class boats have entered so the committee have
enough to divide the class by their handicaps into 1a and 1b with five
boats apiece. Neil Pryde's Farr 52 OD Hi Fi Team Pryde are back
to defend last years title and Frank Pong's well prepared Reichel Pugh
75 Jelik crew are hoping to carry on their winning ways after
tasting success at the season ending regatta at Koh Samui. Bill Bremner's
Sydney 40 Foxy Lady heads up Class 1b were three boats from Singapore
will be taking on two boats crewed by a mixed bunch of Malaysian sailors
entered from the Royal Selangor Yacht Club.
Nine
well presented Premier Cruising class yachts adorn the pontoons with the
smallest being Aussie Geoff Hill's Lyons 49 Strewth, way up to
Doc Nicolson's Dubois 80 Intrigue. Jon Wardill's well traveled
Aussie Maid returns after a couple years absence and Hans Rahmann's
spectacular looking Judel/Vrolijk 70 footer Yasooda with some
of Phuket's best racing crews onboard, looks like she could shine by the
end of the regatta.
The
youth crew will participate in the regatta on-board a fully-sponsored
Farr 42, S/Y 
The
participants are: Ahmad 
Other
racing class yachts include two Royal Malaysian Navy boats, S/Y 
The
Raja 
