It's the final countdown

21:11:09 With overcast skies and scattered showers the crews made their way out to the startline for the final days racing. Fortunately the North Easterly breeze arrived early and 10 to 15 knots saw them complete the first race in fine style. As the crews waited for the rest of the fleet to finish a light rain shower descended over the course and dampened the hopes of having a second race. Eventually PRO Gerry Rollin had to call it a day and everyone returned to get ready for the final dinner and prize giving at the Royal Langkawi Yacht Club.

The racing class boats lining up at the start is a sight to behold and certainly not one for the feint hearted. Frank Pong's Reichel-Pugh 75ft Boracay Jelik III broke away to the right early in proceedings which paid off handsomely and after setting the pace around the course managed to finally take out the daily double on Race 6. Thirty six seconds latter Ray Roberts TP 52 Evolution Racing corrected out into second place in front of Neil Pryde's Hi Fi for the first time this regatta. Not having enough separation and the cancelled race mean that Neil Pryde and his custom Welbourne 52 Hi Fi are the 2009 champions and successfully defend the title.

In the Premier Cruising Class (IRC 2) Antony Hastings Beneteau 53 Baby Tonga posted another win, and in doing so honorably defends the title and retains the Jugra Cup for another year. This is a double celebration as the Raja Muda of Selangor has been crewing onboard Baby Tonga during the regatta and helped the team win his own trophy. There will be dancing in the streets tonight. Second place for Peter Cremers Shahtoosh lifts them to third overall. After a brilliant start to the regatta, Hans Rahmann's Judel/Vrolijk 70 Yasooda has dipped in form but survived to take second overall. In the battle between former RSYC commodores Dato’ Alex Nah's Hunter 49 Virgo came out on top.

A change of the top runners in the IRC 3 class in Race 6. Ben Copley's Club Swan 42 Katsu finally broke the drought and snatched first place. Robert Van Paridon's Beneteau 44.7 Tantrum has been drifting on and off the podium and second place today gives the crew confidence as they head for the King's Cup. Third place for Sarab Singh's Sydney 40MOD Windsikher gives them second overall on their first Raja Muda outing. Jon Wardill's Cassidy 55 Australian Maid has dominated the IRC 3 class all week and although they ended with fourth place, they scored three first places and two second places to run away with the trophy this year. Very fitting as they have competed on 16 of the 20 regattas held so far.

After scoring 5th in the first race there was no holding back David Ross' new Kerr 32 Kukukerchu. They have scored five wins in a row to romp away with the IRC 4 class trophy on their first attempt. Stuart Williamson's Beneteau 34.7 Skandia EOW has played the bridesmaid role with one third and five second places to claim second overall. Third place today for Jeff Harris Rapscallion lifts them to third overall and relegates Vincent Chan's Titan 36 AC Law Mata Hari to fourth by the end of the racing.

In the Multihull Class a mistake in the allotted handicap for Richard Eyre's Zhuka sees the results changed heavily in their favour. First place today for Henry Kaye's Seacart 30 Thor and the reshuffling of results sees them miss out on first overall and having to settle on second overall. David Liddell's Miss Saigon slotted into second place and finishes up third overall. Third place for Grenville Fordham's Andaman Cabriolet Niña has them slipping down to fourth overall. Despite finishing fourth today Richard Eyre's Corsair 37 Zhuka after the reshuffle wins the title by one point from Henry Kaye's Thor.

The non-IRC Cruising Classes 5 & 6 were sent on a harbour course but unfortunately as the wind faded, most the boats had difficulty in finishing before the cut off time. Although Rod Heikell's Skylax was one of the non finishers, they have sown up the title after winning four races on the trot. Simon Piff's Rainbow Dream was the first to finish today and Leslie Fung's Todak 2 the only other finisher that earned them second overall. David Mellefont's Wind Quest ended up with third overall.

In Class 6 Barry Wickett's Kay Sira has been nudging the leaders all regatta and today finally broke through to win Race 6 and rewarded with second overall. The Malaysian Armed Forces Musytari skippered by Norhafisam regained their composure to be the only other finisher today and reclaim the top spot on the podium. Simon Morris' Aussie classic Sirius 1935 missed out on the cut off time by a few minutes which saw a dramatic fall from the top of the leaderboard to third overall. Similar for Dato Richard Curtis 100 year old classic Eveline that ended up being relegated to fourth overall.

Summary
Perhaps the wettest Raja Muda Regatta that we have ever experienced. The saving grace was that there was plenty of wind for all to enjoy. The logistics of moving excess boat equipment and crew baggage up the coast is the biggest problem the committee face each year. The long standing format is the most challenging event on the Asian calendar. Ask any skipper how they fared and each one will have a different story to tell. Then ask the winning skipper of the racing class what it takes to win this endurance event and the picture becomes clearer. Good boat, fantastic sails and exceptional crew work will get you most of the way there but it also helps if luck is on your side and the god's are working in your favour. Bring all that together and peak at the right time then perhaps you can win a Raja Muda Regatta. With 20 regattas already under there belt and more to come the future certainly looks very bright.

More info on the 20th Raja Muda Selangor Int. Regatta at: http://www.rmsir.com

Goto AY Race Report 5
AY Race Report 4
AY Race Report 3
AY Race Report 2
AY Race Report 1
AY Pre-Regatta Report
Multihull Revival at 20th RMSIR 09

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