Race one got off in fine style when PRO Jerry Rollin declared "Clear Start" after five starts were conducted in quick secession on the northern approaches to Pt Klang. Now for the 100 odd miles before they reach the tranquil Pangkor Island group. After a short windward leg the afternoon sea breeze built up to 10 - 12 knots and crews worked feverishly to speed the boat along on a close hauled alternating to fine reaching course to clear the shallows of Selangor. Simon Morris's Sirius 1935 was not so lucky as they promptly ran aground approaching the windward mark and despite efforts to tow them off had to wait for the tide to go out and come in before they could get underway again.

Boat speed is very important in a strait line drag race, so trimming sails and good helming takes over as priority number one. To everyone's surprise Razali Mansor skippering the Royal Malaysian Navy DK Farr 520 Zuhrah nailed the start line and was closely followed by the brand new factory owned DK 46 Janda Baik skippered by Khairul Shahril. Unusual for Ray Roberts Quantum Racing crew to be at the back of the fleet but they may have been suffering from overindulgence at the previous nights welcoming dinner. After six hours of racing the seabreeze gradually petered out and the boats waited for the evening land breeze to materialize. Unfortunately a long wait was to follow and many boats found there own private parking lots and individual zephyrs of wind to move them along. No rain was recorded and a clear starry night had a cooling effect despite the lack of wind. Frank Pong's Reichel-Pugh 75 Jelik were not so lucky in the wind lottery and were beaten across the line by the Fred Kinmonth / Nick Burns smaller Mills 51 and defending champion Fortis Mandrake. After what could only be described as a frustrating 15 to 16 hours of racing it was the new factory owned DK 46 Janda Baik skippered by Khairul Shahril with a scratch Dutch, Swedish and Malaysian crew that won the first race out of the box. Fred Kinmonth / Nick Burns Mills 51 Fortis Mandrake claimed second spot and Ray Roberts DK46 Quantum Racing third place to make it a small boat benefit on race one.

Most of the boats were delayed and only started to finish at dawn. Those that persisted in sailing began to stream in as the day wore on, so the usually raucous Seaview Resort breakfast consisted of the committee and jury only to be interrupted by the occasional colorful hornbill flying in to observe the yearly ritual. At 70ft Hans Rahmann's Judel/Vrolijk Yasooda managed to finish early with the last of the morning land breeze to claim first and fastest in IRC 2. Although Neil Williamson's Oceanis 523 Resolution of Whitby had to wait for the afternoon sea breeze to fill in, they slotted into second place and relegated Dr Ian Nicolson's magnificent Dubois 80 Intrigue down to third place.

David Lindahl's Swan 42 La Samudra kept their race winning record going by scoring an IRC Class 3 win by a healthy margin over Dr Jon Wardill's Cassidy 55 Australian Maid competing here for the fourteenth time. As the race drags on the elapsed time increases and the handicap margins widen to give the smaller handicap boats a chance to improve their standings. After twenty one hours of racing Andrew Findlay's Beneteau First 45f5 Impiana finished a mere forty five seconds behind La Samudra across the line but got bumped down to third overall.

The closely matched IRC Class 4 saw the winning trio finish within an hour of each other. Bob Howison's crew on the Elan 340 Aquavit IV managed to keep the boat moving throughout the night and morning to finish in a respectable time, thereby eclipsing the leaders and taking the Race 1 handicap honours. Gerry Firth's brand new Beneteau First 34.7 Skandia stayed on the pace to claim second place from Keith Dunn's Mountgay 30 Lunchcutter II that showed them the way and benefited from some new reaching sails especially purchased for this event.

The battle of the Hot Water boats (Non IRC Class 5 & 6) boils down to the number of engine hours each skipper submits as being an honest record of their motoring time. These are then multiplied by a factor then added to the elapsed time. Some boats have added on 10 to 14 hours to their time. Peter Jones on the Bashford Howison 41 Jenny III needed only two hours of motoring and by finishing at a respectable hour in the morning earned them a Class 5 victory. Jon & Sandra Stonham's Robert Perry 47 Tui Tai with all the family onboard weighed in with second place. The RSYC Sailing Academy's Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 36.2 Panacea skippered by Dave Moxey got in just before the official cut-off time to record a well deserved third place.

The grounding of Simon Morris's Sirius 1935 left the door wide open for RSYC Commodore Dato' Richard Curtis's Shanghai Gaff Rigged Cutter Eveline to do the honours in Class 6, formerly the Classic Class. After a few no shows and some further deliberations by the committee Class 5 & 6 is being split into a more even contest based on the accumulated Race 1 finish and motoring hours. The two catamarans now join in with the grand old ladies. Aussie Don McGrath's Oram 44 Cat Out of the Bag now becomes the winner in front of Eveline and John Mitchell's Crowther Cat 35 Merpati Putih from Indonesia slots in third place.

Capt. Marty (Martins) Rijkuris

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Last Updated ( Sunday, 18 November 2007 )