The 32nd Raja Muda Selangor International Regatta (RMSIR) saw this year’s fleet of 24 boats set sail from the Royal Selangor Yacht Club in Port Klang for Pangkor on Nov 19.
The sailors in this year’s regatta hail from 30 countries, including Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Australia and Turkey.
The passage race to Pangkor marked the first race of the regatta.
The fleet will sail in two more overnight passage races along Malaysia’s west coast and compete in inshore harbour races from now until November 26.
This year the regatta is offering a full format with events for Classes 1 to 7, after the event was skipped in 2020 and a simplified format for 2021 due to the global pandemic.
The Raja Muda Selangor, Tengku Amir Shah is sailing with the fleet once again this year – on the yacht Venture, skippered by Dominic Liddell.
“We are delighted to be able to hold the first full international regatta since 2019 and to host many old sailing friends and get to know some new ones.
“It is heartening to know that we are joined again by international boats and Malaysian crews,” said RMSIR chairman Jeff Harris at the regatta’s opening dinner at the Royal Selangor Yacht Club on Nov 18, 2022.
Present at the opening dinner was the guest of honour The Raja Muda Selangor Tengku Amir Shah who rang a traditional ship’s bell to signal the official start of the event.
Also present at the dinner was Selangor exco for tourism and environment Hee Loy Sian.
Hee said the Selangor state government, through Tourism Selangor, is funding the staging of the event to stimulate sailing activities and sporting events that induce healthy competition.
“The regatta serves as a forum for foreign participants to promote culture, arts and heritage while helping to enhance the state’s tourism sector,” he said.
Traditionally, the RMSIR takes a regular course along Malaysia’s west coast where participating boats push onwards from the start point at Port Klang and make their way, via the Malacca Straits, to various anchorages and moorings at the islands of Pangkor, Penang and Langkawi.
Regatta regulars who have returned to reclaim the Raja Muda Cup and the Class 1 title include three-time winner Windsikher, skippered by Sarab Jeet Singh and Nick Burns, and 2019 winner The Next Factor, skippered by Rolf Heemskerk.
The other challengers in Class 1 are Ramrod (Gordon Ketelby) and Uranus (Malaysian Armed Forces).
In Class 2, there will be a three-way fight between Hans Rahmann’s Yasooda, Simon Piff’s Firstlight and YP Loke’s Eagle for the Jugra Cup.
Class 3 will see Venture (Dominic Liddell), Red Rum One (Steve Manning), Insanity (John Kara) and Silhouette (Lee Yi Min) vying for the Dato’ Abdul Aziz Ismail Challenge Trophy. Joining them is the 2018 Class 4 winner Prime Factor (Max Palleschi) which pulled of its previous win with only a two-man crew.
Simon James is back as the principal race officer while Roger Wilson is joining the regatta for the first time as the rules adjudicator.
Malcolm Elliott is overseeing Results Coordination and Logistics. The Yellow Brick (YB) Yacht Tracking system is being used for live tracking of the overnight passage races from Port Klang to Pangkor, then Penang and finally Langkawi.
Those interested in watching the progress of the passage races will be able to do so via the YB Races app which can be downloaded onto any mobile device.
The remaining schedule for the 2022 RMSIR is as follows:
| DATE | ACTIVITY |
| 21 Nov 2022 | Race 2 from Pangkor to Penang |
| 22 Nov 2022 | Rickshaw races at Straits Quay, Tanjung Tokong, Penang |
| 23 Nov 2022 | Inshore races (Race 3 and Race 4) in Penang Harbour |
| 24 Nov 2022 | Race 5 from Penang to Kuah, Langkawi |
| 25 Nov 2022 | Inshore Races at Kuah Harbour, Langkawi |
| 26 Nov 2022 | Final Inshore Races in Langkawi at Kuah Harbour /Awards |
The Selangor state and its tourism promotion agency Tourism Selangor are the main sponsors for the 2022 RMSIR.
Other sponsors are the Langkawi Development Authority (LADA), Tourism Perak, Penang State Tourism and Hypergear Malaysia, who are providing the skipper’s bags.
The RMSIR was established in 1990 by RSYC’s royal patron, the Sultan of Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah (who was then Raja Muda Selangor) together with Dato’ Johan Ariff and Jonathon Muhiudeen.
Yachts competing in the regatta range from top class IRC1 racers to classic cruisers with long overhangs dating back over 100 years. Skippers and crew will have to cope with the unpredictable weather, overnight sailing, changing tactics and shipping traffic in the Straits of Malacca, all of which make the regatta a matchless experience.
The months of November/December typically mark the height of the northeast monsoon which bring conditions that are challenging enough even for seasoned sailors. Sailors can expect anything from glassy waters and light breeze to a sea heaving with two metres of swell or higher and 30 knot squalls blowing off the coast.
