A Steady Breeze Blows Fleet Round the Island

By Richard Blair

It was 0915 on position off the south coast of Pulau Tuba at the start of the 3rd day of the 8th Royal Langkawi International Regatta and some 14 boats were milling around waiting for the starting flags. Already half the fleet had set off, marking their own times in the 20-mile Round the Island Race. As the minute hand approached the cut off for individual starts a 'fashionably late' Da Vinci squeaked through and then the Start Boat got down to serious time-keeping.

The wind was blustering a steady 10 knots and the sea sported tufts of white as the starters hunkered down close to the line, their jibs and mains taut, nerves on edge and kites in spring-loaded bags. Phoenix with two lovely crewettes posted astern and a defunk radio, buzzed the Start Boat for directions and the Platus were showing off their tight turns.

Then there came the blood curdling sound of the starting horn and the spinnakers went flying. They were off with Evolution Racing and Hi Fi divig down to the coast and Jelik II remaining out to sea. The horizon was a field of white and a few hour glasses which were quickly sorted out by Rainbow Dream and the MYA Platu, and the fleet moved westward in a tight maelstrom.

As they approached the first gate at the southern tip of Pulau Dayang Bunting (where barren young girls bathe in the legendary 'fertility-charged' waters of an island lake), Jelik II was trailing Evolution and Hi Fi in her wake like two bridesmaids and the early leavers were feeding through the gate like a hill-billy spitting watermelon seeds.

Somewhere along the run Hi Fi hoisted her jib in addition to her main and spinnaker in an attempt to keep up but Jelik was having none of it as the three Racers made the turn around Pulau Singha Besar on the seaward course to gate 3 at Pulau Intan.

The Platus were keeping close company clustered just above Pulau Gubang Laut as the rest of the fleet turned north to gate 2 inside the south entrance to Bass Bay. The wind strengthened to 12 knots and the faster boats began to stretch their leads. Gate 2, in a cove on Pulau Singa Besar, proved to be the toughest trial as it fed into a hole in the wind leaving a number of early leavers fighting for angle. But Astra pulled a reverse, tacking out into the channel to gain way on Rascal and, then, the three multi-hulls met and Vertical Time tried the same tack with somewhat less success.

Rapscallion led the way into the Bay but Rascal and Astra were giving close chase. The lead Racers appeared briefly at the western entrance to the Bay but ran on to gate 3 before returning to the Bay. It looked like the Rovers might beat them in. Meanwhile all of the rest of the baots got strung out along the inner course which cut north to gate 4. And at the western end of the Bay Rascal, Astra and Rapscallion were fighting for position as they beat to the mark.

The climb up the bay against a fluky wind separated the winners from the also rans as crews clung to the gunwales and yachts careened on a 45 degree heel. At the finish line set just east of Tanjung Lembung Jetty the tension was electric as, one by one, in they came. It was ... Jelik II roaring in flashing her keel and winning overall line honours with a time of 2:51. Astra crossed second leading the Ocean Rover Division with Rascal nipping at her racing pennant and then Evolution. Rapscallion, 5th across, did a smart tack performance as she finished and Da Vinci, the last to depart early, came in just as fashionably as she'd left.

Premier Cruiser Katsu, who collected line honours the first two days, made it across impressing the hell out of a swarm of little Optimists out practicing their beginner maneuvers as Koull Baby climbed up behind her ahead of the SMU team, in the first Sports Boat to finish. But the real race was won by RQYS over the Platu crew from MAFSA. They slipped in just ahead of Vertical Time and Phoenix who led the IRC 1 Division across.