Raja Muda on the Rascal
27 November 2012 | Malacca Straits, November 2012
Well, we did it again : not only the Raja Muda regatta, but a first placing in our division of 8 competitors!
We had a repeat invitation from our friends on Rascal (Hallberg Rassy 54) to join them from Singapore to Langkawi - a 420 mile passage of which the last half constitutes the 6-race regatta known as the (23rd) Raja Muda. GT's birthday was spent on the first day of passage, celebrated with a bottle of champagne, followed immediately by a huge Malacca Straits storm! Another mega lightning storm followed pre-dawn the next morning so we were relieved to pull in to Port Klang for a 2 night rest stop before the racing started. Of the three passage races (starting at noon and lasting around 24 hours) we won two and forfeited one as we needed to start our engine to address some batten breakages in the main sail. The harbour races were the hardest - whilst only 15-20 miles, there's a myriad of tacking, jibing and kite sets & drops to deal with the fluky winds and strong currents: with one crew member short, we were all aches and pains at the conclusion of the races .... but all aches were eased with the copious amounts of alcohol and the winning of the trophies for the events, most of which are shown in the photo, along with Rascal's mascots, the Teddies!