Raja Muda Selangor International Regatta 2022

by RMSIR Media 25 Oct 2022 12:34 BST 19-26 November 2022

The Malaysian government recently announced that the next general election will be held on 19th November 2022. This directly affects the Raja Muda Selangor International Regatta as many participants, plus staff involved in the operations, will want to vote on that day - which is which is when Race 1 from Port Klang to Pangkor is scheduled. The Royal Selangor Yacht Club is making every effort to ensure that Malaysian citizens have the opportunity to vote if they wish, and that participating in the RMSIR will not prevent them being able to visit their registered voting centre. Therefore, the regatta committee intends to change the schedule of racing to start race one at 16:00 (moved from 12:00) on Saturday 19 November so that people can vote on their way to RSYC to start the regatta. Currently there will be no other changes to the schedule, with registration on 17-18 November, and the Skippers Briefing and Welcome Dinner on Friday as planned.

As Race 1 will obviously have a later cut-off time, the Pangkor dinner and prizegiving will be later to allow for boats to arrive at Pangkor. Because there may be some boats that cannot start race one,even with the delayed start time, there will be one discard given to the highest scored passage race. A L-Notice will be issued amending SI 10.1. Race 2 onwards is still as per the current plan.

We will be without the usual Marine Polis support until we get to Penang, but are currently working on alternative logistics.

The Competitors

Sailors from thirty countries will be competing for honours in Malaysia’s most prestigious regatta, including many familiar faces. Class 1 will see Sarab Jeet Singh and Nick Burns’ three-time winner Windsikher, a Welbourn 52, up against two Farr 40s: Rolf Heemskerk’s The Next Factor (2019 winner), and Gordon Ketelby’s Ramrod. Steve Manning’s Red Rum One, an Archambault A40, and the Malaysian Navy’s DK46 Uranus round out the class.

Class 2 sees Hans Rahmann’s Judel Vrolik Yasooda 21.5m, the longest boat in the fleet, pitted against Simon Piff’s Firstlight, a Beneteau First 50 and YP Loke’s Eagle, a Hanse 588.

Class 3 has two Beneteau Firsts, John Kara’s Insanity and Dominic Liddell’s Venture sailing against Max Palleschi’s Prime Factor, an IOR Farr 40.

Currently, Class 4 consists of Pang Kim Ann Daniel’s Mystic River, a Hanse 400e, competing against Lee Yi Min’s Silhouette, a Farr 40.7, along with Thomas Reckefuss’ X-99 Born in Fire, and Laurence Rusiecki’s Rainbow Dream, a Lavranos.

Class 5 has six boats competing: M J Logaa S’s Recca, a Beneteau First 45.4: Dato Alex Nah’s Virgo, a Hunter 49; Kamil Jonathan Muhiudeen’s Sinaran, an Irwin 52; Chris Mitchell’s Lady Bubbly, a Naut 40; Rama’s VG Offshore, a Dehler 38; and Zulkifli Radzi’s Hannakin, a Moody 37.8.

Class 6 has five yachts racing: Sophie Rahman’s Dash, a Yamaha 36; Ken Yap’s Millennium 2, a Hunter 326; Shah Azlan’sTofan, a Westerly Storm 33; Mustakim Ros Saidi’s (Royal Malaysian Navy) Marikh, a Contessa 32 OD; and Dato Richard Curtis’ venerable and much storied Eveline, a gaff-rigged cutter.

Tremendous friendships and rivalries have developed over three decades of racing. This is the 32nd Raja Muda, and many sailors mark the event in their calendar as “can’t miss”. This will be the first full-on Raja Muda since 2019. It promises to be a good one, with the usual mix of passage and harbour races always proving to be a great test of nautical skill and endurance. The regatta highlights the three most well-known islands on the Malaysian west coast (Pangkor, Penang, and Langkawi) and almost every regatta veteran has a tale or two to tell from these scenic hot spots.

If you have any comments or questions regarding the regatta, please email the committee at