GREETINGS FROM PULAU INDAH !
THIS IS THE MALAYSIAN SQUIB CLASS REPORTING.
As we say in Malaysia it is always HOT , it may be HOT and WET but it will be always be HOT , never more than a T shirt for sailing and with no seasons ( Which I think I miss l except the winter ) we can sail all year round and we do. Every Sunday unless we have cruiser racing on Saturdays ( the writer and Squib class captain, ever true to Hunter boats has an IMPALA OOD 28 shipped as the Squibs from UK. It’s a great light weather boat , unbeatable up wind but down wind with our oversized spi can be a real handful!
Back to Squibbing…………..
We have as usual been adding boats , our great thanks to fellow Burnham man Dan Wastnage for helping us find suitable boats , all middle range , no first 150 or post Hunter boats , I never cease to be amazed how good they look after 50 years. Of course the ply floors all go, so we now use a form of plastic board because the local ply has a life expectancy of less than 2 years.
Our numbers are 16 now with 17 and 18 are on the high seas off Africa , the freight for a 40 ft container is 50% up at GBP 3000. It was GBP 2000 so a GBP 2000 boat has gone from 3k to 4k landed. We also bring with each a longshaft outboard and a lifting bracket no VAT and not obtainable here ( all short shaft ) there is 10% tax on a low declared value and we need a lorry with lifter to get the container to the marina, which is only a couple of miles from the port. So landed GBP 4,500 or RM 27,000, I remember when we bought the first boat Buccaneer Squib 20, Oliver Lee told us it was the same as a Mini. Well a Mini here is now RM 250,000( high tax)
We have recently engaged a local husband and wife pair as the club sailing instructors, really so we can now give Learn to Sail courses as well as for our new junior club called the BERUANG (that’s Malay for a Sun Bear , not as cuddly as the other better known Malaysian animal the Orang Utang but a nice name ) , the instructors give tuition on basic seamanship including the Squibs, our main club class. We sail from a marina with a fearsome 4 knot tide , it is possible to sail into our berths, we can park either side of the pontoon and amazingly 90% of the time the wind is down the river from the west. It varies from southwest to north west but that’s it usually getting up around 1230 when we start. We start and finish from a line of the marina pillars and we only need 2 courses rounding a port entry marker about 4 miles out sneeking round avoiding the container ships or a mooring buoy half way there used with adverse tides. Race times range between 2 andhalf and 3 hours. A cold beer or two is very welcome after this
.
We sail every Sunday , numbers vary from 3 to 8 boats , it is disappointing it is not higher , part of the problem as set out below is that people want to sail but not to race, the Commodore /class captain finally succeeded in winning the points trophy in his Cabaret 7 x Quantum from Weymouth the 2 previous years have been different boats Alice and Kittiwich , we have club evenings in KL the 4 th Thurday of every month at our KL base Out of Africa restaurant pub and great place to meet
What we love about the Squibs is the flexibility, 100% safe for beginners ( around 50% of our members have never sailed before and 25% more have very limited experience ) but great to race and as one designs very similar speed, provided the bottom is clean
Our greatest problem is our location 40 miles from Kuala Lumpur although the road is good, either either a drive through the villages and palm oil plantations and unbelievable and unavoidable pot holes, or over a sand track which wil eventually be the new road. The sea is fantastic clear water and only 3 miles from the open sea , the Malacca Straits.
We are looking forward to our 3rd Malaysian Championship on 7,8 ,9 June 2024, as before we have an excellent Race Officer in Simon James who has much experience of large sailing events and sets great courses. Last year we invited two Malaysian Olympic squad sailors and a SEA gold medallist. Our two best sailors were unable to compete and the visitors were first second and third. They were all very impressed with the Squibs and was interesting to see how their first time on the boats worked. Amongst our own sailor sno less than members had a race win.
This year we are inviting representatives of other Malaysian sailing clubs to attend and we will provide the boats. Of course we want to attract more members and of course make them Squib sailors
PSC are the only sailing club in Malaysia with regular racing. We would love to see Squib sailors from UK and have them sail with us. We are keen to know more about our Squibs’ histories, too.
Jeremy Camps
Acting Class Captain
PSC Squib fleet
15/4/24 .