Escapade at the Raja Muda Selangor Regatta
For their first regatta, the owners of S/Y Escapade took on the Raja Muda Selangor International Regatta, dwarfing her fellow competitors...…
Five months and 7,000nm since handover, the owners of Escapade report that they have been fulfilling their cruising goals ticking off New Caledonia, far north Queensland, parts of the Indonesian archipelago, Singapore and more recently Malaysia en route.
As well as cruising, the owners had always planned to include some friendly racing in the agenda and with the family’s close ties to Malaysia, the Raja Muda Selangor International Regatta was the perfect opportunity to put Escapade up against some competition.
The Raja Muda Selangor International Regatta combines a series of passage races that make their way north along the west coast of Malaysia with a couple of days of inshore races in Penang and Langkawi. With seven racing classes competing, the regatta attracts a wide variety of yachts from IRC racers with full professional crews to classic cruisers with families onboard. Superyachts are a rarity in the fleet and Escapade dwarfed its closest rival in length by over 50ft.
Weather conditions for the races were challenging for the fleet with light breezes being experienced for much of the time on the water. The passage races, with occasional more robust breezes, allowed Escapade to stretch her legs and cruise through the fleet at a sedate 14kn. Unfortunately these stronger periods were the exception rather than the rule with lighter airs prevailing. Escapade placed 3rd in her class in the Penang to Langkawi passage race and for this result received the first piece of silverware for the yacht’s trophy shelf.
The owners told me that they were very happy with the way that Escapade sailed, and although many of the other boats were a lot lighter and were optimised for racing, Escapade apparently held her own in all but the lightest conditions.
“We are very happy with that first result and our guests, the crew and my family all had great fun at the regatta,” he said.
Escapade continues along her cruising schedule through South East Asia with the Asia Superyacht Rendezvous marked as the next appointment on the calendar.
Guy Waddilove of 8 Yachts represented the owners of Escapade throughout the build and commissioning of the yacht. Issue 14 of The Superyacht Owner features a full interview with one of the owners of Escapade. Members can access the magazine online here. To become a member and receive access online as well as received future issues in print, click here.
As well as cruising, the owners had always planned to include some friendly racing in the agenda and with the family’s close ties to Malaysia, the Raja Muda Selangor International Regatta was the perfect opportunity to put Escapade up against some competition.
The Raja Muda Selangor International Regatta combines a series of passage races that make their way north along the west coast of Malaysia with a couple of days of inshore races in Penang and Langkawi. With seven racing classes competing, the regatta attracts a wide variety of yachts from IRC racers with full professional crews to classic cruisers with families onboard. Superyachts are a rarity in the fleet and Escapade dwarfed its closest rival in length by over 50ft.
Escapade, spinnaker raised, underway. (credit: Andrea Francolini)
Weather conditions for the races were challenging for the fleet with light breezes being experienced for much of the time on the water. The passage races, with occasional more robust breezes, allowed Escapade to stretch her legs and cruise through the fleet at a sedate 14kn. Unfortunately these stronger periods were the exception rather than the rule with lighter airs prevailing. Escapade placed 3rd in her class in the Penang to Langkawi passage race and for this result received the first piece of silverware for the yacht’s trophy shelf.
The owners told me that they were very happy with the way that Escapade sailed, and although many of the other boats were a lot lighter and were optimised for racing, Escapade apparently held her own in all but the lightest conditions.
Escapade during the regatta. (Photo credit: Guy Nowell/RMSIR)
The owner also pointed out the fact that Escapade was sailed with four sailing crew whereas most of the other boats had between 12 and 14 crew, many of whom were professional sailors hired for the race.“We are very happy with that first result and our guests, the crew and my family all had great fun at the regatta,” he said.
Escapade continues along her cruising schedule through South East Asia with the Asia Superyacht Rendezvous marked as the next appointment on the calendar.
Guy Waddilove of 8 Yachts represented the owners of Escapade throughout the build and commissioning of the yacht. Issue 14 of The Superyacht Owner features a full interview with one of the owners of Escapade. Members can access the magazine online here. To become a member and receive access online as well as received future issues in print, click here.
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