Sailing On A Sunday

A couple of months back, I grabbed the opportunity to go out to the sea to catch some sailing action at the Royal Selangor Yacht Club. I was contented to be a spectator while the rest participated in a sailboat race.

I went out on a keelboat and followed John who had the task of setting the race course.

John looking up the course to set from the course guide book

Checking the direction of the wind. Barely visible in the photo, there's a white thread tied to the end of the pen.

We sailed pass a kelong and there were a number of fishing enthusiasts trying to get their catch of the day.

Once we sailed out to the right spot, we would anchor the boat.

Big orange markers are deployed at different areas to mark the course

Signal flags would be put up to instruct the teams; different flags had different meanings. Here are some examples and rules of racing.

Sound signals are made to denote the start of the race and to draw attention to the teams of the changing of signal flags; twice for signal flags raised and once for signal flags lowered.

Then while the race is in progress, John, his crew and I sat around to watch and wait.
At this point, John whips out his nice looking Australian hat and starts puffing on a pipe, making him look very much the part of a Skipper! :o)

I like his shoes. Cute Crocs!

Here are some pics of some sailboats in action that I managed to take with my little camera.

We started around 2 p.m. and it was windy and cloudy during the course of the race. When the teams finished racing at about 5 p.m plus, we headed back to the club where the teams got together for the official announcement of the results admist beer, food and more beer! Hahaha....

I certainly enjoyed myself that day and learnt a bit about sailboat racing. What a perfect Sunday it was! :o)

A Sunday well spent brings a week of content - Proverb