State urged to provide more support

THE 8th Royal Langkawi International Regatta, organised by the Royal Langkawi Yacht Club (RLYC), will be held on the island from Jan 8 to 15 next year.
RLYC senior manager Abdul Rahman Mahani also said that Kuah jetty, where the sailing boats would be moored, was well protected, even in the event of a tsunami.

“We have about 30 to 40 teams taking part annually in the regatta and the same number are expected for the event next year.
“In fact, the inaugural Regatta held here in 2003 was a great success with 68 teams taking part,” he said.
Abdul Rahman added that more should be done by the state government to promote the event, as each regatta cost about RM1.5mil to organise.

“Although the state always participates in the event, it should do more to improve the media coverage.
“Our main sponsor BMW has also been very supportive of the event.
“The state should also think of helping us out financially as well,” he said.
Abdul Rahman said that Langkawi had the biggest harbour in the country for sailboats and also had dockyard facilities.

He also said the island was strategic as it was the centre point between Phuket in Thailand and Port Klang in Selangor.
To make the race more interesting last year, the organisers had the Langkawi Regatta around the many small islands — Pulau Timun, Pulau Tuba, Pulau Dayang Bunting, Pulau Beras Basah, Pulau Intan Kecil and Pulau Intan Besar — in Langkawi.

This year, it would probably be the same depending on the weather and wind conditions.
In the Langkawi Regatta, there are five classes — Multihull, Racing, Club, IRC and Speedboat — and all the boats will set off at the same time.

Anaklangkawi :-
State & federal government should support initiative by clubs like this having this kind of event. Not only it get participant from all over the world but also it will show the highlights of Langkawi as one of tourist destination. Isn't it benefits all?