1. Sunfish (1979)

My very first sail boat in 1979 was nothing much but a piece of plank with a sail on it. It was a Sunfish. There was a centre board, rudder, a mast and one sail. It was even too small to be called a dinghy. The hull was made of fibre glass and it was small, meant for one person only. I first launched the Sunfish in the river near the Lutong bridge.

2. Optimist (1980)

The next sail boat I bought in 1980 was an Optimist from Peter Hammer for 1000 ringgit. He was overjoyed to have found a sucker buyer at last! That lousy pakeha (expatriate) did not tell me that the boat was suitable for kids only! It was very slow; but it cannot capsize because it was as wide as it was long and had three flotation chambers built into the plastic hull under the seats. Even if it fills completely with water, it cannot sink. So, it is an excellent boat for a beginner learning to sail. Thanks Peter. You were right, I did not capsize, not even once.

3. Yamaha Sea-hopper (1981)

The Seahopper was built by Yamaha in Japan to similar dimensions as the Laser. It actually looked very much like a Laser. It cost me 2000 ringgit; but it was worth every cent because this sail boat some times forgot that it had no engine! At about 15 knot cross wind, it would plane and consequently, the speed would increase suddenly with most of the hull out of the water, behaving like a speed boat!

4. 470 (1985)

The Panaga boat club was buying a whole new fleet of 470’s and they were selling their old boats in 1985 by auction. I entered a bid for 3 boats and was successful! All in all, including trucking, the 470’s cost me 2000 ringgit, a very reasonable price indeed.

5. Laser (1988)

My most worthwhile purchase was a Laser dinghy for 650 ringgit! The expatriate owner came from Oman and he packed this dinghy inside his 20 ft. container together with all his furniture. On arrival he discovered Piasau boat club which has 14 brand new Lasers and six 470’s! All of them were available for his use, as he was entitled to free memberships to all the three expats social clubs! I was the only person interested to buy his boat. It turned out to be an excellent boat, still in very good condition. I had many enjoyable sailing hours on it on my days off from the oil rig.