Yachting: Dead cows not only Monsoon Cup issue

Kuala Terengganu is a devout Muslim city. Photo / Michael Burgess

Dodging a dead cow on the way to the bottom mark counts as one of the more unusual experiences in Peter Gilmour's long sailing career.

The laconic Australian has competed at America's Cup level since 1992, for five different syndicates. He has been crowned world match racing champion on a record four occasions and raced in locations from Ekaterinburg in southern Russia to Hamilton in Bermuda.

But nothing matches the first few years of the Monsoon Cup, a unique regatta held at Kuala Terengganu in Malaysia, a coastal town 500km northeast of Kuala Lumpur. The sailors race on a basin fed by two rivers, which make for tricky currents and interesting conditions.

Gilmour has raced in every Monsoon Cup since its inception in 2005 and has had to contend with all manner of obstructions on the course.

"There have been branches, trees and even an occasional dead animal," says Gilmour. "There is nothing like heading for a mark and suddenly seeing a dead cow or goat in your way."

The source of the rivers is the massive Lake Kenya, situated in the mountains and reputedly containing half the volume of the great lakes in the United States. When the monsoon rains come - as they often do - it can dramatically affect the racing; sweeping all kinds of objects downstream onto the sailing course. Gilmour talks of one year when, after a "serious" amount of rain, local authorities were forced to open the flood doors further up the river.

"We literally had 1.5 to 2 metres of volume more than we are used to, which really changed the event," recalls Gilmour. "Luckily there was a strong wind which stopped us being swept out to sea."

"It is an incredibly difficult place to sail," confirms current world match racing champion Ben Ainslie. "Especially when there are light winds to go with the strong currents. I was completely gobsmacked the first time I went there."

Malaysia has little sailing culture and the initial proposal for the country to host a leg of the world match racing tour was seen as a pipedream. But the proponents (Gilmour was a major influence) eventually sold their vision to the local and federal governments and, from humble origins, the Monsoon Cup is now the second biggest sporting event in the country (behind the Formula One grand prix) and has by far the largest prizemoney on the tour. The purpose-built marina allows spectators a brilliant view of the action, with the yachts often only 15m away from the viewing platforms.

The event has transformed a sleepy fishing village into an international class resort. Aside from the new marina, the airport has quadrupled in size and an estimated 1200 jobs have been created around the event. There are several new hotels; one resort-style complex adjacent to the marina is so big you need a golf buggy just to get to your room.

In the midst of all this modernisation, Terreganu remains traditional. It is in one of the most devoutly Islamic provinces in Malaysia. It is notionally illegal to buy alcohol, although beer and wine can be procured at several Chinese restaurants in the city and the visiting sailors and event entourage tend to stock up at the duty free in Kuala Lumpur airport. There seems to be one bar of note which, apart from a pool table, has just enough space to swing several of the large cats found in the tropical country.

There are also no cinemas in the city of 400,000, with religious leaders fearful of the moral decline that Western movies would bring. Strolling hand in hand with your girlfriend is permissible; being caught in a hotel room or darkened car with the same female provokes a fine of up to 5000 ringgit ($2108) - equivalent to around two months' salary for the average Malaysian.

Failure to pay could lead to a jail term, while punishments are considerably more severe for adultery. A squad of 'police' from the religious department administer adherence to the Islamic codes. This team often rely on tip-offs and are said to conduct random raids on car parks, hotel rooms and moonlit parks.

On a visit to a local mosque, one could see hundreds of children sitting with their tutors, reciting verses from the Koran.

They spend hours each day at the mosque as part of a school holiday programme - quite a contrast with the New Zealand diet of shopping malls, amusement parks and Nintendo.

The locals remain mostly mystified by the sport but thousands are attracted to the event. This year the King of Malaysia raced in a pre-event regatta and also attended the opening ceremony amid much fanfare.

It was quite a departure from his first visit, when the marina was still under construction. Gilmour recalls that the lift wasn't certified and instead they had a worker sitting on top of the lift box who worked the uncompleted machinery so the lift would move between floors.

"When the King entered, we told him it was a voice-activated lift," laughs Gilmour. "We said 'third floor' and nothing happened. I yelled again - about three times louder - 'third floor' and we eventually moved." A few years later, the king found the story hilarious.

MONSOON CUP CHAMPIONS
* 2010: Ben Ainslie (GBR)
* 2009: Adam Minoprio (NZL)
* 2008: Peter Gilmour (AUS)
* 2007: Ian Williams (GBR)
* 2006: Peter Holmberg (SWE)
* 2005: Peter Gilmour (AUS)