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Around the world in 412 days

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#1 ·
Around the world in 412 days
Tuesday January 2, 2007
By CHOW HOW BAN
Photos by SAMUEL ONG and ROYAL MALAYSIAN NAVY
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TheStar



THE new year holds a special significance for the Royal Malaysian Navy’s Tunas Samudera crew, who will be travelling around the world and competing in the prestigious Tall Ships Race 2007 in the Baltic Sea in Europe.

All the 88 young naval officers wish for is to put Malaysia on the world map and return to Malaysia safely at the end of their voyage.

Under the so-called Poland Project, Tunas Samudera – a 44m-long brigantine vessel – will depart on March 12 with 44 crew members. They will sail from Port Klang to Arhus in Denmark.

On its way to Europe, the ship will cruise through the Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea, Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.







Baltic adventure ahead: The Tunas Samudera will depart
on March 12 from Port Klang to Arhus in Denmark.





At the Baltic Sea where the race will be held from July 5 to Aug 7, the Malaysian sailors will compete with over 30 ships in Class A to sail without the motor to Kotka in Finland and Stockholm in Sweden before finishing off the race in Szczecin, Poland.

After the race, another 44 crew will take over the ship and sail across the Atlantic Ocean through the Panama Canal and on to Los Angeles and Hawaii in the United States and then to Australia before returning to their naval base in Lumut on April 27, 2008.

The contestants will participate in cultural and social events during the course of the race.

The Malaysian crew will also stop at places like Colombo, Cartegena in Spain, Cherbourg in France and Portsmouth in Britain to stock up on food and other necessities. They are expected to pay a visit to their navy counterparts based in Cherbourg, where two Malaysian Scorpene submarines are being built.

The entire voyage will cover 33,000 nautical miles and take about 412 days.








Ready to go: The first batch of 44 crew members of Tunas Samudera.





The ship’s commanding officer Lt Commander Ameir Azmi Kamalul Ariffin, who was one of the crew members who participated in the navy’s first Tall Ships Race in Bali in 1995, said the race organiser, Sail Training International, invited former navy chief Tan Sri Ilyas Din to send the navy for the race as it had the resources to do so.

“The navy chief was interested in this and thought of the impact the race could make on our young naval officers. The navy gives us its complete trust. Together with the crew, I have set a goal to finish in the top five in the competition,” he said.

He said this would be the first time in the navy’s history that young naval officers aged between 21 and 25 would be sailing around the world.

“With this experience, maybe we can organise the Tall Ships Race in Malaysia in conjunction with Lima (Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition) 2009,” he said.

He said he had been pushing the crew hard during training as he wanted the best out of them when they faced challenges at sea.

"They follow the training positively and look forward to flying the Jalur Gemilang abroad as ambassadors for Malaysia. They are well geared up for the race,” he said.

Lt Leong Tzu Hou, who was on board Tunas Samudera four months ago as maintenance officer, said he would be maintaining the ship’s generator, engine and other machinery to ensure a smooth voyage.

He said he did not foresee any problems leaving his family behind for a whole year.

“My family members are all for my going on this voyage. They are confident the stint will enhance my technical skills. I am very proud to be part of the crew,” he said when met at the Lumut naval base on Dec 28.

Lt Che Mohd Ghazali Mohd Alias said he had sailed on board the ship when he was studying at the Royal Malaysian Navy College in 2004 but now he had to learn everything about handling the sails and ropes again.

“I think we are going to face a lot of challenges in the race because we will be competing in the northern hemisphere instead of South-East Asia where we mainly sail. We are going to tell the world that Malaysia does not only sail in this region but also around the world,” he said.

He said his mother had been supportive despite the fact that she would miss him during the period

“She is a bit worried about me. But she wants me to learn all that I can. She feels that the experience will be good for me,” he said.

Lt Che Mohd Ghazali said he had complete trust in his shipmates as they had to rely on one another.

"Trust is important. Our lives depend on one another. When we are on top of the yacht’s arm, we have our friends at our back,” he said.

As for technician Bintara Muda Mohd Farid Yatim, his interest in sailing had grown overnight after undergoing months of intensive training.

“There will surely be lots of challenges in store for us to face. We won’t know what kind of sea conditions we will be encountering and will have to deal with the fact that we will be sailing for a long time,” he said, adding that he was proud to have been selected to serve on board Tunas Samudera.

“We’ll make sure the ship sails to Europe and returns to Malaysia safely,” he promised.

The crew will head to the Indian Ocean on Jan 2 for an endurance test for a month before leaving the country on March 12.

Tunas Samudera has three decks with a sail area of 740 sq m and facilities like cabin, laundrette, galley (naval term for kitchen) and head (toilet).

The construction of the ship began in Britain in 1988 and was completed in Singapore a year later before it was commissioned to the Navy in September 1989.
 
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#2 ·
Uncharted territory for Navy
Tuesday January 2, 2007
By CHOW HOW BAN
TheStar




FULL SPEED AHEAD: The KLD Tunas Samudera will go on a round-the-world
trip this year after the Tall Ships Race 2007 in March.


LUMUT: The crew of the Royal Malaysian Navy ship KLD Tunas Samudera set sail for the Indian Ocean today on a month-long endurance test to prepare them for a round-the-world voyage.

They will be on two ships – KLD Tunas Samudera and the Puteri Mahsuri – with 45 crew members on each vessel.

The 90 young naval officers, including two women, will be put through their paces on the high seas to polish their know-how of sea conditions.

After a first round of tests from today to Jan 16, they will return to the naval base here for a break before undergoing the second round from Jan 21 to Feb 9.

On March 12, KLD Tunas Samudera will sail off again with a 44-man crew for the Baltic Sea to participate in the prestigious Tall Ships Race 2007 in Europe.

The race will see more than 100 ships from all over the world competing.

After the race, on Aug 7, the naval ship will sail to Portsmouth, Britain, where a new 44-man crew will take over.

From there, it will sail across the Atlantic Ocean and through the Panama Canal to Los Angeles, Hawaii and Australia, returning to Malaysia on April 27 next year.

The entire voyage will cover 33,000 nautical miles and take 412 days.

KLD Tunas Samudera commanding officer Lt-Kdr Ameir Azmi Kamalul Ariffin, who will skipper the first leg of the voyage from Malaysia to Britain, said preparation began in December 2005.

“I have pushed them hard because I know they are going to face big challenges in the Baltic Sea,” he said.

“We are looking forward to sailing around the world for the first time in the navy's history.”
 
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