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Brunei-Palawan Yacht Rally

Frequently Asked Questions

Organisers:

The Brunei-Palawan Yacht Rally is an event under the banner of the BIMP-EAGA Tourism Council; the tourism arm of the BIMP-EAGA Business Council. The BIMP-EAGA Business Council is the private sector component of BIMP-EAGA, with fifth nation status and voting capacity in the BIMP-EAGA government meetings and working groups. 

This rally links and includes territory from all three BIMP-EAGA nations: Brunei, Malaysia and Philippines.

This rally combines the tourism based business capabilities and local knowledge of BIMP-EAGA regional members with the rally concept, design and co-ordination of INTREPIDYACHTING; a Brunei based licensed tour operator with extensive experience in recreational boating.

The rally is designed and managed from the INTREPIDYACHTING and IntrepidTours office in central Bandar Seri Begawan - Brunei Darussalam - on the north-west coast of Borneo.

The rally organising team in the BSB office is lead by Allan Riches, an Australian, and resident of Bandar Seri Begawan since 1993, when he was invited to Brunei to establish their Outward Bound centre. A qualified educator (B.Ed., M.Ed.Admin) and Member of the Australian College of Education, Allan's educational career has focused on adventure based outdoor activities as the educational medium. As a Churchill Fellow, he studied Outward Bound and related educational institutions around the world to learn from their educational techniques, operational safety and organisational management. He developed and operated the largest Outward Bound centre in the world before coming to Brunei. A sailor since the age of 11, yacht owner since 1991, and a Yachting Australia certified Yachtmaster Instructor, his combination of skills and experience brings a journey-of-discovery theme to the design and operation of the Brunei-Palawan Yacht Rally

Origin of the name:

Equator-Asia is the recently adopted brand name for tourism in BIMP-EAGA. This name will begin to feature noticeably in promotional materials for tour packages that integrate tour products from two or more BIMP-EAGA member nations.

As an official event of BIMP-EAGA tourism, the Brunei-Palawan Yacht Rally will incorporate stops in three member nations and highlight  emerging  Community-Based Sustainable Ecotourism (CBET) SMEs and venues.

How to register my interest?

Please use the inquiry form at the bottom of this page to add your name and yacht to those interested to join the 2010 rally. Please remember each rally fleet will be limited to a maximum of 15 yachts and approximately 50 people. There may be more than one rally fleet with multiple departures about two weeks apart.

Where do we meet in Brunei?

The Royal Brunei Yacht Club is the host venue for the start of the Brunei-Palawan Yacht Rally. RBYC provides a base of support for crews as they make preparations to depart Brunei. The club caterers at both club houses - Serasa and Kota Batu - provide an excellent menu of local and western meals. Christmas and New Year at RBYC promises will be a great way to enjoy the festive season, meet other rally participants, and prepare for departure. The adjacent anchorage is convenient, with tender access to the club premises.

RBYC's facilities, great meals and friendly atmosphere have a strong and popular reputation amongst cruising yachts.  

What equipment & capabilities does my yacht need?

Well-found cruising yachts will find the demands of cruising through the warm and relatively placid waters of BIMP-EAGA to be easy-going, compared to higher latitude cruising. 

A list of required and recommended on-board equipment and facilities will be available to participants after registration.

Can Motor Yachts participate  too?

Yes, motor yachts can join the Brunei-Palawan Yacht Rally. 

How do we stay in contact before the rally?

The email address for all communication about the rally - before and during - is  yachting(at)bruneibay.net 

If you need to phone us, the number is +673 2 221685/6

If you need to fax us, the number is +673 2 221687

If you need to call using Skype, the Sype identity is imsallan

How do we stay in contact during the rally?

Communication from/to the organisers, local service providers and tour operators during the rally, will be provided via BRUNEI BAY RADIO.

Participating yachts will require a reliable HF/SSB radio equipped with the assigned marine radio channels/frequencies used by BRUNEI BAY RADIO (see this link), the Marine Emergency Frequencies, and preferrably, the full range of international marine channels/frequencies.

HF/SSB voice communication will be utilised for participating yachts to stay in contact during the rally. Between key venues, we anticipate the rally fleet to separate into smaller groups of two to four yachts to follow personal preferences in terms of anchorages, activities and timing of longer passages. A HF/SSB voice sked will be established so yacht can stay in contact, and so voice contact with BRUNEI BAY RADIO can occur.

All yachts will require an on-board email capability with attachment capability. This will be used to send rally information updates, plus details of events, facilities, services, tours etc for the upcoming key port or venue.  On-board email will also ensure all participants can request/obtain updated weather information (eg: GRIB charts or METAREA forecasts and warnings) to schedule longer passages, to order spare-parts, organise crew changes, book upcoming local tours and reliably communicate direct with rally organisers for any questions or special requirements.

Yachts equipped with SailMail will receive a complimentary subscription to BRUNEI BAY RADIO's  extended HF/SSB radio email service for the duration of the rally. This BBRemail service uses identical hardware/software as SailMail, and runs from within the same copy of the on-board email software - AirMail - that manages message creation and send/receive functions for SailMail.   BBRemail allows transfer of attachments (such as jpg, word, excel files), and additional daily connection time.

The BIMP-EAGA Tourism Cluster wants you to to have email with attachment capability so you can keep your blogs and websites regularly updated with pictures and information about the places you visit during the rally.

And we want to make the amazing places in BIMP-EAGA accessible to those cruisers with children doing distance learning and also those cruisers who need to maintain contact with the business or investments that fund your cruising. There is so much more to see, try, learn and enjoy in BIMP-EAGA than just what can be experienced when constrained by the need to cruise from one Wi-Fi equipped marina, anchorage or yacht club, to the next.  

If you need to arrange a SailMail or Winlink (licensed HAM operators only) or BBRemail subscription, or fit a new HF/SSB radio, or buy a Pactor modem before the rally starts, please contact the regional Pactor modem distributor - Marc Robinson:  www.pca.cc   - marc@pca.cc . Marc is expert at making new HF/SSB radio email systems work with the minimum of fuss, and also with troubleshooting existing systems.
 

How much does this rally cost?

The cost will be based on three levels:

1. A fee for participation to cover the cost of organising and managing the event. This is expected to be in the vicinity of Bn/Sg$500 per yacht, including two crew, for the 2 to 3 month event. An additional fee will apply for each additional crew member. The actual fee will be determined by early December based upon the outcome of discussions with sponsors, government regulators etc.

2. Optional local events, activities, tours, shore excursions/accommodation etc at major places the rally stops. We will be arranging anchorages, yacht security, support/information about local resources etc using the established capabilities of local tour operators, venues etc so owners feel comfortable about leaving yachts at anchor - for a night or two in some locations - to venture inland to experience what the region has to offer in terms of cultural and natural heritage experiences.

The list of activity and tour options, with prices, will be emailed to participants prior to arrival at each key stop. Payment can be using credit card to our Brunei based tour operation,  or direct to providers in local currency.

3. Free dinners, events, tours etc arranged by the local tourism industry and government supporters along the way.

 

Sailing the morning offshore breeze along the west coast of Borneo in January, during the NE/NW Monsoon season.  Clear skies after the overnight rain, and flat seas created by the rain and nearby weather shore.

Please return here to get further details
as the rally schedule develops.

If you would like to add your contact details to our database to be updated with details, please click on the For inquiries ....  link below.