Life In Borneo

Posted by Daniel on June 28th, 2009 in Culture & Traditions, Events

The 24th Sabah Dragon Boat Race 2009 was held at Likas Bay on the third weekend of June. The two-day event, which ran from 20 June until 21 June 2009, saw the participation of 65 teams. The participants consisted of teams mainly from Sabah, and Brunei Darussalam is the only country outside of Malaysia that returned for this year’s race. Last year’s champion, Pertubuhan Peladang Kawasan Tuaran, also returned for this year’s event.

Two Days of Dragon Boat Race
This year’s race was held for two days, with the heats conducted on Day 1 of the event. The final race was held on Sunday, 21 June 2009.

The final race was attended by a host of dignitaries, including the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment Sabah, Yang Berhormat Datuk Masidi Manjun and Sabah’s Head of State Tun Datuk Seri Panglima Haji Ahmadshah bin Abdullah.

Champions again
The team from Pertubuhan Peladang Kawasan Tuaran defended their title in the Sabah Head of State’s Trophy event, and brought home RM4,000 of prize money. Last year’s second place winner, the team Terayung, won second place for this year’s race. Pasukan Kebangsaan Negara Brunei Darussalam, last year’s third place winner, could only manage a fifth placing.

Results
Here are the finals results of the 24th Sabah Dragon Boat Race 2009

Congratulations to all the winners of the 24rd Sabah Dragon Boat Race 2009.

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Posted by Daniel on December 15th, 2008 in Events, Sports

The F2 World Cup Powerboat Race 2008 was held at the Kota Kinabalu Waterfront from 12th to 14th of December 2008. It was the final race of this year’s World Cup Powerboat series, and also the event’s second consecutive time being held on the shores of Sabah.

The fastest Powerboat on the South China Sea

There were 18 participants in the F2000 World Cup Powerboat Race, but the spotlight was mainly on two racers – the reigning world champion Colin Jelf and the rising star from Italy, Alex Carella. There was no doubt that Colin had already won the F2 World Cup title from the points accumulated, so all eyes were on who was going to win the Malaysian leg of the F2000 World Cup Series race.

The talented young Italian clocked impressive lap times through the Free Practice and Timed Trials. He continued on to win both the Speed Record and Match Race on the second day of the race.

Colin and Alex met in the final match race on Sunday, but Alex powered through to the finish line just slightly ahead of the Briton to win the Grand Prix race. Colin Jelf won Second place, while Jean Baptiste Thomas won Third.

Here is the race result for the Sabah 2008 F2000 World Cup Powerboat Race:

For more race results, head to http://www.powersportevents.com.my.

Congratulations to Alex Carella and the Steeltrade Racing Team for a superb win, and to Colin Jelf and his team Jelf Racing for winning the overall F2 World Cup Series. We give our hands to the organizers of the event, Powersports Events Sdn. Bhd. for succesfully hosting the F2 World Cup Powerboat Race for the second consecutive year.

Overall Standing Championship Points :

45 points – Colin Jelf
29 points – Jonas Andersson
27 points – Owen Jelf
21 points – Ugis Gross
20 points – Alex Carella
20 points – Jean Baptiste Thomas
19 points – Rick Haakonsen
16 points – Yousef Al Robayan
12 points – Michael Nylund
10 points – Johan Coenradi
06 points – Sven Janson
05 points – Nick Bisterfeld
03 points – Gianni Manici
01 points – Maritns Bergholcs

Information Sources:
http://www.formula2boat.com/index.html
http://www.powersportevents.com.my/
http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news.cfm?NewsID=61493

Photos by Eshark and Zie

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Posted by Daniel on June 21st, 2008 in Events, Sports

Qu Yuan would have been delighted to know that his final act of protest against a corrupt government have inspired an internationally-renowned watersport that brings out the best from ordinary people. On 15 June 2008, The 23rd Sabah Dragon Boat Race 2008 had just that, when a team of ordinary local fishermen won this year’s Sabah Head of State’s Trophy, despite facing an ocean of a task of defeating the reigning champion Brunei. There were 57 teams altogether that took part in this year’s event, including each from the Philippines and China.

The race went on, come rain or shine

Rain did not stop the participants or the spectators from coming to see this event. People started filling up Likas Bay beach as early as seven in the morning. Hawkers set up food stalls to the delight of the spectators, as food is always a welcomed sight whenever there is a six hour event going on.

The event was officiated by the Chairman of Sabah Tourism Board Yang Berbahagia Dato’ Seri Tengku Zainal Abidin, Organising Committee Chairman Yang Berbahagia Datuk Irene B. Charuruks and the President of Sabah Chinese Cultural Association Yang Berbahagia Datuk Chau Tet On. Among the dignitaries that attended the event was the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment of Sabah Yang Berhormat Datuk Masidi Manjun, the Chief Minister of Sabah Yang Amat Berhormat Datuk Seri Panglima Musa Haji Aman and Sabah’s Head of State Tun Datuk Seri Panglima Haji Ahmadshah bin Abdullah.

0:01 seconds.

That was the amount of time that separated the third, the second and the champion of the Sabah Head of State’s Trophy for the 23rd Sabah Dragon Boat Race 2008. Despite having only two weeks of training, the Pertubuhan Peladang Tuaran dragonboat team managed to beat reigning champion Brunei and bring home the grand prize – a trophy and a cash prize of RM 4,000.00.

The Brunei national team only managed to get a third place in the Sabah Head of State’s Trophy, as the second place was won by another local team from Tuaran, Sabah.

Here are the final results for the 23rd Sabah Dragon Boat Race 2008:

Sabah Head of State’s Trophy

First – Pertubuhan Peladang Tuaran

Second – Terayung, Tuaran

Third – Brunei Darussalam National Team

Sabah Chief Minister’s Trophy

First – Shangri-La’s Rasa Ria Resort B

Second – Pekayuh Skim Remaja, Brunei Darussalam

Third – Tuaran F1

Sabah Chinese Cultural Association President’s Trophy (Men’s Open Category)
First – Penang Forward Sports Club
Second – Persekutuan Persatuan Cina Tawau
Third – Persatuan Teo Chew Tawau

Sabah Chinese Cultural Association President’s Trophy (Mixed Open Category)
First – Sabah Chinese Cultural Association
Second – The Federation of Chinese Association Sabah
Third – Hokkien Association Dragon Team

Sabah Dragon Trophy
First – Mengkabong Mix Team, Tuaran
Second – Nexus Resort Karambunai
Third – Tam Villa, Tuaran

Sabah Tourism Trophy
First – Shan Sui Golf and Country Club Resort B, Tawau
Second – Tay Travel (B), Kota Kinabalu
Third – Shan Sui Golf and Country Club Resort A, Tawau

The race ends for 2008

Congratulations to all the winners of the 23rd Sabah Dragon Boat Race 2008. We hope to see all the participants again next year.

Sources:
Qu Yuan reference from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qu_Yuan
Results from http://dragonboat.sabahtourism.com/2008/results.html

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Posted by Raz on April 7th, 2008 in Events, Festivals

A traditional Chinese festival that evolved from myths and legend, that has grown into one of the main international highlights of the year. This exciting race has attracted many teams from as far as Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, China and Brunei.

Date : 15 June 2008
Organiser : Sabah Tourism Board
Venue : Likas Bay, Kota Kinabalu
Contact Person : Zachary Mobijohn
Telephone : +6088 232121
Email Contact : zachary@sabahtourism.com
Event Website : http://dragonboat.sabahtourism.com

source: www.sabahtourism.com

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Posted by Raz on March 20th, 2008 in Events

Organised in conjunctiong with the Duanwu Festival as a sign of respect for the Dragon spirit, the Sandakan Dragon Boat race will see some of the top teams compete against each other to be crowned champion.

Date: 05 July 2008
Organiser: Persatuan Masyarakat Tionghua Bersekutu Sandakan, Sabah
Contact Person: Organising Chairman
Telephone: +60 89 224026
Email Contact: Catherin.Chua@sabah.gov.my

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Posted by Raz on March 10th, 2008 in Events

Semporna comes to life with the Bajau seafarers’ unique festival of Regatta Lepa where a competition of the most beautiful traditional sailboats is held. Witness other out of the ordinary tele-matches such as the boat tug-of-war, kayak race and boat racing. The town of Semporna is also home to fresh seafood and gateway to the world’s best dive sites.

Date: 18 – 20 April 2008
Organiser : District Office of Semporna / Sri Pelancongan Sabah Sdn Bhd
Contact Person : Jaafar Haji Ismail / Zachary S. Mobijohn
Telephone : +6089 781518, 232121
Fax : +6089 781472, 265540
Email Contact : zachary@sabahtourism.com

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