You’ve got to envy Paul Penders’ own staff chemist, Yvonne Nobel! She joined a sailing crew for 5 days at the races. If you are shivering away in winter snow or holed up in an air-conditioned office at a computer or just dreaming of a day at the beach, take a ‘mini-vacation’ and enjoy her pictures of sailing on the Andaman Sea at the border between Malaysia and Thailand.

Looking out in front of the Paul Penders offices to beautiful Kuah harbor, we could see 40 boats from 12 countries gathered for the annual Royal Langkawi International Regatta. With days with light breezes, gentle waves, and lots of sunshine, Yvonne and others got some great pictures – including several of a near collision with another yacht!

Yvonne reports:

I had five wonderful days on the water. The wind was a bit too low for our sailboat. The boat is big so we went slowly and we managed to reach the finish line only 3 times (hahaha).

The last day was great because the wind was better and we managed to start with the two other boats in our group. For a while we did great but then the wind went down and we lost speed and arrived again last at the finish.

The committee boat had to wait for us every day because everybody was already home and we were still struggling to finish. But the spirit was good on board and we did not give up.

I had a great time, learned a lot about sailing, and will join again next year.

Luring sailors from across Malaysia, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Thailand, and as far afield as Japan, Great Britain, Germany, Denmark and Norway, this small regatta brings important income to the remote north Malaysian island chain in the Andaman Sea.

One of the (many) reasons, Paul Penders chose to base the company and his home on the tropical island of Langkawi in Malaysia is that he loves the sea. A former boat owner himself, he still dreams of sailing the world’s oceans. Too busy with the company to sail much, instead he and his family maintain their interest in the regattas and events that bring people from around the world to Langkawi.

As a community-minded company, we see the value of attracting people to the island who will care about its unique qualities and provide new sources of income to its residents.

Awarded a UNESCO ‘Geopark’ status, the 99 islands are renowned for their unique geology and tropical flora and fauna. For centuries, sailors have anchored their boats here, sailing in from the famed (and infamous) Malacca Straits. There are even stories of pirates leaving buried treasures in island caves!

Our own Katja Penders presents a prize package of PP products to the
skipper of the yacht "Fantasia" at the Langkawi Regatta in January.

After the first day’s sailing, our own Katja Penders was invited to be a presenter to give prizes to the winning crews. She brought along ‘pamper packs’ of Paul Penders products – and sailors told us they were delighted to have moisturizers, sun protection, shampoo and other products to help combat the effects of sun, wind and salt spray at sea!

Take a mini-vacation. Enjoy this video slideshow with scenes from the regatta!

By Teviot Fairservis.

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