Featured Member Interview

Captain of Sail, Ken Yap, on the leftmost side. Photo from Sept 2020 Bi-Monthly Trophy Race.

Name: Ken Yap Boat Name: s/v Millennium 2

For all our readers who perhaps don’t know you yet, can you give us a little introduction about yourself?

I’m Ken and I have been sailing for the past 20 years. For me sailing is a form of relaxation and it relieves me from stress I face at work. You can catch me at SAFYC almost every week doing preventive maintenance on my boat. Before the pandemic, I would go on a yearly sailing trips with my wife and 3 beautiful children around the region. Together with my family, we have been to Koh Lipe (Thailand), Sengat (Malaysia), and we have even sailed across the equator!

Could you tell us a little about how and why you got into sailing?

In my childhood days, I regularly went fishing with my Dad on our wooden powerboat or charter bumboats from “Ang Teng Beh Tau” - Clifford Pier. This made going out to sea very natural for me. Over the years, driving a powerboat around felt a little dull to me thus I decided to take up sailing and pick up some skills. My first sailboat was actually a hybrid, a MacGregor 256X. Not quite good as powerboat and also not quite good as sailboat, but gave me a taste of what sailing is about. This helped me seal my decision to get a keelboat and I have never looked back since. We know you as a familiar face in our sailing committee but how long you have been a member of the Club? What made you join us?

I’ve been SAFYC member for 22 years, since 1999! I did my PPCDL test at SAFYC-Sembawang and was impressed with the Club, hence I decided to join as member.

What do you love about SAF Yacht Club?

The people here are very friendly. There’s an ‘easy come easy go’ atmosphere - it reminds me of the kampong feeling. Whenever I need extra pair of hands, all I need to do is go over to the next boat or two and ask for help. It’s that easy.

Do you have a significant/memorable sailing or regatta experience you have?

The yearly Horsburgh Challenge Regatta is always memorable. We don’t call it Horsburgh Challenge for nothing. First few years of the regatta, I always get seasick whenever we head out to the starting line. This was due to the lack of sleep as there was a lot of preparation work for the boat to be done and also the clearing of CIQP at 5.00am. Not forgetting the thoughts of high waves and strong winds makes my stomach churn.

Not every year, but most years we get high waves and strong wind. During the 2020 Horsburgh Challenge, the wave and wind was so bad that it caused damage to my Jib sail extrusion and the furling drum. Just after the race upon returning to CSC, my engine quit on me. It was fouled up by scum churned up in the fuel tank during race. Though setbacks like these are not ideal, navigating through these difficulties have made me more prepared and an experienced sailor.

What do you do in your free time aside from sailing?

I am in the engineer profession therefore when I am not sailing, I enjoy working on boating stuff – fixing and improving certain aspects of my boat. I believe in preventive maintenance to corrective maintenance. About 6070% of my time is spent working on the boat as compared to sailing it. Its better to spend time at the dock fixing the boat rather than struggling with it out at sea. I also enjoy spending time with my family.

Why were you inspired to step up as the new Captain of Sail?

This is one way I can give back to our sailing fraternity and the Kampong spirit.

Can you give us a sneak-peek into your plans for the future of sailing at the Club?

We have Bi-Monthly Trophy Race but I think we should have more keelboat sailing events in-between the BTR. Also when Covid-19 situation allow, perhaps overnight sailing trips could be organised.

Captain of Sail, Ken Yap, on the rightmost side.