The Third party was at the Four Season resort in the north of the island, hosted by Malaysian Airlines. The Four Season was not officially open, so our group was the first to see the impressive five-star resort. Food came in splendidly spread out displays, including many Malay dishes, Sushi and – of course - the obligatory roast beef off the bone, sumptuous salad combinations down to a mouth watering desert collection including jellies, various cakes including cheesecake and Tiramisu with a tang of alcohol. All was washed down with copious supplies of wines, beers and spirits - all provided by the sponsors. A heavy evening shower did little to dampen the spirits of those who attended. The big announcement that night – made by Wolfgang Schlimme, managing director of BMW Malaysia – was that crew of the racing mono division’s winner would be flown by Malaysian Airline to Valencia, Spain to meet the BMW Oracle crew in person. BMX is pulling out all stops in an attempt to attract high profile racers to this event in line with their worldwide marketing approach to excellence in international competitions.

The Lay Day saw a sizable group appear at the Chinese-run Wonderland restaurant for a selection of seafood dishes. The Wonderland restaurant is always crammed with locals, yachties and tourists. Meals are consistently delicious and remarkably cheap. My favorite there is Hecko (a Mantis Shrimp in batter done in a Tamarind sauce with a tang of chili). The art is to pick out the shrimp and avoid the chilies. Some headed of to the Reggae Bar on Pantai Cenang Beach. To our delight our racing comrades on No Fixed Address and Charro spent the small hours there punishing themselves and numbing brain cells. The effect was apparent the next day, in particular when NFAs embarked on their prawn trawling exercise. If they had been sensible, they would have eaten seafood with us to cover their cravings. Not a prawn was to be seen when they finally got the remains of the spiny aboard. Charro made a less embarrassing attempt to collect their quota of prawns. The guys must have been drinking out of the same trough the night before as they suffered exactly the same symptoms.