We were looking for a convenient location to access the rail network to KL international airport and the Royal Selangor Yacht Club at Port Klang seemed to tick the box. We looked at their glossy website, which has glamorous photos of yachts and the new Club building and it looked to be good value too (4 RM per metre/day or 20 RM/week). It even included the use of the large swimming pool.

We already knew from Noonsite that the RSYC, “sits in a soup of sludge, sewage, debris and other detritus, stirred by fierce currents and the wash of a myriad of tramp steamers” and it definitely does but we hoped that the location would outweigh these disadvantages.

The website suggests that berths for visiting boats are scarce and skippers should pre-book. We tried to do this via email but had no answer. The advice by phone was to just turn up on the reception dock (on the Yacht Club side of the river) and ‘register’. The directions to the RSYC, given on their website, are excellent. We couldn’t raise the club by VHF on our approach but a Club employee waved us into the reception dock when we turned up at close to slack water. We had thought that if there was no chance of a berth, we would use the small craft anchorage in the approaching river. In fact, that area is full of moorings holding barges and small ships and was deep: hardly enough room to deploy an anchor and probably plenty of hazards to snag on the bottom.

When we entered the marina office, we realised why the VHF had been no use: the set looked like a relic from WW2. In fact, the security guys do carry a handheld VHF and often respond to it. Security for the pontoons seemed to be good from land-based threats although there were notices in the Club warning of thefts from boats in the boatyard.

The RSYC has very friendly and helpful employees and we were made to feel at home straight away. We had arrived on the receiving dock in the evening and were able to stay there until slack water the next day. That gave us the opportunity to enjoy the Club’s terrace, bar and restaurant, which is very pleasant in the late evening when you can’t see the dreadful state of the river.

The website is glamorous but doesn’t expect all the facilities to equal this. The Yacht Club building is large and well appointed, however, very little money seems to have been spent recently on the concrete floating pontoons in the river. The bolts which once held each section together have parted in some places; cargo straps tied between cleats now hold these docks together. This may be satisfactory most of the time but we had, unknowingly, arrived at the highest tide / strongest current of the year.

The next day, we moved to the berths reserved for visiting yachts, (first river pontoon on approach to the RSYC)) and tied up there, with another visitor who, like us, was transiting the Malacca Straits southwards. We settled down to a relaxing afternoon while we watched the seriously rapid currents (greater than 5 knots) rushing past the boat.

Suddenly, we were made aware that the pontoon was breaking up! The cargo-strap ‘repair’ to the sections behind the visiting boats had been put under such strain by the tide, plus afternoon sea breeze, plus wash from tug and barge, that it had clean snapped off a cleat. We quickly roped the sections together using the remaining cleats (not that many of them) but had to wait in trepidation until the next slack water when the Club guys could make a stronger repair.

That was the first time we have ever been on ‘anchor’ watch while tied to a dock. We had a sleepless night with the boat prepared for a quick getaway (knives next to all lines, and engine ready) but the repair held and it was ‘good enough’ for us to risk staying an extra night, and then, as the tide/current decreased dramatically over the next few days, it felt safe enough to stay for the rest of the week. We didn’t leave the boat unattended for more than a couple of hours at a time during that period though.

So, in summary, if you just want a location which gives extremely convenient access to the train to KL (station 10 mins walk from the Club) or provisioning (15 mins to Giant supermarket) this might be a good choice. We could definitely not recommend the RSYC, however, if you want to leave the boat unattended for any length of time.

Susan Bright, SY Yindee Plus