New Sunday Times - Keeping powerboat racing alive

As president of Kelab Sukan F3000 Powerboat, Robert Fernandez has been actively promoting and organising F3000 powerboat race events in the peninsula as well as Singapore for the past eight years.

A year sees some four races with the blessings of the Youth and Sports Ministry. A familiar face where vast lakes can be found, the 53-year-old father of four reveals it is the feverish passion of keeping powerboat racing alive that drives him to do the some times impossible.

This is coupled by the fact that Fernandez, a 1990s racing star, is still very much an adrenaline junkie and fueling the demand for powerboat races also means he can continue his love for zipping round the watery courses himself.

If there was one word to sum up this Proton Wira owner's life, "exciting" would be it.

A native of Melaka, Fernandez started life as a fisherman on a small drift boat in the Straits of Melaka, landing his catch in Klebang beach where a middleman bought prawns and small fishes from his boss' drift nets. After a year of risking being stung by jellyfish, he became a commercial diver upon completing training with one John Banderlinden, a Canadian attached to a dive school in Singapore.

To date, one of Fernandez's proudest projects is the salvage mission of a sunken tin dredge in Tanjung Tualang, Perak, where he was one of the six divers responsible for cutting away the rotten parts to be replaced with new plates some four years ago. Viewed as a historically important feature in tin mining history, the dredge is believed to be the last of its kind.

In between, Fernandez also did time as a beach boy, overlooking sea sports activities at resorts in Cherating, Rompin and Desaru.

Most vivid in his memory as a "beach hunk" was participating in small treasure hunts where he'd find jewellery like gold necklaces that had slipped away from the bathing public to be handed to "Lost and Found". Fernandez also experienced the flattering attentions of a beauty queen who made him the apple of her holiday eye. Alas, he could not return her feelings of affection as he was already in love with Michele, his wife.

One crucial life lesson he has learnt from being a watersports operator was to never rent out jet skis in pairs. "I have seen enough bad injuries. This is what happens when people think they can chicken around with high speed machines," says Fernandez, who eventually decided to make a serious living by repairing and tuning marine engines, mostly Mercury and Yamaha outboards, in addition to commercial diving.

Fernandez was 26 when he came up close to the equivalent of a water rocket for the first time. "I was always a big fan of powerboat racing. Back then, there was a programme on TV3 which came on every Thursday at 7.30pm. I never missed it. As luck would have it, I got my chance to race in one upon befriending the president of MOFAZ, Mohd. Fauzy Hamid, who assigned my company Aquatech Marine to repair his speed-boat in Kota Bharu," reveals Fernandez.

Impressed by Fernandez's fascination, Fauzy revealed he had two powerboats docked in Singapore and it would be wonderful if Fernandez would take over the pilot's seat for the Malaysian circuit. Overjoyed, the Eurasian quickly agreed. "At that time, we had a local circuit covering Kuantan, Lumut, Melaka and Johor Baru. In those days, in conjunction with the Sultan's birthdays, the state government often organised water festivals so that the public could join in the birthday festivities. I can still recall the events. One was where they'd let go some 100 to 200 ducks in a lake for duck catching contests. Another one was the slippery pole challenge which combined the skills of balance and strength. The prize money was not bad either. In a pillow fight challenge for example, winners stand to go home with cash prizes of RM200 to RM300," he recalls.

Remembers Fernandez, one of the pioneers of speed-boat racing then was one Raja Adam from Johor Baru. This eventually paved the way for the introduction of powerboats. In the 1990s, the two oft-spoken names in the powerboat racing arena would belong to one Man Todi, who worked for Customs, and Robert Fernandez, who in one year, swept all four championship titles. "Back then," says Fernandez, "the sport was not rewarding. At the most, a winner would only take home RM10,000. Mind you, to manage a boat, fuel it and to provide accommodation for the crew will cost more than that. Also, the custom then was only the first three winners were eligible for prizes. That left many discouraged," says Fernandez.

In introducing his powerboat race series, the first thing he did was to increase the allocation of prize money for drivers and their teams. "Some 40 per cent of every race budget will go to prize money, an arrangement which sees benefits for as many as 20teams. It is important to make everyone happy. This is one way we can keep the spirit alive," he says.

Fernandez's formula seems to be working well as one of his participants, Awang Bara, 57-year-old from Kuala Terengganu has been a loyal follower for the past 20 years. Of course, there are bigger plans for the future. In addition to his annual appearance at the Metropolitan Lake Park in Kepong, Fernandez, who relies on the Toyota Hilux to tow his powerboats to events, is eyeing to host an international event in Langkawi and Putrajaya.