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May 04, 2010
Raja Laut Story: Part 1 (The Story Of A Name)
Boat names have long been a subject of quayside conversations and often the stories behind a particular name are pretty interesting too - some are personal, some historical, and some are just humorous. And so for our series on the history and construction of Raja Laut, we can think of no better place to start than to talk about whats behind the name "Raja Laut".
The name "Raja Laut" means "King of the Seas" in Malay, and was chosen in hommage to the Malay Archipelago - the history, the people, the cultures. "Raja", itself a derivation of the hindustani for king, is an honorific title used in ancient times from Srivijaya to Malacca, Makassar to Ambon. The type of vessel, the name, and the whole region really captured our imagination. Much thanks certainly goes to the writing of Joseph Conrad - and one can easily envision the schooner carrying adventurers and traders in his depictions of the exotic East. There is also the portrait, in the Sarawak museum, of James Brooke's schooner "The Royalist", which has a very similar design to Raja Laut and which young Brooke had purchased in England and then sailed across the world to explore what was then known as the Malay Archipelago.
Within Asia, strategically located between East and West, with it's geography of thousands of islands, and a rich bounty in spices, the Malay Archipelago was a major seafaring region with flourishing entrepots, cities and kingdoms, attracting traders from all over the world. In the late 19th Century Conrad sailed extensively through the Archipelago as a mate aboard the British Merchant Navy steamer "Vidar" and it was the intensity and richness of these experiences that provided the writer with much material for his novels. It was also during this time that a young Conrad came across a real life "Raja Laut" in the form of Captain William Lingard. Lingard was then a well-known figure in Singapore and throughout the Archipelago, where he had sailed his own ships and cargoes and amassed a considerable fortune.
Legend has it that on one of Lingards numerous voyages to Borneo he fought a large fleet of Bugis pirates (the most feared and skilled seafarers of the region), rescuing a surrounded Dutch man-of-war. His bravery on this occasion earned him the thanks of the King of Holland and he was made a Knight in the Order of the Netherlands Lion. Locally, he acquired the unofficial title "Raja Laut" bestowed by the Sultan of Gunung Tabor, and was known by this sobriquet among the Malays.
Nearly one hundred and fifty years later another "Raja Laut" is launched on the shores of Borneo, commissioned by a Malaysian company, designed and built by a multinational team of European and Asian boat builders, carpenters and shipwrights. East meets West, once again, in the Malay Archipelago... except that today the region abounds with holidaymakers hungering for eco-treasures rather than spices, for new adventures with a new "Raja Laut"...
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