The racing jong
C.A. Gibson-Hill’s 1950 ethnographic note documents the traditional Malay model boat racing practice known as the jong, a lightweight sailing model raced along the coasts of Singapore, the adjacent southern islands, the Strait of Johore, and Mersing. The article provides a detailed technical description of the vessel’s construction, its racing methodology, and its geographic distribution, drawing on museum specimens and field observation.
Summary
Gibson-Hill begins by tracing the etymology of jong, noting its former application to any sea-going sailing vessel and its possible connection to the Javanese jongkong (and hence “junk”), before establishing that the term has narrowed in the extreme south of the peninsula to denote a specific racing model. He argues that the design likely originated in the Singapore Strait region, pointing to the close resemblance between the jong’s hull form—including its characteristic curved heads to the stem and stern posts—and the Johore kolek. The absence of any early references to the pastime, including Wilkinson’s 1910 paper on Malay amusements, suggests the practice was either undocumented or relatively recent at the time of writing.
The bulk of the note is a precise technical account of the jong’s construction: a hollow, thin-shelled hull cut from a single piece of Jelutong wood, carrying a triangular foresail and sprit-mainsail on a slender mast, with no true keel or rudder. Stability and directional control are achieved through an outrigger boom (Batang Katir) set to windward, terminating in a heavy float whose angle can be rotated by the owner to vary the drag-moment. Gibson-Hill emphasizes that the relationship between the float’s drag-moment and the hull’s weight is critical in determining how much sail the model can carry.
The racing protocol is described as a straight-line dash from sea to shore: two posts are set about 30 feet apart at the beach’s edge, and the models are launched two to six furlongs out. Once launched they cannot be handled and must touch the land between the posts to qualify. The principal occasion for racing is Hari Raya Puasa, though at Pasir Panjang the boats may be raced on any suitable Sunday morning.
Key Findings
- Two size classes exist: larger jongs with a waterline length of 55–65 inches (used south of Singapore and at Mersing) and smaller ones at 33–40 inches (predominant off Singapore Island at the time of writing) (p. 147).
- The six Pasir Panjang models measured show sail areas ranging from 7.8 to 11.8 square feet and total weights from 39.0 to 56.6 ounces, yet are said to race on roughly equal terms (p. 147).
- New models cost approximately $15–20; the hull is typically Jelutong (Dyera costulata), the outrigger Nibong (Oncosperma tigillaris), and the float often teak (Tectona grandis) (pp. 146–147).
- The Raffles Museum holds two fine models of the larger class, approximately 20 years old at the time of publication (p. 145).
- Racing is constrained by local geography: rocks near shore and the slope of the sea bottom mean it can be conducted safely only at or around low water with an appreciable tidal drop, resulting in runs of several weeks when racing is impossible (p. 148).
- The outrigger boom is normally set at an angle of 60°–65° to the hull’s line, and the float can be rotated in a horizontal plane to adjust the angle between its long axis and the hull (p. 147).
Conclusion
Gibson-Hill presents the jong as a distinctive and geographically bounded maritime pastime whose design is intimately tied to the local sailing traditions of the Singapore Strait. His note serves as a precise technical record of a practice that, while not yet threatened with extinction, was already showing signs of geographic contraction—the larger models being confined to areas south of Singapore while the smaller class dominated the island itself.
Context
- The article draws on two museum specimens in the Raffles Museum collection and direct field observation of six racing models at Kampong Pasir Panjang, Singapore (p. 147).
- The note contributes to the ethnographic record of Malay maritime culture at a time when such practices were increasingly undocumented, and its technical precision (including the accompanying scale drawings and measurement table) makes it a valuable primary reference for the material culture of model boat racing in the Straits Settlements.