20th
Phuket King's Cup 2006
AY
Race Report 5 & Summary
09Dec06
Phuket, Thailand
Final act rests with the wind...
Racing
got away on the final day in a light North Easterly breeze. The racers
with a chance at winning their class were keen to get away and hoped the
short trapezoid course for everyone would bring them glory and bragging
rights for christmas. Paul
Winkelmann's TP52
Island Fling and
Neil Pryde's Hi Fi took
a commanding lead and after the windward/leeward legs looked as if they
had the race in the bag. Having been delayed on the first beat Frank Pong's
Jelik was quickly making up for lost ground. A sheer in the wind
developed across the course while the cruising classes sailing on the
wing side of the trapezoid course suffered from a lack of breeze, the
racing classes sailing a mile over to the right enjoyed reasonably brisk
conditions. As they transferred to the wing mark of the course the leaders
came to a halt and the back markers happily caught up with them and effectively
a restart occurred with two legs to go. Any advantage the leaders had
was washed away in the current. When the fleet was sufficiently bunched
up the breeze then swept across the course further helping the back markers
and effectively sealing the fate of the leaders.
After
trailing the fleet Adam Ng's mainland
Chinese boat Konka Hummingbird
benefited the most from the restart to win another race on their first
year of competing. All racing class yachts eventually finished within
seven minutes of each other, which gifted Toby
O'Connell on the chartered DK 46 Dhevatara Drumstick his
first King's Cup victory. After
leading the fleet Neil
Pryde's Hi
Fi tied on points with Drumstick
but lost out on a count back. Paul
Winkelmann's TP52
Island Fling has
shown allot of promise during the week but had to settle on third place
overall after drifting into the mark adding further insult to injury.
It must be said how a twist of fate seems to play a hand in determining
King Cup results, as earlier in the week Drumstick
was dealt a difficult blow from the
jury and perhaps as retribution, nature has repaid them for the inconvenience.
Similarly
in the Premier Cruising class David Ross's Frangipani Girl came
from behind to clinch a win in today's race. Geoff Hill's lower rating
Strewth scored second place to break the overnight tie with Peter
Churchhouse's Moon Blue II and take out the overall title. Jon
Wardill's Australian Maid slipped into third place today but
a little to late to make any impression. Andrew Richards on the smaller
Moon Blue finished fourth which was enough to keep them in third
place overall.
Peter Dyer's Humphreys 3/4 tonner Madam Butterfly extended their
lead by adding a third win to their tally and taking out Racing 2 on their
first try. Niels Dgenkolf's Phoenix maintained second place and
although Jonathan Mahony's Mumm 30 Happy Endings dipped down
to fifth place today has done enough to survive in third overall.
In the Sportsboat scramble for the line Keisuke Nagamatsu's Platu 25 Risotada came out on top today but finished down the order in fifth overall. Japan's Kenichi Takahashi kept his Platu 25 Motornet on track with a second place to claim the overall title. Scott Duncanson's G4S Somtam Express is by far the fastest boat around the track but after handicaps are applied usually yields to the Platu's and has finished up with second overall. Shuji Hagihara's third place on Just keeps him in third overall.
Ryuji Nakata's X442 Rhythm Stick is certainly in sync with the weather as four first places and two second places gives them the overall IRC 1 title. A tussle for the placing's behind Rhythm Stick has resulted in Thailand's Jaray Tipsuk skippering Octopussy securing second place and Peter Wintle's improved performance on Sita has them finishing in third overall. Despite first place today for Andy Pape's Big A and second for Valdemar Bandolowski's Di Hard it comes a little to late to make an impression on the leaders.
Yesterday
Marc Cudennec's Chi Machine already tied up the inaugural Firefly
850 Sport catamarans class so did not have to compete today. In their
absence Bill Phelps picked up the win on Twin Sharks to end up
with second overall. Henry Kaye's second place on Mamba today
is an improvement but Roger Kingdon's third place on Moto Inzi
is enough to secure third overall in front of Mamba.
Despite
the light wind on the Multihull Racing course Philip Day's crew kept The
Sting on the pace in front of bigger opposition to secure first place
today and the overall title. Tim Milner's second place on Seekronghuk
keeps them in second overall. Benoit Lasaffre's much faster Crowther 50
Atmosphere has taken line honours in all races but after handicap
calculations has finished in third overall.
Larry Pollock's second place today on Running Cloud is enough to take out the Performance Multihull title. First place for Liam Nichols on Gone with the Wind lifts them to second overall in front of Chris Runnegar's Raimon Land Chameleon that was in the running for the title but a third today sees them drop out of contention.
Lt. Peera Sagultem's crew did everything right today on Royal Thai
Navy 1 to win the race and the IRC 2 title. Although Andrey Novoderezhkin's
crew on Master Blaster kept the pressure on till the end with
line honours but scoring second place leaves them in second overall. Rob
Taylor's fourth place on Minx secures them third overall and
Peter Forbes third place on Next Page has them in fourth overall.
Antonio
Escribano on Princess Athena could only manage a seventh place
today but three wins and a second place secures them the Sunsail One Design
SunOdyssey 35 race of the princesses. Keith Harding's Princess Isabella
added a third to their tally and finished second overall. A win for Robert
Yeltes on Princess Christina lifts them to third overall in front
of last years winner Christian Eschenberg on Princess Anna.
Naoki Wada's smaller Fidgi claimed the race today and by doing so broke the leaders tie coming into the final race and picked up third overall. Theodore Bakker's second place on Intan moves them into second overall and D. Maddern/Keith Blankly third place on Bintang is enough to win the Bareboat Charter class title. The tie between Bintang and Amadeus was broken when Japan's Masakido Kato's Amadeus finished back in sixth place.
Geoff
Wilson's Dufor 54 Calypso JJ had a insurmountable lead coming
into the final race to sail away with the Ocean Rover class title. Simon
Piff's Singaporean based Rainbow Dream third place today lifts
them to second overall. Despite Nick Pochin scoring ten points today on
Festina Lente they have done enough in the earlier races to finish
in third overall. Simon Dupe's first place on Waconda today gives
them a much needed confidence boost.
Four wins for Tim Wilson's Cordelia gives them the Classic Class title. Brendon Baumeister's win today on the 33.5 meter Argo has secured them second place. Roger Brett's second place today on Kiara lifts them to third just above Mathew Harsley's 24 meter Jubilaeum on the very last race.
08Dec06
Phuket, Thailand
In
all the confusion Adam Ng's Konka Hummingbird was eventually
awarded race 5 to become the first mainland Chinese boat to win a race
at the King's Cup. In today's brisk conditions the handicap places were
shared between Paul Winkelmann's 
Similarly
in Racing Class 2 Jeff Davison's Panic was awarded race 4 and
the only yacht to finish at the Ko Racha gate within the time limit. Niels
Dgenkolf's Phoenix and Peter Dyer's Humphreys 3/4 tonner Madam
Butterfly shared the first and second places in race 5 and 6 today.
Jonathan Mahony's Mumm 30 Happy Endings scored two third places
to lift him in the overall standings. A run of second places
sees Madam Butterfly take a commanding overall lead 
The
battle between the Phuket 8's and Platu 25's continues in the Sportsboat
class. Scott Duncanson's Phuket 8 G4S Somtam Express took out
first place in race 5 and excels when the wind is in to take line honours
in both races today. Kenichi Takahashi's Platu 25 Motornet claimed
second place in race 5 and won race 6 in front of a gaggle of Japanese
Platu's sailed by Toshio Furuta, Shuji Hagihara and Keisuke Nagamatsu,
to keep Motornet at the top of the leaderboard with G4S Somtam
Express in second overall.
Two
wins for Ryuji Nakata's X442 Rhythm Stick today sees them streaking
away with the IRC 1 title. Second places for Peter Wintle's Sita
and Thailand's Jaray Tipsuk skippering Octopussy has them fighting
it out for second overall. Valdemar Bandolowski's third place on Di
Hard could see them on the podium if they finish well in the last
race tomorrow.
The
increased wind strength saw the Firefly 850 Sport catamarans pick up the
pace but some judgment errors turned the tables on the result sheets.
Roger Kingdon's Moto Inzi came to the fore in race 5 and despite
running over his spinnaker Marc Cudennec's Chi Machine scored
first place in race 6. Bill Phelps on Twin Sharks sailed consistently
to capture two second places and despite being five minutes late for the
start Henry Kaye's Mamba finished in third. With four wins Chi
Machine has an unbeatable lead in the overall standings to take out
the inaugural class event.
Although
Benoit Lasaffre's Crowther 50 Atmosphere made quick work of the
coastal course it was Tim Milner's Seekronghuk that came to the
fore on handicap in front of Atmosphere in the Multihull Racing
class. Bob Brindley's X Catriot managed third place but it is
Philip Day's The Sting with a slender one point overall lead
coming into the final day of racing.
In
the Sunsail One Design SunOdyssey 35 race of the princesses saw Antonio
Escribano on Princess Athena add a third win to their tally and
stay top of the leaderboard. Last years winner Christian Eschenberg's
Princess Anna claimed second spot today but will have to settle
on third overall this year. Third place for Keith Harding's Princess
Isabella moves them to second overall but trailing Princess Athena
by three points is to much to expect with one race to go.
07Dec06
Phuket, Thailand
06Dec06
Phuket, Thailand.
Neil
Pryde's Hi Fi managed to claw themselves up to the windward mark
and round first just in front of the Nick Burns/
Hans
Rahmann's sleek looking Yasooda managed to avoid the earlier
pitfalls to gallop away with a first and fastest in the Coutts Premier
Cruising Class. Peter Churchhouse on Moon Blue II quickly got
off the blocks to record second place at the shortened gate finish just
in front of Jon Wardill's Australian Maid to keep themselves
in the overall running.
The
times taken for the Firefly 850 Sport catamaran class has Marc Cudennec's
Chi Machine in first, Roger Kingdon's Moto Inzi in second
and Henry Kaye's Mamba in third. Overnight the protest committee
awarded Henry Kaye's Mamba first place in race 2 and dropped
the remaining boats in line behind Mamba instead of disqualifying
them.
Similarly
in the Performance Multihull class Larry Pollock's Running Cloud
managed to get to the gate before Liam Nichols Gone with the Wind
and Chris Runnegar's Raimon Land Chameleon. There were no other
finishers.
Japan's
Naoki Wada patience paid off on Fidgi to record a win in front
of the bigger boats in the Bareboat Charter class. Theodore Bakker's Intan
posted second place and despite being disqualified after winning yesterdays
race 2, Masakido Kato's Amadeus rebounded with a third place
today.
20th Phuket King's Cup 2006
Long
live the King...
The
racing class were very keen to get underway and a general recall was sounded
as yachts crowding the pin end had no alternative but to overflow onto
the course side with only seconds to go. A restart after the rest of the
fleet had started resulted in a bit of a drifting match as the top mark
was repositioned in the oscillating breeze. The Chinese crew on Adam Ng's
Konka Hummingbird went on a flyer out to the left which seemed
to be paying dividends for a while but tacked back and eventually lost
ground on the fleet out to the right. In the patchy conditions it is paramount
to keep a watchful eye on were the wind is and keep the boat moving within
the zones of breeze. Toby O'Connell's crew on the chartered DK 46 Dhevatara
Drumstick did just that to take the honours in Race 2 and Race 4.
Nick Burns and 
The
Premier Cruisers were a bit more cautious at the start as the strong current
could have pushed them over early. Aussie Geoff Hill's Strewth
bounced back into contention recording two wins on the day to show her
dominance in light weather. Andrew Richards Moon Blue scored
a second and third place today and is coming very close to notching up
their first win. David Ross's Frangipani Girl scored third place
in race 2 and second place for Nico Cortiever's Nix in race 3
rounded out the placing's.
In
the Sportsboat class the battle between the Platu 25's and Phuket 8's
is hotting up and the jostling for the places is proving an interesting
talking point at the bar. Japanese entry Kenichi Takahashi's Platu 25
Motornet finished with two first places. Shuji Hagihara's second
place on Just and Ket Manghlaseranee's third place on Platu
completed the rout in race 2. Phil Wardrop's second place on Vino
and Scott Duncanson's third place on G4S Somtam Express in race
3 has the Phuket 8's returning to the podium and they are more than ever
determined to stay there. 
The
colourfull Firefly 850 Sport catamaran class has Marc Cudennec's Chi
Machine adding two more wins to yesterdays victory and shoot to the
top of the leaderboard. Andrew Marshall scored a second on Pink Lady
in race 2 and Roger Kingdon's third and second place on Moto Inzi
puts him in second place overall. Bill Phelps steps onto the podium after
Twin Sharks bit its way into third place in race 3.
All
other classes only had one race today but had to contend with wind directional
changes anywhere from North East to West North West as well as varying
strength from 5 to 10 knots. Tim Milner's Seekronghuk came to
the fore on handicap in Multihull Racing. Philip Day finished only minutes
behind on The Sting in second place and Thailand's Radab Kanjanavanit
made a move in a nick of time with third on Cedar Swan to put
himself into contention.
The
battle of the Sunsail One Design SunOdyssey 35 princesses saw Antonio
Escribano on Princess Athena taking the honours today narrowly
in front of Keith Harding's Princess Isabella in second place.
Robert Yeltes Princess Christina finished in third and two boats
were scored OCS after not returning to the start line after being on the
course side when the whistle sounded.
Masakido
Kato's Amadeus turned the tables today on D. Maddern and Keith
Blankly's SO40 Bintang in the Bareboat Charter class. Japan's
Naoki Wada on the chartered Fidgi for filled a dream to finish
in third place.
04Dec06
Phuket, Thailand.
The
discussion on the first few days of any regatta is usually about the wind.
Will it be light or strong? You should have been here last week is often
echoed around the walls of the race office or the day after the event
you
may get blown off the dock as the crew are clearing immigration. One very
light year, apparently the official word from the palace was "It
was especially arranged to test the skills of the Thai sailors".
The racing class got away in 6-8 knots of breeze, then a short lull before
the rest of the classes got away in 3-5 knots. After rounding the southern
tip of Phuket the breeze increased to 10-15 powering the fleet up to Ko
Hi and Ko Aeo. As the breeze then began to die out the race committee
then shortened the course at the gates yachts must pass through on the
course. Unfortunately for quite a few yachts the time limit ran out and
had to be recorded a did not finish (DNF).
Frank
Pong's Reichel/Pugh 75 Jelik powered around the course leaving
the rest of the fleet in his wake to record a first and fastest which
puts him in a good position at the conclusion of the first day of racing.
Steve Dodd's TP52 Island Fling managed to stay on Jelik's
tail to record second place and Neil Pryde's Hi Fi in third place
after finishing in the same order. They were the only class to sail the
entire course.
Liam
Nichols on Gone with the Wind sailed into first place on handicap
in the Performance Multihull class in front of Bob Motts Chameleon
and Larry Pollock's Running Cloud from the USA finished a distant
third.
Only
three boats managed to finish in the Sportsboat class with Scott Duncanson's
Phuket 8 G4S Somtam Express taking the honours again. Phil Wardrop's
chartered Phuket 8 Vino slipped into second spot and Japanese
entry Kenichi Takahashi's Platu 25 Motornet finished in third
place just before the time limit run out.
Over
100 yachts will form the biggest fleet on record when racing starts off
the southern resort island of Phuket today. The Phuket King’s Cup
Regatta celebrates its 20th year and the regatta’s patron, His Majesty
the King of Thailand, celebrates the 60th year of his accession to the
Throne. This year’s fleet will be the biggest on record anywhere
in Asia, no wonder this event was named Yachting Event of the Year at
the prestigious Christofle Asia Boating Awards in Singapore. The competition
is expected to be tough in all 13 classes, which will race over a variety
of island passage races on the Andaman Sea and windward/leeward courses
directly out off Kata Beach.
Being
the first regatta in SE Asia to reach the 20 year milestone, its a good
time to reflect back on how far we have come and meet up with some of
the stalwarts that have made it all possible. Having been at every King's
Cup since 1991, initially as skipper, then on a race winning crew before
branching out into internet media coverage has given me a good insight
into yachting developments in Asian waters and proud to be part of the
rapid growth that has taken place, especially over the last six or seven
years. Only a few years ago it was difficult enough to find anyone in
Asia to have a conversation about yachting let alone someone who knew
how to sail. Now days we have expanded to having trainee journalists filling
the media room, local officials on the water and sponsors performing the
essential promotional roles. All this has given birth to a yachting industry
of sorts, mainly run by foreigners that have persuaded regional governments
to build suitable yachting facilities and promote sailing events that
in turn will publicize their area to an International audience.
The Racing Class will this year be divided into 2 groups based
on hull length, so that the smaller IRC optimised yachts can compete for
their own King’s Cup trophy. A fleet of nine yachts from Hong Kong will
be participating, including the TP52’s of Sam Chang and Steve Dodd along
with regular regatta supporters Frank Pong (Jelik), Neil Pryde (Hi Fi)
and Fred Kinmonth & Nick Burns on Mandrake. This year will also see
the Chinese team on Konka Hummingbird joining us after their successful
debut in the Koh Samui Regatta.
Premier Cruising Class welcomes the return of Singapore-based sponsor
Coutts Private Banking. On the water, we see a number of old friends
returning with Ian Nicholson’s Intrigue being joined by Moon Blue II,
Nix, Strewth and Australian Maid, returning after a few years down under.
Introduced
in 2004, the Sunsail One-design Class is fully booked with
Christian Eschenburg returning to defend his trophy. They will again have
up to three classes racing under the IRC handicap system.
The classes are divided to offer competitive racing for yachts of a similar
handicap.
PHUKET:
15 June, 2006
The
Thai's are paying homage to their beloved King, who has given tremendous
support to the development of the country and its people both socially,
economically and at times by mediating and offering advice in many political
circumstances.
The
first Phuket King's Cup Regatta was held that year under Royal Patronage.
His Majesty the King is an expert sailor and represented Thailand at the
fourth South East Asia Peninsular Games which are now known as the SEA
Games in December, 1967, and won a gold medal in the OK Dinghy Class.
The Thai Monarch sailed OK Dinghy No. TH 27 and his daughter, Princess
Ubolratana, sailed OK Dinghy No. TH 18 and they finished equal first at
the Games.
This
year is also the 20th anniversary of the Phuket King's Cup Regatta, the
sailing race that was started in 1987 in His Majesty's honour. Once again
the organisers will be joining the nation in celebrating His Majesty's
Diamond Jubilee, as well as celebrating his 80th birthday on December
5, 2006. During the Phuket King's Cup Regatta every year a candle-lit
ceremony is held on His Majesty's birthday, and this year promises
to be bigger and better for a number of reasons. His Majesty's Diamond
Jubilee, his 80th birthday and the 20th anniversary of the Phuket King's
Cup Regatta.
World
renowned ISAF sailing official Bryan Willis, who has overseen five Olympic
Games and six America’s Cups as a rules advisor, chief umpire and
Jury Chairman at next year’s America’s Cup in Spain, has agreed
to play a leading role in this year’s regatta.