Final day shootout ends in a fizzer...
By AsianYachting MultiMedia
8th May 2012: Although the morning arrived surrounded by ominous dark storm clouds, there was a light breeze blowing which looked promising. As the 11:00am start time drew near, the building storm over Pattaya temporarily exerted its pressure and disrupted the flow from the SW. After three stunning days of racing the breeze completely deserted the race course and left the fleet waiting for something to materialise. Eventually just before the 1300 cut off time, with the sea completely glassed over, PRO Jerry Rollin had no other alternative but to call it a day and send everyone back to the marina. What a let down as everyone was full of anticipation for the final day showdown. Only thing left to do was apply the drop race and recalculate the points tally which still held a remarkable twist of fate in some classes.

By dropping the missed race due to being high and dry in the marina entrance, Neil Pryde's Welbourn 52 Hi Fi becomes the 2012 IRC 1 champion and can tick the box for one of the few regattas he has not won in his illustrious sailing career on Asian waters. Yesterdays leader Yasuo Nanamori's Summit 40 Karasu is relegated to second place and can put it down to the slow start to the event. David Ross' Kerr 40 KukuKERchu and Steve Manning's Sydney GTS 43 Walawala 2 ended up tied on 16 points but the Race 2 win for KukuKERchu puts them on the third step of the podium.

David Bell's Jenneau 35 Magic and Gary Baguley's H&P 52 El Coyote traded first and second places throughout the regatta but it was the Race 1 win for Bell's Magic that secured them IRC 2 title. Brad Kirk's Farr 12.8m Dynamite and K. Pote Suyasinto's Jenneau 42i Le Vent battled it out for third and fourth places which Kirk's Dynamite eventually came out on top to secure third overall.

Once again Damrong Sirisakorn's Farr MRX 36 Navy 1 reigned supreme to add another TOTGR IRC 3 trophy to their cabinet. Gregory Ho's X99 Hi Jinks managed to take a couple of wins from the Navy but had to settle on second place. The other Farr MRX 36 Navy Academy skippered by Khun Navi seems to lack the horsepower of their sister ship on some occasions and ended up in third place.

Four wins in a row, hands Peter Herning's Bavaria 42 Kirafiki a walkover in the Cruising Class. Consistently scoring second places Andrew Watt's Jenneau 36i San Sanook secured second overall. Up and down the lower order eventually Eric Habers' Bavaria 39 Reef Knot secured third place after a battle with Sadunori Osada's Beneteau 21.7 Tai Two in fourth place.

Aussie Noel Leigh-Smith's Shaw 650 Crime Scene decimated the Sportsboat fleet with six wins in a row. Local Shaw 650 promoter Kipsan Beck huffed and puffed but could not place his Porn Star any better than second place. After a slow start Paul Murphy's Welbourn 25 Brace Brace Brace with the horizontal foil came good after burying the leeward hiking wing in strong wind to take third place.

Unfortunately the much anticipated two way shoot out for the long running Coronation Cup did not eventuate. Although Chris Way's Aussie team on The Ferret incurred a four point penalty yesterday, when the drop race is introduced they ended up tied on points with their biggest rival Rolf Heemskerk's Nataya. On count back the same number of first second and third places plus the sixth place drop race still had them tied, so it came down to The Ferret winning the last race to sail away with the prestigious King's Coronation Cup. Once again Rolf Heemskerk is deprived of the win and settled on second fiddle. Ken Russell's Naiad held onto third place to be the best of the rest in a fourteen boat fleet.

After Henry Kaye's Sea Cart 26 Sweet Chariot skippered by John Higham droped their Did Not Finish (DNF) they romped away with the Ocean Multihull title on their first attempt. Andrew Stansky's 15m cat Fantasia led for most the regatta but dips down to second place. David Race's Corsair 28 Free Wheeler is the best of a gaggle of different Corsair trimaran's that slots into third place.

Summary
Every time we are asked how to run a regatta, the reply is take a page out of Bill Gasson's organisational skills and delivery methords. They maybe a bit abrupt for some people but all the hard work is conducted long before the regatta starts. Individual roles can be divided into Race Management, Sponsorship, Social activities, Daily boat logistics and Media. With all these in place the organisers work is done and they can sit back and oversee the operation as the regatta progresses. Having a marina at your disposal is a blessing and racing area at the front door makes it convenient for all concerned. The only thing that cannot be controlled is the weather (As shown today) but there will always be highs and lows with everything in between, The unique multi class nature of this event caters for dinghy's right through to big monohulls and multihulls. As ISAF encourages youth sailing, what better way of introducing self confidence and character building than to mix it with the adults and stand alongside some legends of the game. Its taken some years but finally the secret is out that the TOTGR is a "Must Do" regatta, so mark May 3rd to 7th 2013 firmly in the diary.

More info and results on TOTGR website: www.topofthegulfregatta.com

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