HM King Bhumipol Adulyadej of Thailand - Designer, Builder, Sailor

by Duncan Worthingtom, MarineScene.Asia on 19 Oct 2016 His Majesty King Bhumipol Adulyadej of Thailand passed away peacefully on the 13th October 2016 in Bangkok. The soul of the nation and a father to the Thai people, he worked tirelessly for the betterment of his people throughout his life. He was also a sportsman and an exceptional sailor.

And even more than that, His Majesty was a hugely talented craftsman, building many boats in his time – 25, to be precise, all dinghies. His first was “Rajptain” an Enterprise Class dinghy. In 1965 in his first ever sailing race, His Majesty, with HSH Prince Bhisadej Rajani as crew, competed against 35 other boats in a race from Pattaya to Koh Larn – a race which they won, beating HRH Prince Philip the Duke of Edinburgh in the process. Graceful in defeat, the Prince later sent His Majesty a catamaran as a ‘thank you’ for organising the race, and a symbol of friendship. This was the first ever catamaran in Thailand, and His Majesty named it Pla Duek - which is Thai for catfish and also a play on the word Duke.

His Majesty came across sailing by accident. In 1963 when he was rowing off Klai Kangwon Palace in Hua Hin he passed Prince Bhisadej who was sailing along, very slowly. This sparked His Majesty’s interest in boats which then developed into a passion, with His Majesty and the Prince building a number of boats together in a room at the Chitralada Palace in Bangkok, and testing them in the palace’s pond.

All 25 of His Majesty’s builds are still in working order and are kept with the full fleet (100 in total, many of them gifted) at three locations: Chitralada Palace in Bangkok, Klai Kangwon Palace in Hua Hin, and Tha Wasukri in Bangkok.

Read the full story [and it's a very good read! Ed]:
http://www.marinescene.asia/a-gold-medal-sailor-his-majesty-king-bhumipol-adulyadej-of-thailand/11555?cat=10