Thai Navy sails to fifth Phuket Kings Cup win

by Rob Kothe on 10 Dec 2006 The Royal Thai Navy sailed into history yesterday at the 20th Phuket Kings Cup, winning their sailing division for the fifth year in a row.

With three wins, a third and a second in this regatta, they dominated their class IRC division 2, sailing their 34 foot Farr MRX to victory ahead of Russian sailor Andrey Novoderezhkin’s Sunkiss 47 Master Blaster and Rob Taylor’s Thai X342 Minx.

Lieutenant Peera Sagultem, who helmed the Royal Thai Navy 1 boat, commented shortly after the final race; ‘Today we faced another difficult round, as the light wind made our life miserable throughout the race,' said Lt. Peera.

'We got off to a good start before the breeze dropped, leaving us stranded. At the second mark, we conceded the lead to our main rival, Master Blaster, who took advantage of his bigger boat.

'Knowing that we were no match for them with our speed, we tried to stay as close as we could to gain the upper hand in time calculation,' added Lt. Peera, who finished second across the line on the day but won on IRC handicap.

The Royal Thai Navy has a proud record winning the IRC Division 2 five times in a row in 2003, 2003, 2004, 2005 and now in 2006.

The Royal Thai Navy has been involved with the King's Cup since its inception in 1987.

This year they provided a patrol boat which stood at anchor at Ko Kaeo Noi as a course boat and additionally provided smaller on-water vessels, a team of Navy Seals and a helicopter was on standby in case there were any on-water safety issues.