Please select your home edition
Edition
Palm Beach Motor Yachts

Phuket King’s Cup 2012- the Glittering Prizes

by Guy Nowell, Sail-World Asia on 12 Dec 2012
Phuket King’s Cup 2012. Frank Pong (foreground, 2nd from right) and a very happy Jelik crew. Winners of IRC 0. Guy Nowell
Once again, it’s all over bar the shouting. The fat lady has sung and sat down again, the trophies have been distributed, and the photographs taken. 75 boat crews (not forgetting the dinghy sailors and windsurfers) have partied their way from the Kata Beach Resort to the Kata Thani, the Phuket Orchid, Centara Resort, the Boathouse and back to Kata. A couple of multihulls got parked on the beach (not too serious) and one monohull (rather more serious). One rig came down.

The weather co-operated all week – there were a number of ‘AP-ed’ starts, but nothing yawningly long, the sun shone almost relentlessly (pass the sunscreen please, again) and the breeze blew around the 10-12kt mark with occasional enthusiastic bursts of more. 28 protests from 95 starts gave the Jury something to do, but there was only one DSQ and a number of protests were disallowed either on grounds of out-of-time or improperly lodged. Two threatened 69s resulted in an apology and a warning. Interested parties can check out all the action in The Room here: http://www.kingscup.com/showfile.cfm?id=1331

One way or another, the Phuket King’s Cup is still The One to Win in Asia. Whether it’s the Royal Patronage, the fact that PKC has been running for 26 years (first/original always beats any subsequent product) or whether the assortment of European, British and Russian sailors prefer the Andaman Sea to the Baltic, the North Sea and the English Channel at this time of year is hard to tell. Undeniably there’s something about the King’s Cup.



This year the absentees were as noticeable as the newcomers. No Free Fire, no Hi Fi, no Team Premier. But the evergreen Jelik was there, with a new keel and bulb and ready to take on all comers. The Royal Malaysian Navy put in their first (and long overdue) appearance at the King’s Cup, and Kevin Whitcraft’s GP42 Won Ma Rang finally found her feet and put in a sparkling performance. ‘It’s taken us four years to get this boat sorted out,’ said Whitcraft, ‘and it’s been hard work. But I am very very pleased with our performance this week.’ It was a second place for Won Ma Rang, after a good fight with Frank Pong and the Jelik crew, with the Hong Kong entry coming out on top and carrying off the IRC 0 division King’s Cup for the second time (last time was in 2007). There were only two points in it going into the last day, but Jelik took the gun and the handicap honours for the very last race to lead by three points overall.

At the beginning of this regatta we took a look at the King’s Cup scoreboard, and noted that while three skippers (Bill Gasson, Neil Pryde, Ray Roberts) have won a King’s Cup four times, nobody has ever succeeded five times. To that august ‘4x Club’ we now have to add Scott Duncanson who has won King’s Cups in three different divisions (Multihull, Sportsboat and now Plato OD), but even more importantly after further scrutiny of the records we are proved mistaken and now have to elevate Hans Rahmann to the ‘5x Club’ – of which he is the only member – having won titles in 1992 and 2000 (Cruising, Master Blaster), 1998 (Ocean Cruising, Master Blaster), and 2010, 2012 (Voodoo, Firefly 850 OD). Rahmann has competed in 19 King's Cups in three different boats - '19 times lots of fun!' he says.



Last year the King’s Cup included kiteboards. Five minutes later ISAF dumped windsurfing from the 2016 Olympics in favour of kiteboards. More recently, windsurfing reappeared on the King’s Cup race card – and then found its way back onto the Olympic menu. If you want to know what’s happening, and what’s about to happen, in ISAF - just watch what’s happening at the King’s Cup!

Over a quarter of a century, the Phuket King’s Cup has become an institution. It is an event that is showing no signs of fading (entry numbers come and go, but that is to be expected), and in its own rather loosely-organised fashion it manages to combine venue, racing and social activities in a very special mix. Sure, we can think of a number ways that might make it bigger and better, but then it just might not be the King’s Cup if someone ‘improved’ it too much.

Yes, another hugely successful event. See you at the next Phuket King’s Cup, 2-7 December 2013.

Zhik 2024 DecemberHyde Sails 2024 - One DesignSwitch One Design

Related Articles

WASZP Games 2025 overall
Perfect conditions for the final day showdown The final day of the WASZP Games 2025 delivered everything you could want in a championship showdown—tight racing, pressure starts, tactical battles, and decisive performances. With the Gold Fleet behind on their race schedule, the priority was clear.
Posted today at 5:04 am
Rolex Fastnet: Steady conditions expected
Competitiors are expected to start in a 12-14kt Westerly and assisted by the easterly tide. Predictwind's metrologist Arnaud Monges expects the Rolex Fastnet Race to get underway in a 12-14kts WSW breeze, with a building current from an easterly direction. Using weather routing we have predicted finish times for the Ultims and AC25 yachts.
Posted today at 1:05 am
Rolex Fastnet Race/Admirals' Cup: Big questions
"So far we've under performed as a boat in the Admirals' Cup. We're looking to put that right." The defending Rolex Fastnet champion, Caro (NZL) faces some big questions given their performances to date in the Admirals' Cup. However the Botin 52 has a reputation for scoring strongly in longer offshore racing - will they repeat in 2205?
Posted on 25 Jul
Centenary Rolex Fastnet Race start tomorrow
Coundown to blast off for the 444 yachts entered For the 444 yachts entered in the Royal Ocean Racing Club's centennial Rolex Fastnet Race all eyes remain on the weather going into the last hours before the start tomorrow (Saturday 26 July).
Posted on 25 Jul
Canada's entry into the iconic Rolex Fastnet Race
Team Be Water Positive returns to settle unfinished business Canada Ocean Racing - Be Water Positive will line up this weekend for the centenary edition of the Rolex Fastnet Race, one of the most iconic offshore races in the world.
Posted on 25 Jul
Register now for the Rolex Big Boat Series
Fees will increase by $275 after July 31 Registration fees for the 61st Rolex Big Boat Series hosted by St. Francis Yacht Club from September 10-14, 2025, will increase by $275 after July 31, 2025.
Posted on 25 Jul
U.S. Launch of Switch One Design Foiling Dinghy
Melges will oversee national sales, support, and class growth Melges is proud to announce the official U.S. launch of the Switch One Design, a cutting-edge foiling dinghy that's redefining accessibility and performance in high-speed sailing.
Posted on 25 Jul
Snipe Women's World Championship day 2
The breeze started to build up earlier in the hot morning temperature As predicted, the temperatures were very hot the morning of the second day and the breeze started to build up earlier than day one. The first race, a windward/leeward course, began at 11 am in 15-17 knots and increasing chop.
Posted on 25 Jul
Independence Cup Preview
Takes place off Burnham Harbor this weekend Dozens of sailors with physical limitations from all over the world will compete this weekend in the Independence Cup race at Burnham Harbor from July 24-27.
Posted on 25 Jul
Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam Day 7
Sarah-Quita Offringa survives Super Final scare to earn 16th Freestyle world title Sarah-Quita Offringa survives Super Final scare to earn 16th Freestyle world title and 27th overall, while Yentel Caers powers to victory in Men's.
Posted on 25 Jul