Somtam sails through rough start to victory in Phuket series

by Andrew Craig on 14 Sep 2003 Somtam Express (left) and Attitude 8 round a marker in race two.

Blue skies and fair winds marked the start of Thaliand's Ao Chalong Yacht Club (ACYC) Inaugural Summer Regatta held last weekend. Fourteen yachts took part in the two-day event, which had everything required for a successful regatta – consistent winds, well-planned courses, torn spinnakers, a spectacular wipeout and some very close racing.

The morning race on day one was a traditional Olympic course with approximately 12 knots blowing inside Phuket's Chalong Bay, which suited the racing fleet beautifully.

The Phuket 8s broke away early with Somtam Express, skippered by Scott Duncanson, winning the start and leading the race up to the first mark. After a successful rounding the Somtam crew experienced some difficulties on their way to mark 2, losing their forward hatch cover overboard.

Recognizing that there were three races left in the regatta, they made the decision to turn back to collect it, giving Somtam’s competitors the break they needed.

David Bailey, aboard his brand new Phuket 8 Alakazam, took full advantage of this and sped away to take both line honors and handicap honors in the boat’s maiden race.

Attitude 8 with Mark Horwood at the helm came home in second place with Somtam Express and the Swan 42 La Samudra coming third and fourth, respectively.

The multihulls, which also got off to a flying start, were led home with ease by Mark Pescott aboard Cyrene, followed by Claes Nilson and his trimaran Papillon II in second and Ceberus skipped by Merv Owen in third.

The cruising class, racing a slightly shorter course, saw Cinders take honors, followed by Blue Moon and Fidji.

Race two on day one was a passage race that took the fleet out to the mouth of Chalong Bay, back inside, out and around Koh Bon and back to the finish. The Phuket 8s again took advantage of the conditions they were designed for and sped away from the fleet after a spinnaker start led by David Bailey on Alakazam.

At the bottom mark, the three flying machines were neck-and-neck and some speedy crew work from Somtam Express saw them round first.

La Samudra did well in the heavier winds of the second day, and lost second-place overall only on count-back.

Duncanson consolidated his lead on the upwind leg and was not threatened from then on, taking out the racing class honors. Bailey and Alakazam came in second with La Samudra third and Attitude 8 fourth.

Cyrene again took line and handicap honors in the multihull class and managed to beat the racing fleet home as well – a superb sailing effort from skipper Pescott, the yacht’s designer.

Papillon II crossed the line second with Charro, skippered by Tim Milner, coming third.

In the cruising class, ACYC commodore Al Boone aboard Blue Moon took first place, followed by Cinders and Fidji.

Day two saw even stronger winds of up to 20 knots hit the bay, to the delight of everyone involved in the regatta. The course for race one was windward-leeward inside the bay.

Again Somtam Express led the fleet from start to finish. In the heavier conditions, La Samudra was in her element, and challenged Duncanson for some of the way but had to settle for second place on handicap. Alakazam and Attitude 8 scored third and fourth, respectively.

Cyrene once again dominated the multihulls with Papillon II relegated to second and Merv Owen and Henry Kaye on Ceberus taking third place.

In the cruising class, Fidji finally managed to score a win, beating Cinders into second place and Blue Moon into third.

The fourth and last race of the regatta was certainly the best. Both the racing class and cruising class title had still to be decided so skippers and crew were taking this last race very seriously. Even before the start, crew were screaming at each other to move up and clear the way as the fleet battled for position before the gun.

La Samudra won the start but was quickly overtaken by the flying Somtam Express. Both Attitude 8 and Alakazam experienced some scary moments when wind shifts saw them lose control and heel over wildly. At one stage, Attitude 8’s keel came completely out of the water.
Such incidents wasted valuable time and this left Somtam Express and La Samudra to sneak away.

Somtam managed to cross the line first but not far enough ahead, giving La Samudra its first win of the regatta on handicap. This left La Samudra tied with Alakazam (third in the race) for second place in overall points scored. On a count-back, second place in the regatta went to David Bailey on Alakazam.

Cyrene once again gave the multihull fleet a lesson in sailing, to take fleet line honors and four out of four wins for the regatta. Papillon II again came in second, for second place in the regatta, while Ceberus was third, both in the race and the regatta.

In the cruising class, Blue Moon took a second win to take the class trophy. Cinders followed her in to take second place overall, with Fidji third.

Regatta sponsors were Yacht Solutions, Latitude 8º Yachting and Cruiser Island Resort Koh Lon.

Final results:

Yacht Solutions - Racing Class

1st Somtam Express (Scott Duncanson)

2nd Alakazam (David Bailey)

3rd La Samudra (Tony Knight)

Latitude 8 - Multihull Class

1st Cyrene (Mark Pescott)

2nd Papillon II (Claes Nilson)

3rd Ceberus (Merv Owen)

Cruiser Island Resort - Cruising Class

1st Blue Moon (Al Boone)

2nd Cinders (Jintana Suphu)

3rd Fidji (Nick Band)