2013 Cape Panwa Hotel Phuket Raceweek – ‘A roaring success’

by Event Media on 22 Jul 2013 Winds gusting to 20 knots made for a perfect end to four days of racing at Cape Panwa Hotel Phuket Raceweek. The weather conditions delivered fast and exciting racing throughout, leaving the sailors of more than 15 nationalities tired and happy.

Two races for all except the Classic class made for a hectic schedule of racing on the final day. Predictably enough, class honours in IRC 1 went to Australian Peter Ahern and his all-star crew on Oi! who with seven wins from eight races, were untouchable. Formerly Team Premier, Peter Ahern/ Scott Bailey/ Fergus Wilmer recently bought the boat, renamed her Oi!, and Phuket Raceweek is their first competitive event.

IRC Racing II was dominated throughout the four days by another Australian, Peter Sorensen and his crew on Fujin, and that domination continued through to the final race. Eight wins from eight races speaks for itself and as sailing star Steve McConaghy, who was racing onboard the former Ichi Ban, said, 'you could sail this thing backwards and still win.'

Having completed one race per day, the great winds today saw Principal Race Officer Simon James set two races for IRC Cruising and Irish entry Windstar, helmed by Peter Woods, revelled in the conditions to finish the last day with two more wins, and win the class by four points.

The super-fast Firefly 850 Sport catamarans, all built in Phuket, have thrived in the strong winds this week, with competitors often recording speeds in excess of 20 knots (37 km/h). Reading the conditions best and sailing consistently has been Twin Sharks, skippered by Briton John Newnham, who didn't contend the last race today having already won seven from seven and is the clear class winner.

A lavish Gala Dinner hosted by Cape Panwa Hotel brought to a close a highly successful 10th Cape Panwa Hotel Phuket Raceweek.

Short Results
IRC Racing I
Oi!, Peter Ahern/Scott Bailey/Fergus Wilmer (7)
Katsu, Ben Copley (15)
Wan Ma Rang, Kevin Whitcraft (18)

IRC Racing II
Fujin, Peter Sorensen (7)
Skandia Endeavour Of Whitby, Stuart Williamson (18)
Phoenix, Neils Degenkolw (21)

IRC Cruising
Windstar, Peter Wood (4)
Dreamtime, Rob Azzopardi (8)
Sail in Asia Venture, Mike Crisp (11)

Firefly 850
Twin Sharks, John Newnham (7)
Voodoo, Hans Rahmann (16)
Moto Inzi, Roger Kingdon (17)

Multihull Racing
DaVinci, Mark Pescott (12)
Asia Catamarans Hurricane, Alan Carwadine (13)
Java, John Coffin (16)

Classic
Sirius, Simon Morris (3)
Atlanta, Laurie Piper (7)
Letizia, Capt. Bernd Gundel (8)

For more information and full results:
www.phuketraceweek.com