2016 Samui Regatta - When the going gets tough

by Samui Regatta Media on 24 May 2016 Weather reports predicted mid to high teens as the fleet left the anchorage for Day 1 of the Samui Regatta 2016 but by the end of today's racing sailors had experienced everything from a steady 10 knots for Race 1, to 15 knots and building in Race 2, to a squall with 30+ knot gusts in Race 3 finishing in a mid-race abandonment and boats and crew limping their way back to shore.

Samui Regatta has come up trumps in the quality game. An IRC Zero Class of six of Asia's best includes four TP52's (also be scored in a TP52 division), Sarab Singh’s Custom Welbourn 52, Windsikher, and Frank Pong's ever-youthful RP76, Jelik. Five 40-footers and the Corby 36 Jessandra II make up IRC 1 while a four-strong Cruising class ranging from 23-foot to 74-foot rounds out a varied, quality, and international fleet.

In just their second competitive outing, the new generation TP52 of Kevin Whitcraft, THA 72, showed their speed differential today with two bullets and a two-minute winning margin in both the short windward/leewards raced. Last year's class winner, Windsikher II skippered by Sarab Singh, finished second in the first race but dropped to fourth in race 2.

With a mix of planing and displacement racers in IRC 1, expectations were that course choice and prevailing conditions could dictate the outcome this week. However, after shaking off the cobwebs with two short windward/leewards, double first blood went to defending champion Jessandra II, skippered by Roland Dane and with Steve McConaghy onboard calling tactics.The Committee Boat (Brown, Ketelby & Sorensen’s Fujin) performed consistently with two second places.

The 74-foot Le Cochon Noir V, skippered by Roman Guarsa, was looking for some distance to stretch their legs but had to settle for a sub-60 minute windward/leeward or race 1, but despite this managed to secure second place in their first ever race in Thailand. Gary Baguley's El Coyote scored the bullet with the smallest boat in the fleet, Mick Grover's Elliot 7 Moon Shadow, placing third.

It was all change in Race 2, however, as Moon Shadow got up to speed and scored their first win, relegating El Coyote to second and Le Cochon Noir V to third.

As the sailors take stock of their boats and equipment back onshore, Windfinder is predicting 20+ knots throughout the day tomorrow.

For more information see www.samuiregatta.com