Platu Transworld Regatta - on the countdown

by Kev Scott, Ferret News on 1 Feb 2017 This month 9-12 February sees the third running of the Transworld Platu Regatta, to be sailed out of the beautiful Ocean Marina Yacht Club at Jomtien Beach, just a few kilometers south of Pattaya. This is fast becoming known as a ‘must do’ regatta for One Design sailors.

The Platu Worlds are always held in central Europe, so the Transworld was introduced to provide top quality racing here in Asia – and encourage sailors from Europe to support this side of the world in the same way that Asia supports Europe. Crews from Australia, Russia, Japan, Estonia, Latvia, Malaysia and Thailand will enjoy four days of intense racing in beautiful surroundings and ideal yachting conditions – at the same time of year as it is miserably cold in Europe!

The Platu is a 25ft racing yacht designed by Bruce Farr specifically for the waters of the Gulf of Thailand. Pattaya is – de facto – the home of the Platu. All the Jomtien fleet are identical racing yachts, conforming to strict One Design rules. This makes the racing very close and exciting, with some races decided by inches, unlike mixed boat fleets, where boats can be miles apart by the end of a race and results are calculated on a handicap system. In One Design, first over the finish line is the winner.

The inaugural event (2015) was won by Mati Sepp from Estonia and last year Scott Duncanson (AUS), just beat his fellow countryman Chris Way. Unfortunately Scott cannot be here to defend his last year’s win, but the quality of the entrants will ensure another close battle. The Royal Thai Navy, fresh from a win at the famous Phuket King’s Cup regatta, will be racing, and Mati Sepp and Chris Way are returning to renew their close battles.

This year a new format makes the racing even more intense, with six short races per day and a double points final race. This format is used in world class events now, and provides the opportunity for mixed results each race keeping the final scores undecided until the end.

To help foreign crews get used to the conditions here in the Gulf of Thailand, a one day/thee race regatta will be held on Thursday 09 February followed by the three day Transworld event.