Phuket King's Cup

by Event Media on 6 Dec 2004 Shirley ROBERTSON, who made history in Athens becoming the first British woman ever to win two Gold medals at successive Olympic Games in any sport, will be a special guest at the 18th Phuket King's Cup Regatta, which will take place from December 4-11 off Phuket.

Yachts from Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, US, UK and Italy will be amongst the 70-plus entries in this international event, one of the highlights of the worldwide yachting calendar.

Scotland-born Shirley, who has been awarded the MBE for her services to sailing, and who was named BBC South Sports Personality of the Year, won a Gold Medal in the Yngling keelboat at the Olympic Games in Athens in 2004, and in the Europe single-handed dinghy at the Sydney 2000 Games.

Other recent successes include wins in the 2004 Hyeres pre-Olympic regatta, and the Princess Sofia Trophy in Palma, in 2003.

'Although Shirley will not be competing during the King's Cup, she has expressed a keen interest in being involved,' says Phuket King's Cup president Christopher King. 'She is one of the best-known names in sailing and we are delighted to welcome her.'

Robertson began her career in a modest way, helping her father sail a home-made kit boat at Scotland's Loch Ard Sailing Club. Now, she says, her greatest weakness is 'not being able to stop sailing,' making her home at the United Kingdom's premier yachting centre of Cowes, in the Isle of Wight.

With a range of yacht classes that has everything from sport boats to cruisers and clipper classics, this year's King's Cup Regatta promises to maintain its standing as the region's premier international sailing event.

The regatta was inaugurated in 1987, and has been held annually since, always during the first week of December.

Based on last year's successful format, there are plans for eight classes; Racing, Sports Boat, Premier Cruising, IRC1, IRC2, Ocean Rover, Classic and Ocean Multihull. This year's race management committee is also planning a highly flexible format, schedule and course configurations.

The King's Cup Regatta is organised by the Phuket King's Cup Regatta Organising Committee under the auspices of the Royal Varuna Yacht Club, in conjunction with the Yacht Racing Association of Thailand, the Royal Thai Navy and the Province of Phuket.

Krung Thai Bank and Royal Phuket Marina are co-principal sponsors and the continuing support of Kata Beach Resort as host sponsor, demonstrates the loyalty amongst local island businesses for this prestigious event.