Booming breezes at Evason Phuket Race Week

by Rob Kothe on 31 Jul 2005 Spectacular sailing, blazing sunshine and plenty of wind, as the south-west monsoon winds boomed across the Andaman Sea and Ao Chalong Bay on Day three of the 2005 Phuket Race Week series.

The first races of the day were windward/leewards for all classes except the Club class. In the building seaway, the Multihull Racing Class provided drama.

Yesterday, Olaf Riese’s new Voodoo Child grabbed two wins in her first day’s racing, but today, as the multi’s leapt over one set of waves, only to be buried in the next, cool heads recognised the rig need further tuning - and they retired from the race.

On the second run in the same race, Sue and Michel’s Anulphy’s Cyrene, a Whitehaven 10.95 catamaran, was mid-spinnaker hoist when she was caught by a very strong gust. With the spinnaker bagging out, the windward hull came up and just kept going, untill she flipped over completely.

Bob Mott’s performance cruising catamaran, Chameleon, was the closest boat; Mott immediately dropping sails to standby by the upturned hull, as others came to assist.

The nine crew were plucked from the water almost immediately by the photographer’s rib which was quick to the scene. The crew were ferried back to the Evason Resort Hotel. Cyrene’s builder, Mark Horward and designer, Mark Pescott, soon secured the vessel and were preparing to drop the rig off and then take the hull back to sheltered water for upturning.

Back in the race, Henry Kaye’s consistent Charro crossed the line almost six minutes ahead of Damian Kimbell’s Chimera, to be the clear handicap winner. However, the win came at the cost of a spinnaker and a torn jib. In third place today was a youth team on Cerberus, just 27 seconds later across the line.

It was a depleted multihull fleet that started race five, but as the winds built, skippers decided that it was a good time to ease back and keep their rigs and boats intact. As a result, the complete fleet scored maximum points.

Across the series so far, Charro, with two wins and two seconds, is looking solid ahead of Chimera. Even if Voodoo Child can score two more wins tomorrow, it would require a major improvement from some of the other boats for her to lose the series.

The monohull fleet were much more relaxed in the strong conditions today.

In IRC Division 1, race four, Scott Duncanson’s Phuket 8, Securicor Som Tam Express, had some wild rides and managed to take took line honours 2 minutes 39 seconds ahead of John Vause’s Ruby Tuesday. On handicap, their positions were reversed. Andy Stephens RPM Switchblade finished third on line, a further 1 minute 23 seconds back.

As the breeze built in race five, team Duncanson had problems keeping the Phuket 8 on track during the 10-mile Koh Lon race, only just managing to hold out the well-sailed Ruby Tuesday on line honours. The latter was an easy handicap winner. After factoring the drop, Vause is just two points ahead of Duncanson with one remaining race.

It has been a good series for Vause. In his last major outing, following a win at the Kings Cup, Ruby Tuesday lost her stick in the final race, which she fortunately did not need to sail.

In race four, Mick Kealy’s Minx was the solid leader in the IRC Division 2, following another win in race four; their third in four races.

Minx finished first on water and and handicap, ahead of Paul Kendall’s Simba, with Mike Bean’s Lee Marine Suk San third placed on both.

In the Round the Island’s second race today, Simba cleared out to win by almost five minutes, also scoring a handicap victory. Dropping a seventh place, she is now only two points behind Minx in the pointscore.

There was only one passage race in the Club series today. Mark Trupp’s Maddalena won from Christine Corfield’s Rastegaissa IV, ahead of Matt McGrath’s Gator. With two wins and two second places, she is clear ahead.

In the Performance Cruising Multihull class, Chris Sieber's Kilo was the only boat to finish both races and now lead that pointscore.

Another strong day is forecast for the final day of the Evaxon Phuket Race Week.


Progressive Series Results

IRC 1:

1. Ruby Tuesday, John Vause 6

2. Securicor Som Tam Express, Scott Duncanson 8

3. La Samudra, David Lindhal 9

4. RPM Switchblade, Andy Stephens 15

5. Vino by Watermark, Josh Lee 21

6. BeauX Esprits, Keith Garry 23

7. Big A, Horst Lakits 25

8. Image Asia Attitude, Mark Horwood 25


IRC 2:


1. Minx, Mick Kealy 5

2. Simba, Paul Kendall 7

3. Cinders, Stuart Crow 11

4. Lee Marine Suk San, Mike Bean 14

5. Tag, Mike Downard 17

6. Ava, Joost van der Post 28

7. Ma Du Zi, Viroj Nualkhair 28


Club Division:

1. Maddalena, Mark Trupp 4

2. Rastegaissa IV, Christine Corfield 6

3. Gator, Matt McGrath 6

4. Blue Moon, Al Boone 11

5. Four Winds, John Fenn 13

Multihull Racing:

1. Charro, Henry Kaye 6

2. Voodoo Child, Olaf Riese 12

3. Cyrene, Sue & Michel Arnulphy 13

4. Chimera, Damian Kimbell 14

5. Ceberus, Youth Team 16

Multihull Performance Cruising:

1.Kilo, Chris Sieber 7

2. Chameleon, Bob Mott 8

3. Mozart, Wolfgang 12

4. Chakra, Frank Cusack 15