Record entries at Evason Phuket Race Week

by Event Media on 18 Jul 2006 With 10 days to start of the first race, the 3rd Evason Phuket Raceweek is set to mark continued growth in Thailand’s only ‘Green Season’ regatta. 'We have 32 confirmed entries this far ahead of official registration day, so we are fairly confident that we’ll exceed last year’s numbers by at least 10 boats,' said organiser Andy Dowden, adding that there are always a few boats that just turn up on the day.

Raceweek 2005 saw 29 boats start on the first day of racing, in steady winds of 20 knots gusting to 25 knots. The event saw its share of drama, when one unfortunate boat sank after hitting an uncharted rock and another capsized in the strong winds. Thanks to the fast action of rescue teams, the crews involved suffered only minor injuries.

Racing this year will take place over six or seven classes, with a high proportion of Phuket-built boats competing in the racing classes. The multihull racing class has two fast Phuket-built Fireflys (Moto Inzi and the brand new Chi Machine) lined up against Charro, X-Catriot and veteran racer Henry Kaye's Australian-built The Sting.

Sportsboat Racing will see four locally-built Phuket 8s compete for the Raceweek trophy against the new Beneteau First Class 7.5, with a crack team from New Zealand being flown in to challenge the home grown talent.

The biggest fleet by far is the hotly-contested IRC class, with old faces from Thailand’s racing scene pitting their skills against newcomers. One as yet unconfirmed Raceweek entry is keen yacht racer Koravik (Wikkie) Nualkair, daughter of Octopussy and Ma Doo Si owner Viroj Nualkair. She is reported to be heading down to Phuket at the end of July with an 11-strong family team to take on last year’s IRC Class 1 winner Ruby Tuesday. The visually striking local boat Switchblade will be competing under the Max Marine banner this year, while Mike Bein is giving his new Suk San Song its first competitive outing.

David Lindahl’s always-competitive La Samudra, local legend Horst Lakits’s Big A, Stuart Crowe’s Cinders and regatta stalwart George’s Foose’s Free Wind line with new face Chetak skippered by Jim Kane and Malaysian entrant BeauX Esprits.
The performance cruising cats will be well represented by Bob Mott's ‘stable’ of regionally built aluminium boats and the trend for large multihull fleets seems set to continue. Club class is growing slowly with 3 entries. Mostly crewed by liveaboard sailors, these boats tend to enter in the last few days.

Last, but by no means least, amongst the Raceweek participants is the Classic Class. The classic Danish schooner Seraph celebrates its 100th birthday with a special invitation race, competing against 4 other stunning classic boats: Kerida, Anjuna, Aumgaia and Sanook. This will be the first time in Thailand that five boats in this class have actively raced against each other, and should offer some stunning photographic opportunities.

Evason Phuket Raceweek presents a full week of international-standard yacht racing for a wide range of yachts — from the highly competitive top racers all the way to liveaboard cruisers and charter boats. Based at the Evason Phuket Resort, the social programme will be 5-star, offering excellent catering & first-class entertainment — and very special low-season rates for luxury accommodation.

The weather in southern Thailand has been brisk in the last few weeks and the scene looks set for some great racing.

The sponsors line-up includes host Evason Phuket Resort, Raimon Land, a solid supporter of Thailand’s regatta scene, Big A Resort, Royal Phuket Marina, Lee Marine, Seraph Cruises, Phuket International Hospital, Electrical Marine, Phuket Inter Wood, Boat Lagoon and Sunsail.