Postcard sailing at Phuket Kings Cup

by Rob Kothe on 4 Dec 2006 Travel brochure conditions for the first day’s racing at the 20th Phuket Kings Cup and one of the regular travellers to Phuket, Hong Kong businessman Frank Pong, took line honours and a handicap win in the Grand Prix Racing class.

Principal Race Officer Howard Elliott sent the Racing fleet south on the 25 mile Chivas South Islands race from Kata Beach, round Koh Kaew Noi, up past Koh Hi, the Coral Island with its fringing coral reefs and then round the northern tip of Koh Aeo.

Racing started in a light north-easter with the high quality Grand Prix fleet first away. Frank Pong helmed his Reichel Pugh 76 Jelik, the former Pyewacket, down the line behind the two TP 52’s, Sam Chan’s Ffree Fire, the former Flash and Paul Winkelmann’s Fling, the 2006 Hong Kong–Vietnam Race winner.

Jelik led to the first turning mark. Behind her, Neil Pryde's Farr 52 Hi Fi was second, just outside the TP52 Island Fling, helmed by Steve Dodd. Russ Parker’s Ffree Fire, another TP52 followed, with Mandrake next. Towards the back of the fleet was Dhevatara Drumstick, the 2005 Phuket King’s Cup race winner with Toby O'Connell driving, Jamie Wilmot on main and Steve McConaghy calling tactics.

Heading towards the Koh Kaew Noi mark Jelik had broken well clear, her giant white spinnaker powering her away. As she approached the Royal Thai Navy Patrol boat, she dropped the spinnaker and under jib she continued to extend on the fleet. The breeze increased in strength as the fleet worked up inside Koh Hi to ten knots.

Jelik flew around the top of Koh Aeo and ran back down doing 9.7 knots, in 10 knots of breeze. Behind her, Island Fling led Neil Pryde’s Hi Fi with Ffree Fire close behind, with Mandrake, helmed by Nick Burns in fourth place.

The morning breeze was dropping rapidly as Jelik reached back towards Kata Beach and with glassy patches appearing across the ocean, she was slowing. Behind her the pack of 50 footers were closing up.

Jelik was struggling. Anxious looks back up the course from Frank Pong and his team as the 76 footer stopped 100 metres from the finish line, with zero speed.

Ahead, 30 metres in front of bow, there was pressure, but that pressure was away from the finishing line. Sailing teaches you patience and the Hong Kong sailor needed plenty of that, drifting slowly until Jelik reached the pressure, well to the north of the mark and sailing back up towards the finishing line. Behind her the fleet was slowing, suffering just the same fate.

It was another 15 minutes before Island Fling arrived on the scene. She set a kite 300 metres from the finish and ghosted towards the committee boat, but it was a wind free zone. She sailed past the pin, gybed back from there and ducked around the pin, moving on boat speed alone. That last 300 metres took Neil Pryde’s Hi Fidelity another ten minutes, then the fluorescent lime green kite of Ffree Fire appeared, a similar distance back. She took another seven minutes to cross.

In the Racing Division 1, Frank Pong’s Jelik was rewarded with the double, both line honours and the IRC handicap win. Great Britain’s Steve Dodd onboard Island Fling took second with another well known Hong Kong sailor, Neil Pryde on his well campaigned Hi Fi, third.

Frank Pong related after the race; ‘Early in the race, the wind was steady in both strength and direction, much of the course was reaching, which favoured the bigger boats. I’m very happy to have a good result at the beginning of the regatta.’

In Racing Division 2, Peter Dyer on Madam Butterfly, a Mountgay 30, took the honours from Jeff Davidson’s Mumm 30 Panic and Happy Endings, another Mumm 30, sailed by Singapore sailor Jonathan Mahony, third.

In IRC 2 Division, Royal Thai Navy 1, helmed by Lt Peera Sagultem won on corrected time from Rob Taylor’s Minx with Andrey Novoderezhkin’s Master Blaster in third.

Geoff Wilson’s Calypso JJ won the Ocean Rover Division with Gunnar Myhre’s Embla in second and Millenium, John Clayton in third.

An unhappy incident for one of the boats in this class. Rounding the first mark, Free Wind, an Ericson 38 sailed by owner George Foose, fouled the Royal Thai Navy’s Patrol Boat’s anchor line. The yacht rotated into the Patrol Boat, breaking her boom. Thankfully no one was injured and the yacht was quickly towed clear by one of the media boats.

In Coutts Premier Division, Moon Blue II, Peter Churchouse’s Warwick Custom 60, won on corrected time from Yasooda, Hans Rahmann’s Judel Vrolijk. In third today was Andrew Richard’s Hong Kong based Warwick, Moon Blue.

Chimera, Christopher Edward’s Pescott won the Multihull Racing Division with Cedar Swan, Radab Kanjanavanit in second and Bob Bridley's X Cat Riot, third.

In the Firefly 850 Sport Division, Race 1 was won by Chi Machine (Marc Cudennec). Twin Sharks (Bill Phelps) was second with Mamba (Henry Kaye) third.

Chi Machine was launched only a few days before winning this year’s Phuket Race Week. Marc Cudennec is the Hong Kong-based Asia Pacific manager of Elle magazine. He won four of the six races in the Multihull Racing Class at this year’s Race week, but a large group of children at nearby Takua Pa benefited the most. The funds raised from the sponsorship of his boat at the race and at this year’s Regatta are all going to the Tsunami Relief Fund for the Children of Takua Pa, a region hit particularly hard by the 2004 tsunami.

The Firefly 850 Sport is a product of Phuket’s design and racing scene and made its debut in 2005.

In the Performance Multihull Division Race 1, Bob Mott’s Silkline, Raimon Land Chameleon, won on corrected time from Larry Pollock’s Running Cloud a Dick Flint design, and Liam Nichols’ Gone with the Wind, a Chincogan 52, third.

In the Sunsail One Design Division, it was Princess Isabella (Keith Harding) who took the day's win, from Princess Arieta (Peter Jung) and Princess Christina (Robert Yeltes).

In the Bareboat Charter Division, Bintang (D. Maddern and Keith Blankly) won from Amadeua (Masakido Kato) and Paprika 11 (Peter Beaumont).

In the Classic Division Jubilaeum took the honours and fastest time, from Argo, skippered by Brendon Baumeister.

G4S Somtam Express, Scott Duncanson won on corrected time in the Sports Boat Division, with Phil Wardrop's Vino in second and Motornet, Kenichi Takahashi third.

The full daily results will be posted at www.kingscup.com.

Tomorrow morning (05/12) at 8:30am, the fleet will join in a Sail-past of the Royal Thai Navy vessel in honour of His Majesty the Kings 79th birthday. The racing will be Mom Tri’s Boathouse Race and the Thai Beverage Race Series. Tomorrow evening’s party will be at Mom Tri’s Boathouse and their will be a candlelight ceremony on the beach to celebrate the King’s birthday.