Champagne sailing for Phuket Kings Cup fleet

by Rob Kothe on 8 Dec 2006 A glorious morning sail for the 20th Phuket Kings Cup fleet, with boats large and small enjoying 13-16 knot breezes and brilliant sunlight. Thirteen fleets across two courses, with the racing classes sailing windward leewards off Kata Beach and the cruising fleets enjoying an island passage race down to Koh Aeo and back.

Excitement today amongst the racing monohulls, with Frank Pong’s 25 metre Reichel Pugh Jelik blasting around the windward leeward course in a touch over 90 minutes. At the other end of the size band were the fastest boats racing in Thailand, the Phuket designed and built Firefly 8.5 metre catamarans.

Hong Kong sailor Marc Cudennec and his crew of French multihull racers had won the 2006 Phuket Race Week back in July sailing their Firefly 850 Chi Machine, and heading for the start line today they were leading this series after three days of racing.

In a 14 knot easterly, Chi Machine led the Firefly 850 fleet down the line, ahead of Pattya sailor Roger Kingdon’s Moto Inzi. Third was Bill Phelp’s newly launched Twin Sharks. Moto Inzi, Swahili for Firefly, won from Twin Sharks, with Henry Kaye’s Mamba third and Chi Machine fourth.

In the second race Andrew Marshall’s Pink Lady was on the pin, then Moto Inzi and Chi Machine. Cuddenec won the race and the 20th Phuket Kings Cup trophy, ahead of Twin Sharks and Motor Inzi. Mamba was fourth. Owner-skipper Henry Kaye, now a Phuket local, has sailed every single King Cup regatta. Cudennec's triumphant words - ‘Magnifique!!’

Commenting on the growth of multihull sailing in Thailand, Geoff Cruise the very experienced multihull official from Queensland said; ‘We are pleased to see the success of Asia’s own one design Firefly 850. These boats have adjuster weights to ensure the boats are as identical as possible. There is also a minimum weight factor built into the class rules.’

The Racing fleet sailed two windward leewards today, the first started in 10-12 knots. Paul Winkelmann’s TP52 Island Fling, won from Frank Pong’s Jelik with Jamie McPhail steering Karakoa into third place.

The second race was again sailed in brilliant sunlight. Jelik started on the pin and was never headed, she won from Neil Pryde’s Farr 52 Hi Fi with Toby O’Connell’s Dhevatara Drumstick third.

Frank Pong, on Kata Beach after the morning’s racing commented, 'It was a beautiful sunny day, 10-12 knots. Six months ago in those conditions we would have been doing, 9.6’s. Today I was being reminded by my crew if boat slowed below 10’s.

'In the first race today, down wind in 12-14 knots breeze, I was a little hesitant. Our spinnaker was too small, we were slow. In the second leg I was bolder, we put up a larger lightweight spinnaker and it blew.’

Pong was full of praise for the event. 'This is only my fourth time here. The size of the fleet speaks for itself. This is a beautiful location to sail and to come for a holiday.

‘I wish we would not have so many windward leewards, would rather be out amongst the scenery. Have been begging the race organisers to include more scenic tours.

'Sailors form Europe, USA and Australia are already coming to this event in large numbers. Even more will come I am sure, if we sail around the island courses enjoying the scenery.’

Day 4 Results

Island Fling, skippered by Steve Dodd from Great Britain, today won Race 6 on corrected time, in the Racing 1 division. Frank Pong’s Jelik from Hong Kong was second and Karakoa, skippered by Australian Jamie MacPhail, was third. Jelik recorded the fastest time around the course.

In Race 7 Jelik took the double, line honours and a corrected time win. Hi Fi (Neil Pryde) was second with defending champion Dhevatara Drumstick (Toby O’Connell).

For the Coutts Premier division it was Race 5 and Moon Blue 11, Peter Churchhouse’s Warwick Custom, won on corrected time from Geoff Hill’s Strewth with Yasooda (Hans Rahmann) in third. Yasooda took today’s line honours.

The highly competitive Sports Boat division completed Race 5, with G4S Somtam Express (Scott Duncanson) winning the division on corrected time by just over three seconds. Motornet (Kenichi Takahashi) was second, with Risotada (Keisuke Nagamatsu) in third. There are four Japanese skippers in this field and it is great to see the support of the overseas competitors. G4S Somtam Express completed the double by taking line honours.

Motornet took Race 6, with Sakura (Toshino Furuta) and Just (Shuji Hagihara) filing the minor placings. Both skippers, Furuta and Hagihara, made their podium debuts today. The fastest time in Race 6 belonged to G4S Somtam Express.

Rhythm Stick, the X442 owned by Martin Harris and skippered by Ryuji Nakata from Japan, continued her good form around the course today, taking line honours and winning on corrected time in Race 5. After a second, two firsts and a second she is clearly at the top of the overall leader board in the IRC 1 division. Sita (Peter Wintle) was nearly six seconds back on corrected time, with Octopussy (Jaray Tipsuk) in third.

Being consistent pays and Rhythm Stick was surely that, as she again took the double honours in Race 6. Great day for her and the team headed by skipper Ryuji Nakata from Japan. Octopussy (Jaray Tipsuk) and Di Hard (Valdemar Bandolowski) took out second and third on corrected time.

One-design divisions always make for highly competitive racing and today was no exception amongst the Firefly 850 Sports class.

In Race 6, Chi Machine, the recently launched boat of Marc Cudennec, was fastest around the course and won on corrected time from Bill Phelps’ Twin Sharks, with Roger Kingdon’s Moto Inzi in third.

The Multihull Racing class Race 4, Seekronghuk owned and skippered by Tim Milner, won convincingly on corrected time from Benoit Lassaffre’s Atmosphere, with X Catriot owned and skippered by Australian Bob Brindley, in third.
Atmosphere was first to complete the course today.

In the Performance Multihull division, Race 4 belonged to Running Cloud, skippered by Larry Pollock from the US, took the top spot from Bob Mott’s Raimon Land Chameleon, with Tony Roberts’ Tactical Directions in third. Raimon Land Chameleon recorded the fastest time today.

Princess Athena won the Sunsail One Design division on corrected time, by nearly ten seconds from Anna (Christian Eschenberg) and Isabella (Keith Harding).

Amadeus (Masakido Kato), Intan (Theodore Bakker) and Sudawadee (Simon Denye) filled the podium places in the Bareboat Charter division, Race 4. Amadeus completed the double by also taking line honours.

There were new faces on the podium today in the Ocean Rover division. Millenium (John Clayton) had a corrected time win in Race 4 over Festina Lente (Nick Pochin) and Embla (Gunnar Myhre). Millenium completed a good day by also taking line honours in the division.

In the elegant Classic division, Cordelia (Tim Wilson) won again today on corrected time from Brendon Baumeister’s Argo. Mathew Harsley’s Jubilaeum filled third. Cordelia also recorded the fastest time around the course.

All results are provisional and subject to final confirmation.

Final results will be posted at www.kingscup.com

Today's racing was sponsored by The Royal Phuket Marina and TMB Bank.

Tonight's event party is being hosted by The Royal Phuket Marina, which is Asia's first world-class marina waterfront development. Royal Phuket Marina offers a unique lifestyle package, combining luxury homes, a 350-berth state-of-the-art marina and an extensive range of upmarket retail and leisure facilities, all set against the backdrop of Phang Nga Bay and the Andaman Sea on the sheltered east coast of Phuket Island in Thailand.

The TMB Bank is a leading private sector commercial bank and financial services company, operating a wide range of products and services to corporate and comsumer customers in Thailand. TMB has more than four million customers and 8,200 employees working in 464 bra