Top of the Gulf 2009, all over bar the bragging

by AsianYachting.com on 6 May 2009 Despite some classes already decided, all eyes were on the Platu fleet for the prestigious Coronation Cup. Ray Roberts Wikki Quantum Racing and Scott Duncanson's reigning TOTG champion The Ferret have been trading blows throughout the three days of racing with Roberts holding a slight advantage coming into today's final. As they congregated at the start line several attempts were made to cover Wikki Quantum Racing down at the pin end of the line. With seconds to go it was obvious that some boats were over the line despite warnings from PRO Jerry Rollin. As the horn sounded bow number 124 The Ferret and 125 Gulf Charters were recalled for being OCS. After exonerating themselves they started at the back of the 14 boat fleet and unless a miracle happened they were dead and buried. What an anticlimax. When the boats returned to the leeward mark who else other than Ray Roberts and Wikki Quantum Racing had taken a commanding lead and went on to win the race. Scott Duncanson's The Ferret staged a comeback to finish in sixth place but it was too late as Roberts mathematically could not lose the title and decided not to compete on the last race. A second and third place for Singapore's Max Soh sailing Magic Dragon has them absolutely delighted to score third overall in this mixed company of highly talented sailors.

Although Matt Allen's Beneteau 44.7 Ichi Ban have wrapped up the series with five wins out of five races the pressure was on to break the run of wins. Perhaps they were suffering from over indulgence at last night’s Ocean Marina-sponsored party as Pascal Leray's Jarkan 38 Breakaway finally broke through on Race 6 to claim handicap victory by one second. This also secured Breakaway second overall and two fourth places for Gary Baguely's Holman & Pye El Coyote gives them third overall. The strengthening breeze saw Espen Sanderberg's Phuket 8 Vino and Kipsan Beck's Shaw 6.5 Pornstar get up and do some planing around the course to score fourth and fifth respectively.

The Ocean Multihull class was still open for the taking. Despite Peter Dyer's Firefly 850 Sea Property dropping the mast yesterday, they were back out on the water and hoped to hold onto their slim overall lead but could not afford to have any more bad results. Race 6 saw Kirati Assakul's Sonic correct out in first place and David Race's C28R Free Wheeler in second place. Despite taking line honours Peter Dyer's Sea Property finished down in eight place and left the door wide open for his close competitors to come marching in. Radab Kanjanavanit F9-A Cedar Swan took advantage and by scoring 3rd and 2nd places today allowed them to leapfrog Dyer for the title and secure bragging rights. Staging a comeback to win Race 7 was not enough and Sea Property had to settle on second overall. David Race's C28R Free Wheeler has had an up and down sort of a regatta but second and seventh today, was enough to take third overall and Kirati Assakul's Sonic much improved 1st and 3rd lifts them to 4th in the overall standings.

Coming into today's IRC Racing 2 Class final, Leif Ho's RS Elite OD Carrera held a commanding lead, so it came as a surprise to see both RS Elite's sitting in the marina unattended as everyone else was out ready to race. Damrongsak Pongwichlen's Farr MRX Thai Navy 1 was the beneficiary of the situation and scored two wins which catapults them to the top of the podium. Two second places for David Bell's Jeanneau 35 OD Magic Roundabout also has them displacing the RS Elites for second overall. Scoring two DNS and 20 points for the day relegates Leif Ho's RS Elite OD Carrera down to third overall and John Higham's sistership Prosecco down to fourth. It's a shame they had to go to work but as the saying goes, 'Someone has to do it'.

There is no stopping Singapore's Renfred Tay on Amanda in the IRC Cruising Class. Four wins and a second place has them comfortably winning the class for the second year in succession. Clean starts, good speed and pointing ten degrees higher than the opposition has rewarded them graciously. Tetsuro Ogino's Sun Magic 44 Missy is the only one that has come close to toppling Amanda had to settle on second overall. A string of third places for Fredrik Anderson's Oceanis 46.1 Constanza has them finishing in third overall.
Thai Junior Sailors Show The Way

Yesterday was the last day for the Hobie Tigers, Monohull Dinghies and Optimists, with the latter competing for the Thailand Optimist National Cup. In fact, the Optimists were racing in three divisions: Female, Under 12 (open to both male and female) and Overall (open to all ages and both sexes).
The diminutive Noppakao Poonpat out performed all ages and the boys to take first Overall for the second year in a row plus first in the Female division, displaying great on-water skills with four bullets over the nine race series. Second Overall went to Thacharin Naborn who also took home first place in the Under 12 division. Third Overall and second in the Female division was won by Jongkol Channart turning in a consistent results over the series. Third place in the Female division went to Kancharika Janpol while third place in the Under 12 division went to Chusitt Punjamala.
In the Hobie Tigers, seven teams competed in seven races over the three-day series and Aroon Ruangjarongpong/Narongrit Beakeaw took first place with three bullets. Richard Eyre/Dave Littlejohn came second with Stefaan de Vos/Apple third.

The other class to finish yesterday was the Monohull Dinghy Class which was won by 420 sailor Navee Thamsoomtorn with Benjamas Poonpat second and Keerati Bualong came third overall.

He may not be a household name, but in the world of Hobies, Damrongsak Vongtim has won consecutive Hobie Asian Championships for the last three years and is feared by many and admired by many more. Today Damrongsak and his crew Kidsada Vongtim added the prestigious Top of the Gulf trophy onto their list of achievements. Rob and Kerry Waterhouse came in second and and Bob Enguirda teaming up with Danai Sila managed to hold on for third place.
Summary

It is absolutely amazing how the organisation headed by none other than Bill Gasson and the superb Ocean Marina facilities combine to create a great event that is enjoyed by all levels of the sailing fraternity. Nature has provided the rest. What more could you want? Good wind, warm weather, full marina facilities, a racing area just outside the breakwater, great parties and every sort of entertainment imaginable just up the road in Pattaya (if you’re looking for that extra bit of fun). It just does not get much better than this. After all, the Gulf of Thailand has produced the best sailors (past, present and future) in Thailand. If you’re looking for a great place to pit your skills against the best in a warm tropical climate the Top of the Gulf Regatta is the place to go. Each year the event gets bigger and attracts overseas yachtsmen and women. Who would have thought that Ray Roberts could sail a Platu 25, and the Commodore of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia Matt Allen would bring a host of Sydney Hobart rock stars to compete with distinction in Pattaya? They have also enjoyed themselves so much that they have declared a commitment to help with further development of sailing in the region and spread the word on how much fun they have had at Asian events. So mark down May 1st to the 5th next year in your racing diary as 'Must attend' if you are any sort of serious racer - Top of the Gulf 2010.