Origins of the Phuket King's Cup Regatta

by Peter Cummins on 30 Jun 2009 In 1986, a number of Thailand’s yachting fraternity met to discuss what they could do as a special tribute to His Majesty the King’s forthcoming Fifth Cycle, or 60th birthday, the following year on December 5, 1987.

After considerable discussion, it was decided to hold a Royal Regatta – in Phuket – the first ever held in the beautiful waters of the Andaman Sea.

The inaugural Phuket King’s Cup Regatta was founded in 1987 by Royal Varuna sailors including Commodore Chris King, Dr Rachot Kanjanavanit, Al Chandler, Adolph Knees and others. It was yachting and Phuket aficionado M.L. Tridosyuth Devakul, better known as renowned architect and developer Mom Tri, who placed the resources of his then recently-opened Phuket Yacht Club Hotel at Nai Harn Bay at the regatta organiser’s disposal.

Although the hotel changed hands several times over the years and the regatta headquarters moved to the Kata Beach Resort in 1998, for the first decade Mom Tri’s Yacht Club Hotel was the principal supporter and under-writer for this fledgling regatta. Mom Tri is still an ardent sponsor, each year sponsoring the regatta through his superb boutique hotel the Boathouse and Grill on Kata Beach, holding the annual and spectacular candle-lit birthday tribute to the Regatta’s Royal Patron on the beach at the front of the hotel.

Mom Tri’s affinity with the sea and the waterways is legendary – one only has to look at his numerous river-side hotels and his magnificent Tridhos City Marina, the three-towered structure on the banks of the Thonburi side of the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok. His enthusiasm for the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta is a natural extension of this.

The Regatta is sailed under the authority of the Royal Varuna Yacht Club (RVYC), with extensive logistical help from both the Royal Thai Navy and the Yacht Racing Association of Thailand (YRAT). The Governor of Phuket, the Tourism Authority of Thailand and the local Phuket community, both the public and private sectors, always give invaluable support.

In 2002, the RVYC’s relationship with the regatta was formalised with the creation of the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta Co. Ltd., managed by Royal Varuna.

An early regatta tradition was that the incumbent President of the Regatta Organising Committee be a current or past Commodore of the Royal Varuna Yacht Club, which holds the proprietary rights to the regatta. This tenet was maintained throughout almost all of the 19 regattas held so far – Chris King (President, 1987, 1988. 1994, 1997, 2003), Peter Ole Herning (l990, l991), Adolph Knees (1989,1995, 1996, 1998), Nigel Hardy, (1999, 2000, 2002), Santi Kanchanabandhu (2004-2007), Kevin Whitcraft (2008 to date)

Bill Gasson, although not a Commodore but a staunch member of Royal Varuna, was President in 1992 and 1993. The only exception outside of Royal Varuna affiliation was Phuket marine entrepreneur Andy Dowden, who took on the task in 2001.

The regatta began with a mixture of keel boats, catamarans, Lasers and even windsurfers. Few who were there at the time will ever forget Varuna member Reg Chambers, who sailed a Laser, calling “starboard” on a 45-ft keelboat, which had to give way.

Like any prominent yacht racing event, the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta has developed its own folk-lore. Scott McCook, for example, who sailed his beach-launched catamaran up from Singapore, won all five races one year, then sailed the small cat back to Singapore.

Anders Widen sailed solo on his Top Cat into the very teeth of a north-easterly from Phuket to Koh Phi Phi, and Anders’ feat also was a vivid testimony to the great co-operation between the Royal Thai Navy, the Yacht Racing Association of Thailand, Royal Varuna and the Phuket provincial authorities, who reported from out at sea that there was possibly a man overboard drama unfolding. After a quick investigation, everything was found to be perfectly fine – it was simply Anders making a dramatic solo crossing.

Hobie 16 sailors will not forget a “survival-only” broad reach from Koh Phi Phi back to Phuket in which staying upright in 30-knot winds was the only priority.

Principal Race Officer Jens Overgaard will never forget the time a large power boat towing a procession of tenders and rubber dinghies chugged through the starting line at the five-minute warning signal!

There was also drama when a novice Nacra sailor, with a tiny lady crew and after multiple capsizes, had become exhausted and disoriented and was reaching very fast away from Koh Phi Phi as darkness descended. The press boat took off in hot pursuit but could not close the gap on the fast-moving Nacra. Fortunately, they capsized again and were towed into Phi Phi at about 9 o’clock that night.

More recently the regatta has become a big boat event, attracting keel boats and oceangoing catamaran teams from around the world. As a principal fixture on the Asian Yachting Circuit, the regatta annually features upwards of 80 boats and 1,000 sailors, ranging from the Formula One of the sea lanes, the Racing Class, to live-aboard ocean cruisers, multihulls and classics.

Re-published from “A Sailing Legacy”, published by Ensign Media (2006).