Phuket Kings Cup 2010- HiFi changes herald return to form

by Tracey Johnstone on 29 Nov 2010 Neil Pryde’s HiFi win in last week’s Raja Muda Regatta has put Ray Robert’s Evolution racing on notice as they head towards Thailand for the start of the 24th Phuket King’s Cup.

Keel changes and new sails in recent months have given Hi-Fi the narrow edge they needed to finally move aside Evolution Racing taking out first place on a count-back.

Hi-Fi won the Racing Class in last year’s King’s Cup with a commanding lead over both Frank Pong’s Jelik III and Evolution Racing then Evolution Racing stepped up a notch to knock HiFi out of leading positions in the Royal Langkawi, Singapore Straits, Koh Samui and China Coast regattas.

The Raja Muda regatta was Pryde’s first chance to fully test out the boat’s new configuration.

'We have just fitted the boat with a new keel which is slightly deeper, but with a lighter bulb on the bottom of it. So the boat should theoretically a little stiffer because the extra depth gives the keel more leverage and it is a more efficient shape keel. It is made smaller in sections so there will be less drag through that water. That is the main change we have made on the boat.

'We have also changed the configuration of the mainsail. The mainsail has a big square head on it like most of the America’s Cup boats have and the TP52 boats also now have. So it is a more modern design. We are also putting slightly bigger spinnakers on the boat,' Pryde said.

The challenge now will be if Pryde can deliver another and even stronger result in the King’s Cup starting on 4th December

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