Phuket Kings Cup 2011 - A Royal Bird at a Royal Regatta

by Event media on 26 Oct 2011 This year’s 25th Phuket King's Cup Anniversary Regatta is attracting a lot of interest from around the world with a number of boats and skippers appearing for the first time.

Boats of all shapes and sizes are going to be coming but few are going to be as resplendent, or as regal, as the 82 feet (25m) Swan 82 named Chao Ren Plus One, who will be making her first appearance at a regatta outside of Chinese waters.

With a main sail area of over 2,000 square feet (188 square metres) and a total sail area of nearly 5,500 square feet (500 square metres) she is certainly going to make an impressive sight for fellow sailors and spectators, especially if the winds pick up and she is able to spread her wings and show her class.

Chao Ren Plus One is owned by Chinese businessman Mr Wang Bin, owner of the Beijing Ubox Company, who purchased the Swan 82 in March of this year although she was launched in 2008. This is not Mr Bin’s first visit to the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta. His first racing foray in Thai waters was back in 2005 when he entered a team on the boat Sina, which competed well in her class.

The crew was all Chinese crew and Mr Bin had high hopes of a podium finish as many of them were part of the Chinese national sailing squad.

Mr Bin’s memories of the 2005 regatta were so good he was left with the desire to return with a top rated boat and crew, aiming for the podium. The Organising Committee are delighted to welcome Mr Bin and his crew back, along with what could well be one of the top boats that will take part this anniversary year.

Racing in the Premier Class has just gotten a whole lot more interesting and this is hopefully the start of an increase that will see a number of boats from Mainland China joining the regatta scene in Asia.

For more information on what is happening in the regatta and to keep up with the latest news follow the website or the Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/phuketkingscupregatta.

NB: Early bird entries and their discounts end on 1st November.