The Bay Regatta - Phuket, Phang Nga, Krabi. A little bit of everything

by Event Media on 3 Feb 2012 'The regatta gave us a little bit of everything today,' said
video cameraman Richard Valentine. 'Some sunshine with blue skies and
wind early on, then the wind died and we were hit with full-on
thunderstorms.'

The previous evening, the 15th Bay Regatta kicked off in style
with a lavish opening-night buffet at The Village Coconut Island
resort on Koh Mahprao. Grenville Fordham, Commodore of the Ao Chalong
Yacht Club (organizers of the event), took to the stage and after
welcoming everyone calmly said, 'We will sail into Phang Nga Bay,
but not too deep into Phang Nga Bay' – meaning MORE WIND!! Past
regattas have been struck with some beautiful karst topography at the
top of the Bay, but little or no wind.

A special guest on opening night was Neil Pryde, who kindly agreed to
help sponsor the regatta this year. Pryde’s HiFi, while not
competing in The Bay Regatta, is a threat to win every regatta in Asia.

43 boats registered for the regatta this year, with 13 boats
entering the multihull division (including four Fireflys), making the
Multihull class the largest ever contested in The Bay Regatta.

The first-day course saw participants start off of Koh Rang through a
course that saw them finish up at Koh Kudu, from where participants
motored to the anchorage just off of Paradise Koh Yao Boutique Resort
& Spa, host of the regatta’s second party.

In the nine-boat Cruising A class, long-time Bay Regatta participant
Jim Ellis took first on corrected time skippering Remington. Second
spot went to another well-known Phuket-based sailor Neils Degenkolw
who helmed Phoenix. Richard Macfarlane’s crew came in third on
Aida.

Cruising B saw Gavin Welman’s Rascal take first on corrected time
with Graham Tuckey’s Optoloi in second and Bill Crump's Fistral
placing third in the eight-boat division.

The seven-boat Bareboat Charter division was won by Kozub Sergey's
Venture, who won handily with Kochnev Petr’s Tonicola 2 and Paul
Kendall’s Anchali taking second and third spots on the day.

Then the 13-boat Multihull Class was won by well-known Phuket
yachtsman David Liddell on Miss Saigon with Andrew Stransky’s
Fantasia taking second and John Newnham on Ceberus finishing third.

The principal sponsor of The Bay Regatta is DaVinci Yacht Charters,
with Thai Sri Insurance and Lee Marine on board as co-sponsors. Media
sponsors include ABoat, the Phuket Gazette, PGTV, 91.5 FM and SEA
Yachting with GoYachting providing the videography. Shane Granger’s
historical vessel Vega signed up as the media boat. Vega annually
makes humanitarian trips to East Timor and isolated Indonesian
communities where it delivers much needed aid.

See more information at
http://www.phuketevents.com/newsletters/lt.php?id=ZUtXAFIKVVEdDVdTGVIABlMG