Phuket King’s Cup Regatta – More than a capful of breeze
by Guy Nowell, Sail-World Asia 5 Dec 2017 01:51 PST
2-9 December 2017
Day 1 – Otonomos Mandrake leads the pack – Phuket King's Cup Regatta © Guy Nowell / Phuket King's Cup
Not quite blowing dogs off chains, but certainly a few of them were straining at the leash. The 31st edition of the Phuket King's Cup opened today under grey skies (and the occasional splash of sunshine), plenty of gusts over 20kts, and nothing less than 10 at any time.
Two racecourses to the west of regatta HQ at Kata Beach – IRC, Racing Multihulls and Premier Cruising on Course Area A, and everyone else on Course Area B. Premier scored one race, and the Racing classes ran three windward/leewards. Two races for the Cruising Multihulls, and three for the Cruisers, Modern Classics, and Bareboat Charter – hereinafter known as the Itchy Division because 10 of the 14 entries are Russian. Nasdrovya, tovarisch!
An all-too-close port/starboard between Firefly 850s fleet had Twin Sharks failing to bear quite away far enough and neatly slicing a couple of feet – complete with rudder attached – from the aft end of Surf Patrol's port hull. Karasu (IRC 1) going downwind wiped her spinnaker off on Sea Wolf going upwind, earning herself a DSQ.
According to PRO Ross Chisholm, Antipodes crossed the finish line "going like a freight train," which is exactly what a 76-footer should do in 18kts of breeze. Apsara, also sailing in Premier Cruising, had more trouble finding the finish – which was on the other side of the start boat, which hadn't actually moved. You can lead a horse to water...
Alive, Phil Turner's 66ft canting keel mini maxi, had a great day out, hitting 19.5 kts on a downwind leg, but never having enough runway to make up the time against the clock. On the other hand, Kevin and Tom Whitcraft's super-slippery TP52, still known as just THA72, racked up three wins from three starts in hot pursuit of a second consecutive King's Cup IRC 0 title.
Neil Ayre's Pulse 600, Sudo 1, won the first race and then retired from the second with a broken forestay, while Henry Kaye – the indestructible octagenarian who claims to have sailed done more King's Cups than anyone else (don't argue, and he's probably right anyway) happily smacked in three wins in Multihull Racing on his SeaCart 30, Thor.
We said it yesterday, but we'll say it again: you can't keep a good regatta down. Kevin Whitcraft, President of the Organising Committee, noted tonight that "it hasn't been easy, and it has certainly been a bit of scramble, but everything has slotted into place just in time. I am absolutely deighted to see 86 boats sailing in the 31st Phuket King's Cup, and I am sure that it is a good sign for the continued longevity of what is undoubtedly Asia's premier inshore regatta."
You can see the official regatta report here (link please), but of course not all the pictures make the official final cut – and today was a good day for pictures. Here are some more from the opening day of the 2017 Phuket King's Cup.
See you on the beach, waiting for a longtail, at 0730 tomorrow.
Meanwhile, standing by on 72.