Phuket King's Cup 2019: Ready to rumble.
by Guy Nowell 1 Dec 2019 02:31 PST
2-7 December 2019
Phuket King's Cup 2019. Squeaky clean Kata. Fleet at anchor © Guy Nowell / PKC19
Starting tomorrow: 75 boats, 15 nationalities, five days of racing. After 33 years the Phuket King’s Cup, Asia’s premier big boat regatta, has clearly lost none of its cachet.
Based out of the traditional home at the Beyond Resort Kata (formerly known as the Kata Beach Resort), 10 divisions will be competing on the pleasant waters of the Andaman Sea off the west coast of Phuket in five days of ‘t-shirts and shorts’ sailing. Along with a number of splashy parties, it’s a recipe that’s hard to beat. But don’t be fooled by the brochure-like blue skies and sunshine… competition promises to be as tough as ever, especially in the upper divisions.
Four TP52s plus Windsikher (Welbourne 51) go head to head in IRC 0, and eight 40-footers line up for IRC 1. The combined Bareboat A and B classes contribute 17 entries, and the biggest single division will be Cruising at 14 boats. The biggest national representation comes from China (15 boats), followed by Russia (11) and Australia (11), and then Thailand (7), Hong Kong (7), and Japan (5). Proof positive, if any were needed, that the King’s Cup has pulling power that reaches far beyond Thailand and even Asia.
Today is Sunday, and Regatta Director Simon James is out on the water running the practice race. The breeze is in, and the forecast is good for the next couple of days. The Royal Thai Navy have wrestled the ceremonial bell into position in preparation for tonight’s Opening Ceremony, and those unfortunate people who are not sailors are promenading along a pristine Kata Beach.
Let the games begin.
Standing by on 72.
PS. Come the evening, and the rain came down. Oh my goodness. There was precious little chance of an Opening Ceremony in the Kata garden, or ringing the bell, or running the regatta flags up the flagpole, and especially not the customary fireworks. Default setting in this case, was "If wet, in the gym." Or to be absolutely accurate, in the Kanda Hall Ballroom. Of course, by the time the speeches had been made, and an official greeting offered to the assembled sailors, the rain had stopped allowing business as usual - meaning a buffet laid out around the pool. Tomorrow we sail...