The Nation
Phuket December 9, 2011
Sailors enjoyed a well-earned rest day at the 25th Phuket King's Cup Regatta yesterday, after three days battling fickle winds and tricky seas
With two days of racing still ahead, crews took the chance to relax, either by playing golf, shopping, getting a massage, or simply catching up on sleep.
Wednesday night saw sailors celebrate their third-day results with a poolside buffet at the Phuket Orchid Resort, which is sponsoring the regatta. The Thai food was washed down by cold beer, courtesy of the race day sponsor.
Races resume today, with boats in several divisions aiming to make decisive moves on the penultimate day of competition. The forecast is for conditions similar to the last three days: east-northeast winds of 12 knots-plus in the morning easing towards early afternoon.
After six races, Hannes Weimer’s Team Premier still leads the IRC Zero class. The skipper from the United Arab Emirates has crafted three wins to carve out a comfortable lead with seven points.
Trailing in second, third and fourth places are three boats from Hong Kong – Sam Chan’s Freefire 52 (11 points), veteran Neil Pryde’s HiFi (12) and Frank Pong’s Jelik II (15).
In the IRC I Class, Japanese skipper Yasuo Naramori’s Karasu leads the pack with eight points from six races, followed by Singaporean Davis Ross’s Kukukerchu and Nick Burns’s EFG Mandrake with 12 and 13 points. Kevin Whitcraft, president of the regatta organising committee, has led his Won Ma Rang crew to a distant seventh with 31 points.
Wiwat Poonpat’s Royal Thai Navy I has utilised his knowledge of wind and sea conditions in the Andaman to lead the IRC 2 pack with seven points. Bill Bremner’s Foxy Lady 5 and Peter Dyer’s Team Kata Rocks share second with 13 points.
In the Firefly 850 class, Briton Roger Kingdon’s Moto Inzi is cresting the wave with six points from six races. Voodoo Child, helmed by Hans Rahmann, and Twin Sharks with John Newnham skippering, are trailing in second and third with nine and 15 points.
Australian Alan Carwardine’s Sidewinder has the lead in the Multihull class with six points, while Mick Coleman’s Da Vinci and David Liddell’s Miss Saigon are in second and third with 10 and 14 points respectively.
Four races into the Premier class, Briton Richard Dobbs’s Titania of Cowes is ahead with five points, with Peter Sorrenson’s BabyTonga Strongbow and Chinese Wang Bin’s Chao Ren Plus One in a close battle for second with 10 and 12 points respectively.
The Bareboat Charter class, whose 19 boats is the largest field at the regatta, sees Briton Oliver Heer’s Sai Plane in pole position with nine points. Hot on his heels is Aussie Mike Crisp’s Venture with 11 points, while Russian Maxim Titarenko’s Uhuru is trailing in third with 21.
In the Modern Classic, Nicholas Smith’s Free Wind and Bo Sondergaard’s Patrice III are out in front after collecting six points from three races. Peter Wood’s Windstar is in second with nine points.
Aquacraft Asia’s Odin made a clean sweep in the first three races to lead the Cruising class with three points. Jack Cristensen’s Linda (eight points) and William Sax’s Astraeus (nine points) are in second and third.
The Kiteboards class was due to compete yesterday, but unreliable light winds saw the contest cancelled. That left Frenchman Olivier Darsin in the lead after two races with 1.4 points. Thailand’s Narapichi Pudla, with four points, and Filipino Ken Nacor on eight, are vying for second place.
