The Kata Rocks Poker Run 2022 Edition - A shout out to Derani Yachts

The 7th Kata Rocks Superyacht Rendezvous (KRSR) & Poker Run

The 007 James Bond Party was a fitting highlight to a fantastic few days both on the water and at Kata Rocks and Carpe Diem Beach Club.

For the 7th consecutive year, the yachting crowd in Phuket and beyond gathered at Kata Rocks for the Kata Rocks Superyacht Rendezvous (KRSR) from 8-10 December 2022.

Organized by Infinite Luxury and hosted by Kata Rocks, the event commenced on the evening of the 7th with the traditional dinner for the villa owners at Kata Rocks.
KRSR guests and yachts started arriving at Kata Rocks on Thursday the 8th and were welcomed with lunch and a yacht hop to see the Demarest Clinic yacht, moored in the bay in front of Kata Rocks. This elegant yacht generously served drinks and canapes to the visiting guests. In a luxury tasting in the wine cellar, Japanese spirits were sampled by the KRSR guests including 3 different kinds of gin and vodka. The evening was dedicated to the traditional Partner & Sponsor’s BBQ, which was attended by about 120 invited guests and filled with fun and entertainment.

On Friday the 9th, with a rough sea, only some of the fleet chose to cruise up the west coast of Phuket to Carpe Diem Beach Club in Bang Tao. However, the lunch was packed as others chose to go by road. This is the first year that Carpe Diem has hosted a lunch for the KRSR and it was met with universal approval from all who attended. After the cruise back to Kata Rocks, many of the guests attended a single malt whisky tasting in the Wine Room sampling 12, 15 and 18 years old whiskies.

Due to the weather conditions, the scheduled yacht hop and Big Boys’ Toys on Saturday 10 December could not take place. It was a spectacular sight from Kata Rocks when our partners were demonstrating the E-foil, wing sup with its green sail and the i-Aquas in the sea right in front of Kata Rocks.

The Saturday evening’s closing party in 007 BOND style was as always a huge success, with a number of surprisingly creative Bond outfits and even more stunning Bond girl outfits. Live violin music accompanied dancers on stage whilst being circled like sharks by the iAquas in the Kata Rocks pool, a cat-girl fire show, models clad in gold serving food and drinks, a six-piece band followed by DJ Armina and DJ Fabio. The finale was an illuminated flyboarder in the Kata Rocks infinity pool shooting fire and surrounded by a spectacular firework show all in proper BOND style.

The third edition of the Kata Rocks Poker Run (KRPR) took place on Sunday 11 December and saw it to be a beautiful day with enthusiastic participants. The route around the island of Phuket started at Kata Rocks, with a second start at Koh Rang Noi. On the way, participants collected playing cards at respectively: Xana Beach, the Playyard, Koh Rang Noi and Banana Beach and then one upon return to Kata Rocks.

A distinct level of friendly ‘Miami Vice’ vibes is always part of the KRPR with the focus on a day of fun out on the water. The event concluded with a relaxed BBQ at Kata Rocks and presentation of the trophy to the winner, “Noh Rules”. The prize winners were the boats with the best Poker hand. Prizes varied from a 2 night stay at Kata Rocks for the winner to an overnight stay at the Playyard for “Ninja 1” and a dinner voucher for the Atoll Floating Restaurant at Angsana for “KR Charter”. Murano also gave out some fantastic glassware as additional prizes for the three winning boats.

Infinite Luxury and Kata Rocks would like to extend their gratitude to all the event partners and sponsors for their contribution to make the two events a great success. Richard Pope, CEO of Kata Rocks said, “Despite some difficult sea conditions, the KRSR and Poker Run have once again proved to be a fantastic few days of partying on and off the water. We’d very much like to thank all our sponsors who helped make it such an enjoyable few days for all involved.”