21st Phuket King’s Cup Regatta 2007
AY Race Report 5 & Summary

Check out the KC07 Photo Gallery

Strong winds to finish the regatta...
The windiest King's Cup since 1994 soon sorted the men from the boys and ended on a high note. Through out the week there have been numerous collisions, a capsized catamaran, shredded spinnakers, many bruised egos and even a whale was reported to have surfaced striking the catamaran The Horse. Although overall class winners were decided in six out of the thirteen classes by the finish of yesterdays racing most skippers were happy to go out today and sort out the final podium places.

Racing Class
Ray Roberts knew he had to win both races today to have any chance of regaining the title for Quantum Racing. Approaching the very short startline a tad early with no room for error the bows hit the line as the horn sounded. A few anxious moments before the recall signal sounded which put an end to their title chances. Frank Pong's very powerful Reichel-Pugh 75 Jelik continued to defy the pundits and set off with blistering pace to claim two bullets, bringing his tally to six wins out of eight races and for the first time take home the coveted 2007 title. Forth and second place keeps Quantum Racing in second overall and two fifth places for Stephen Reith's Foxy Lady III is enough to score the third podium place. Fred Kinmonth / Nick Burns Fortis Mandrake and Chris Meads swish looking Corby 43 Full Metal Jacket were always in the hunt but other than filling minor placing's towards the end they fell out of contention.

Sportsboat
Scott Duncanson's Phuket 8 Raimon Land wrapped up the title yesterday and did not compete today. After a hairy spinnaker ride with broaches and all, the Platu's found it more controlled to go downwind with a poled out headsail instead. Morten Jacobson's Platu 25 Emma Mathild XX skillfully claimed race six to hold onto second overall and Nick Southward's Tuay Lek appeared out of the blue to win the last race. Japans Keisuke Nagamatsu Risotada did enough in the early races for third overall.

Premier Cruising
At the start of the day, three yachts were within range of winning the title. Reefed mainsails and dusting cobwebs from No 2 or 3 headsails has become the order of the regatta. The start was hotly contested and sail selection / configuration in strong breezes is very important especially up the windward beat. Geoff Hill's Strewth seemed to have mastered the heavy conditions and was forced to wait twenty odd minutes for David Ross's class leader Frangipani Girl to cross the finish line. This gave Geoff Hill's crew their first win after a string of second places and displaced Frangipani Girl from the top of the podium earning Strewth a hard faugh overall victory. Second place for Peter Cremers Shahtoosh gives them third overall.

IRC 1
Once Jeff Davidson's Mumm 30 Panic locked into gear they were unstoppable. Four wins and two second places gave Panic the series by a country mile. Tim Costello's Farr 43 Switchblade with the Irish contingent onboard showed they were very serious to finish up second overall and the best the boat has ever done at the King's Cup. A last race win for Jaray Tipsuk on Octopussy lifted their spirits and elevated them to third overall.

IRC 2
As Peter Dyer's Madame Butterfly wrapped up the series earlier on, they ventured out onto the course but wisely choose not to race and preserve the boat instead. In their absence Tani Bassadone skippering the Swan 42 La Samudra took the honours on the day to finish second overall by one point. Second place for Pornprom Sagultem's Royal Thai Navy 1 gives them third overall. The results don't show how closely contested the podium places have been.

IRC 3
Fredrick Roswold's classic IOR racer Wings completely dominated the class by posting four wins in a row. A last race win for Dr Basil Diethelm's Swan 44 Sarabande has secured them second overall. Third place for Larry Emerson's chartered Remington has them staying in third overall.

Sunsail OD - Sun Odyssey 35
Christian Eschenberg's Princess Anna was back on form to win the last race and claim overall victory for another year. Third place today for Gunter Persiehl's Princess Arieta hands them second on the podium. Keith Harding's Princess Sharda tried desperately to close the gap but settled on third overall at the end of the regatta.

Bareboat
Despite fifth place today Japans Hironori Kobayashi Fidji on the smallest boat in the class pulled of a colossal overall victory in the face of their bigger rivals. Coming into the last race Daniel Schwalb's Mont Clair was the closest contender and with second place managed to tie with Fidji on points but was reduced to second overall after count back. Scott Jacobsen's Amadeus finished the regatta like they started, with a race win but the scores in between puts them in third overall by a mere point from the tied leaders.

Firefly One design
Henry Kaye's crew on Mamba put on a fine display of boat handling and restraint when needed to firmly secure overall victory with five wins and a second place. Roger Kingdon's Moto Inzi was compensated for missing two races after a collision with the press boat and returned with vengeance to score second overall. With the demise of the other boats David Hill's Voodo Child have kept their nose clean and finished all races to take third overall.

Multi Racing
In strong winds the bigger catamarans can hold there own against the smaller trimarans. After pushing hard all week Christopher Edwards Spirit of Isuzu excelled in the fresh breeze to claim first place on the last race and rise up on this occasion to become the overall champion. Dave Wales Cosair trimaran The Sting has led most of the regatta but fifth place today sees them drop to second overall. Second place today for Peter Ball's Summersalt has the crew doing back flips as it rewards them with third overall after a close faugh series amongst old and new friends.

Multi Cruising
The strong winds saw a very depleted fleet out on the water. Larry Pollock's Running Cloud won the class after keeping a clean sheet with four wins on the trot. In their absence Bob Mott's Chameleon claimed the final race and cling onto second place overall. At the end of racing Aussie Don McGrath's Cat Out of the Bag finished up with third place overall.

Ocean Rover
Another first place for Philip Hutchinson's Tzigane brings with it the glory of winning a King's Cup trophy on their first attempt. Never far behind John O' Dell's Grisly Adams filled the bridesmaids position with second overall. Kevin Perkins on Rusalka has had a up and down regatta to sail into third place overall.

Classic Class
Its a full hand for Matt Harsley's Jubilaeum with five wins in a row in the two boat class. Simon Morris on Sirius may have came second but assures me its all about having fun and competing.

Summary
This years regatta can easily be summed up by "Wind glorious wind..." After years of suffering from little breeze the event took a turn for the better when nature blessed the fleet with moderate to strong winds. Essential for the success of any sailing event. The race committee has worked hard to refine the courses to suit the sailors needs. Some work is required to tighten up the scoring system and perhaps a dedicated team is needed to concentrate on this important area. Other than that, another action packed regatta with lots of fun parties and making new friendships should put KC 2007 into the history books as "One of the greatest."

More KC 07 info and results at www.kingscup.com

Check out the KC07 Photo Gallery

If you would like to comment on the KC 07 - AY Race Reports goto the Capt Marty - AsianYachting blogsite at http://asian-yachting.blogspot.com/ and add your point of view.

21st Phuket King’s Cup Regatta 2007
AY Race Report 4

Close run into the finish...
After the lay-day to conduct minor repairs and regroup the troops, racing resumed with the final push to the finish. Crews may have appeared subdued in the light morning air but underneath the determination to improve their standings over the last two days of racing was greater than ever. The scoring team have worked tirelessly and assured everyone that the system is up to date and steps taken to solve the situation. Light wind to start, that increased as the boats disappeared around the corner and up the east coast before returning under spinnaker to the finish. Tim Milner's catamaran Seekronghuk was the biggest casualty of the day when the spinnaker sheet jammed just as a strong gust came through causing the boat to capsize right at the finish line.

Racing Class
The softening breeze saw the small lighter boats exert some pressure on the penultimate race. Ray Roberts DK46 Quantum Racing and Stephen Reith's Sydney 40 Foxy Lady III have some work to do if they are to overtake Frank Pong's 75 ft Jelik in the overall pointscore. Ray Roberts nailed the start on Quantum Racing and rounded the windward mark in front of Jelik. Their intention was clear and despite the bigger Jelik disappearing over the horizon it was Quantum Racing that clawed one back and came out on top in race 6. Stephen Reith's Foxy Lady III managed to sneak into second place which relegated Jelik down to third place. Four wins in the earlier races has Jelik sitting pretty at the top of the table and will have to finish worse than third on the final race to loose their present lead.

Sportsboat
Morten Jacobson's Platu 25 Emma Mathild XX stepped up to the plate and finally scored a win over Scott Duncanson's Phuket 8 Raimon Land. This spoils the Phuket 8's clean sheet but has little effect on their overall standing. Ray Waldron's Platu 25 The Weasel has had an up and down event and third place today sees them fighting out the minor placing's with Japans Keisuke Nagamatsu on Platu 114.

Premier Cruising
Despite the faster boats establishing a huge lead during the race, at the end of the day David Ross's Swan 53 Frangipani Girl keeps on popping up and taking the handicap honours to lead the class. Four second places in a row makes Geoff Hill's Strewth the closest contender to Frangipani Girl but will have to put some distance between themselves to topple them in the overall standings. Third place for Jon Wardill's Australian Maid and fourth for Peter Cremers Shahtoosh has them waiting in the wings and ready to pounce if the leaders make any mistakes.

IRC 1
After a slow start to the regatta Jeff Davidson's Mumm 30 Panic has dominated scoring four wins and second place to take an insurmountable lead. Second today for Tim Costello's Farr 43 Switchblade with the Irish contingent onboard puts them in second overall going into the final round. Steve Manning's Walawala claimed third place to lift their overall standing. Andrey Novoderezhkin's Russian Team on Fi Tuen have been on a charge to hold onto third overall.

IRC 2
Peter Dyer's Madame Butterfly continued to nail the start line and excel in light to moderate conditions. Although they have scored four wins and two second places to win the class with one day to go the resulting difference in times between podium places have been very close. Tani Bassadone skippering the heavier displacement Swan 42 La Samudra holds an advantage in stronger winds and second place today keeps them in second overall. Niels Degenkolw Phoenix came from behind to score third place today but a little to late to make any impression on the leaders.

IRC 3
Fredrick Roswold's classic IOR racer Wings continues to dominate the class by posting four wins in a row. Consistently filling second place Dr Basil Diethelm's Swan 44 Sarabande has secured second overall. Third place for Larry Emerson's chartered Remington has them regaining third overall.

Sunsail OD - Sun Odyssey 35
Gunter Persiehl's Princess Arieta triumphed over Christian Eschenberg's Princess Anna today but a little to late to dislodge Princess Anna from the top of the table. Third place for Keith Harding's Princess Sharda closes the gap for second and third overall to keep the final podium places open till the last race.

Bareboat
Japans Hironori Kobayashi on Fidji resumed his winning ways to take a slender one point overall lead. Daniel Schwalb's Mont Clair is the closest contender and the drop race and tomorrows final race will determine the eventual class winner. Third place for Rob Blinders Sunsail Morakot finally secures them a race podium place. Scott Jacobsen's Amadeus holds onto third overall.

Firefly One design
Four wins places Henry Kaye's Mamba firmly at the top of the class leaderboard. In spite of earlier problems Roger Kingdon's Moto Inzi is back on the pace and second place will give them second overall. Bill Phelps Twin Sharks was back out on the water with a patched bow and finished in a remarkable third place. With the demise of the other boats David Hill's Voodo Child has kept their nose clean and may take third overall if they can stay up with the leaders during the final race.

Multi Racing
Richard Simson's new Corsair Dingo rewarded them with a win today. Khun Radab's Cedar Swan slipped into second place. Third place for Dave Wales Cosair trimaran The Sting keeps them at the top of the leaderboard despite not winning a race as yet. Tim Milner's catamaran Seekronghuk was the biggest casualty of the day when the spinnaker sheet jammed just as a strong gust came through causing the boat to capsize right at the finish line. Nobody was injured and a recovery plan is underway.

Multi Cruising
Talk about consistency. Larry Pollock's Running Cloud has kept a clean sheet with four wins on the trot. After three third place Aussie Don McGrath's Cat Out of the Bag finally came second displacing Bob Mott's Chameleon into third on race four. However this will not have much bearing on the overall podium places.

Ocean Rover
Philip Hutchinson's Tzigane added another win to their tally and takes a firm grip on the trophy. John O' Dell's Grisly Adams followed their race 3 win with a second place to hold onto second overall. Simon Piff's Rainbow Dream finally stepped onto the podium but is not enough to displace Kevin Perkins Rusalka (4th today) from third place overall.

Classic Class
After upgrading the results Matt Harsley's Jubilaeum has scored four wins to earn them the KC trophy with one race to go. Simon Morris on Sirius may have came second in the battle of the two heavyweights but assures me its all about having fun and competing.

All positions are provisional and based on the results at the time of going to press.

More KC 07 info and results at www.kingscup.com

Check out the KC07 Photo Gallery

21st Phuket King’s Cup Regatta 2007
AY Race Report 3

We love HM the King...
Before racing got underway a royal sailpast was held to honour HM the King of Thailand's 80th birthday. A majestic sight to behold as crews lined the 103 competing yachts chanting three cheers, doffing their sailing caps and some even singing Happy Birthday. A parade of sail is an appropriate way for International sailors to pay homage to Thailand's sailing royal family that have supported yachting events all these years. The racing classes continued on with two more windward / leeward races and the cruising classes were duly dispatched on a passage race around Ko Hi and Ko Aeo before returning to finish off Kata Beach.

Racing Class
Frank Pong's 75 ft Jelik proved once again they can win windward / leeward races and takes a commanding lead in the overall pointscore with four wins to date. Stephen Reith's Sydney 40 Foxy Lady III announced their presence with second place on race 4 to relegate Ray Roberts DK46 Quantum Racing down to third place by 40 seconds. Race five saw Quantum Racing reverse the order with Foxy Lady III to finish up 2nd and 3rd respectively as well as in the overall pointscore.

Sportsboat
Scott Duncanson's Phuket 8 Raimon Land has kept a clean sheet up till now with five strait wins in a row. Japans Keisuke Nagamatsu on Platu 114 keeps plugging away exchanging second and third places with Kevin Scott's The Weasel and Morten Jacobson's Emma Mathild XX to be the best of the rest.

Premier Cruising
Peter Cremers has steadily been improving Shahtoosh positions and managed to pull a win out of the bag on passage race four. Geoff Hill's Strewth has consistently scored second places on the last three races to retain second overall. Third place for David Ross's Swan 53 Frangipani Girl has all three boats tied on nine points going into the final races which may have to be decided by dropping the worst race score.

IRC 1
Jeff Davidson Mumm 30 Panic have retained their composure to score two wins on the trot and head the leaderboard. Sail in Asia's Farr 43 Switchblade with the Irish Green Team onboard are on the pace with second and sixth place to be amongst the leaders going into the final rounds. Bunlou Pitphirom's Fi Tuen has been up and down the scoreboard but two well earned third places will keep the crew happy. After drifting away on the first night Toshio Furuta's Emma took second place in race five to make up for the unfortunate incident.

IRC 2
Peter Dyer's Madame Butterfly spoiled their clean sheet with a second place in race four but resumed their winning ways in race five to convincingly head the leaderboard. David Lindahl's Swan 42 La Samudra bounced back with first and third places to sneak back into the running. Pornprom Sagultem's Royal Thai Navy 1 scored fifth and second on the royal birthday and proudly gifted it to the King. Michelle Pippen's third place on Tropic Bird has them popping occasionally onto the podium.

IRC 3
Three wins in a row for Fredrick Roswold's classic IOR racer Wings has them well and truly in the lead. Second place for Dr Basil Diethelm's Swan 44 Sarabande puts them in second overall with allot of work to do if they want to improve their standing. Third place for Richard Vine's classic Patrice III is a stitch in time and along time between podium celebrations.

Sunsail OD
Christian Eschenberg's Princess Anna continues to dominate with three first places. Keith Harding on Princess Sharda scored second place and Gunter Persiehl Princess Arieta finished third on the identical Sunsail Sun Odyssey 35.

Bareboat
Daniel Schwalb improved on Mont Clair second place yesterday to first place today. Scott Jacobsen's Amadeus leapt back into contention with second place. Japans Hironori Kobayashi on Fidji finished third but a race 2 win keeps them at the top of the class.

Firefly One design
Henry Kaye stayed on the pace with Mamba to record their forth win in a row and go to the top of the class. After Roger Kingdon's retirement yesterday he had Moto Inzi back out on the water to score second and third places today. Andrew Marshal's Pink Lady returned with second place in race five. The resultant action after the collision between Bill Phelps Twin Sharks and Peter Dyers SEA Properties will see the transfer of parts and pieces to get Twin Sharks back out on the race course again.

Multi Racing
Tim Milner's Seekronghuk came from behind with a win and second today which puts a cat amongst the pigeons. Richard Simson's new Corsair Dingo is on a charge to score second place. Third for Dave Wales Cosair trimaran The Sting keeps them in the overall running by exerting pressure on Peter Ball's Summersalt that finished fourth but still holds a slim lead in the overall standings. Bob Brindley's Xcatriot came back from extinction with a race five win. Christopher Edwards Spirit of Isuzu (Charro) also returned to the podium with second in race five.

Multi Cruising
Some things never change. Larry Pollock's Running Cloud was triumphant over Bob Mott's Chameleon and Aussie Don McGrath's Cat Out of the Bag in third. They have maintained the same order over all three races held so far.

Ocean Rover
John O' Dell's Grisly Adams scored there first win of the regatta. John Greenwood's Tzigane has two wins already and second place today has them at the top of the leaderboard. Kevin Perkins third place on Rusalka keeps them up with the leaders.

Classic Class
The battle of the heavyweights is between Matt Harsley Jubilaeum and Simon Morris on Sirius. As they each have a first place and a retirement they can be considered tied on points with a couple more rounds to go.

All positions are provisional and based on the results at the time of going to press.

More KC 07 info and results at www.kingscup.com

Check out the KC07 Photo Gallery

21st Phuket King’s Cup Regatta 2007
AY Race Report 2

Drama on the high seas...
After yesterdays passage race around the islands the sailors got down to the serious business of racing on multiple windward / leeward courses. Once again an idyllic day for sailing with 15 gusting to 20 knots of North Easterly breeze fanning the boats along under clear blue skies. Several collisions on the course saw a huge attrition rate in the Firefly fleet with four boats retiring, a hole in the start boat, at least 4 spinnakers shredded, photo boat crew shaken up and a sailor rushed to the Phuket International Hospital. Judging by the crowd of sailors outside of the jury room and the delay in posting results the arguments will rage long into the night. Despite all this carnage the results will eventually see a favourable pattern emerging in each class which could dictate how the rest of the event unfolds.

Racing Class
Despite media speculation that Jelik does not like windward / leeward races Frank Pong took his 75 footer around the course in record time and bagged Race 2 line and handicap honours. Ray Roberts has Quantum Racing fully charged up and captured third place in race 2 and first in race 3 to tie with Jelik in the overall stakes. Fred Kinmonth / Nick Burns Fortis Mandrake and Stephen Reith's Sydney 40 Foxy Lady III traded second places and Chris Meads swish looking Corby 43 Full Metal Jacket enters the podium places with third in race three.

Sportsboat
Scott Duncanson's Phuket 8 Raimon Land just loves strong wind and successfully added two more wins to their tally to take a commanding overall class lead. Japans Keisuke Nagamatsu on Platu 114 improved a place on race 1 to capture second place in race two. Morten Jacobson stepped up the pace on Emma Mathild XX to score third place.

Premier Cruising
David Ross's newly refitted Swan 53 Frangipani Girl was worth every penny as they raised their game and won both Race 2 and 3 to shoot to the top of the leaderboard. Two second places for Geoff Hill's Strewth has them trailing Frangipani Girl by one point. Two third places for Peter Cremers Shahtoosh has them edging out Jon Wardill's Australian Maid for third place overall.

Firefly One design
Henry Kaye was hell bent on making up for Mamba's retirement yesterday and went onto secure victory on Race 2 and 3 today. A collision between Bill Phelps Twin Sharks and Peter Dyers SEA Properties saw their regatta come to a early conclusion. Roger Kingdon's Moto Inzi had an incident with the press boat and Chris Jongerius The Frog retired with damage. This left Pierre Forsans Pagatoon and David Hill's Voodo Child to trade second and third places.

IRC 1
Jeff Davidson Mumm 30 Panic clambered back into the running with first and second places today. Sail in Asia's Farr 43 Switchblade has three owners from the Irish Green Team for the Commodore's Cup onboard that helped them take first place in race 3 to keep them amongst the leaders. Bunlou Pitphirom's Fi Tuen snuck in a second place but third places for Kevin Whitcraft's Octopussy and Steve Manning Walawala keeps them in first and second respectively on the overall scoreboard.

IRC 2
Peter Dyer's Madame Butterfly added two first places onto yesterdays win to convincingly head the leaderboard. After a bad start yesterday Lieutenant Commander Pornprom Sagultem helming Royal Thai Navy 1 scored second and third places today to put their title defense back on track. David Lindahl's Swan 42 La Samudra bounced back with second place in race 3 and Michelle Pippen's third place on Tropic Bird puts some spice back into the fleet.

IRC 3
American Fredrick Roswold's classic IOR racer Wings repeated yesterdays winning performance to stay top of the leaderboard. Larry Emerson stepped up the pace on the chartered S&S 42 Remington with second place and drop Dr Basil Diethelm's Swan 44 Sarabande down to third.

Sunsail OD
The race of princesses in Sunsail Sun Odyssey 35's has resulted in Princess Anna adding another 1st place to their tally over Princess Arieta in second and Princess Sharda in third.

Bareboat
Asia Marine's Fidji is the smallest boat in the class but managed to slay the dragons with first place and go to the top of the class. Asia Mavia Charterboat Mont Clair scored second to keep their hopes alive and third place for Hermann Schwarz's Vienna Fun put smiles on the crews faces.

Multi Racing
After a bad start to the regatta Peter Ball's Summersalt bounced back into contention with two first places today. The juggling of the placing's sees Dave Wales Cosair trimaran The Sting finish with 2nd and 3rd places to go second overall. Third and sixth place for Khun Radab's Cedar Swan sees them drop down to third overall on the table.

Multi Cruising
Larry Pollock's Running Cloud was triumphant over Bob Mott's Chameleon and Aussie Don McGrath's Cat Out of the Bag in third and the same order as race 1

All positions are provisional and based on the results at the time of going to press.

More KC 07 info and results at www.kingscup.com

21st Phuket King’s Cup Regatta 2007
AY Race Report 1

Winds up and there racing...
Clear blue skies and 8 to 10 knots north easterly breeze greeted the sailors on Day One of racing. Some may have been a little late arriving at the starting area, especially after dancing the night away at last nights welcoming party at the Kata Beach Resort. The race officers selected passage courses that took the fleet around the southern tip of Phuket and beat up the east coast to round either Ko Hi, Ko Aeo or the Safe Water Mark into Phuket Harbour before returning on a long downwind slide and reaching to the finish off Kata beach. Freshening breezes on the east coast had the racing boats making quick work of the course and most boats finished by three in the afternoon. Unfortunately for the slower cruising classes the breeze died out in the afternoon leaving them to struggle for the finish line.

Racing Class
At 75 foot in length Frank Pong's Jelik enjoys a long beat to windward and even more a long downwind slide to cover the thirty one mile course in three hours and twenty five minutes. This earned them a resounding first and fastest on race 1 and a good confidence boost early in the proceedings. Fred Kinmonth / Nick Burns Mills 51 Fortis Mandrake followed thirty six minutes latter to clinch second place in front of a fast finishing Ray Roberts on Quantum Racing slightly over a minute behind on corrected time. Stephen Reith's Sydney 40 Foxy Lady III drifted off during the night and was found this morning five miles offshore by the Thai Navy making them unable to compete.

Sportsboat
Scott Duncanson's Phuket 8 now renamed Raimon Land left the rest of the sportsboat fleet in their wake. Finishing thirty eight minutes in front of the next boat gives them first and fastest plus a good start to the regatta. Not to be out done Kevin Scott's The Weasel was the best of the Platu 25's to score second place. Japans Keisuke Nagamatsu on Platu 114 followed close behind to fill third place.

Premier Cruising
Provisionally Pena Trungkabunchar's Lawana was awarded the win in Premier Cruising. A protest was lodged that they did not sail the correct course which would result in Jon Wardill's second placed Australian Maid being elevated to first place. Despite winning many other regional regattas Peter Cremers Shahtoosh first attempt at the King's Cup has resulted in third place. A last minute reprieve for Geoff Hill's Strewth to stay in the Premier class gives them fourth place which may improve if the protest is upheld.

Firefly One design
Bill Phelps on Twin Sharks was quick of the startline and established a handy lead by the first turning mark. Closely followed by Chris Jongerius on The Frog. Henry Kaye's Mamba and Roger Kingdon's Moto Inzi had there work cut out but got down to it and by the time they reached Ko Hi they had closed the gap on the leaders. After multiple gybes down the long back strait and reaching to the finish it was Henry Kaye's Mamba that crossed the line first but for technical reasons choose to withdraw from the race. Seventeen seconds latter Bill Phelps steered Twin Sharks across the line and rightfully reclaimed first place. Roger Kingdon skillfully sailed Moto Inzi downwind to bounce back into second place. Chris Jongerius on The Frog stayed on the pace to score third place.

IRC 1
Steve Manning had the pedal to the metal on his new Beneteau 44.7's Walawala to secure first place. Sail in Asia's Farr 43 Switchblade had a good run amongst the leaders to slot into second place after missing out on first place by a mere fourteen seconds. Bill Hamlen's suspiciously named Tropical Beaver stayed on the pace to finish third and keep the Beneteau designs amongst the front runners.

IRC 2
Peter Dyer's Madame Butterfly continued on their winning ways to score first place and start the regatta where they finished off last year. Stuart Williamson's brand new Beneteau 34.7 Skandia has quickly established a place at the top of the order with second place today. Fresh from a win at the Raja Muda Regatta two weeks ago Hellmut Schutte's Elan 340 Aquavit IV managed to squeeze into third spot as the breeze died out on the reach to the finish.

IRC 3
American Fredrick Roswold's classic IOR racer Wings reveled in the upwind conditions to claim first place with style. Dr Basil Diethelm's Swan 44 Sarabande smooth lines gracefully sailed into second place. Larry Emerson S&S 42 Remington kept the boats with good pedigree in the winning circle with third place.

Sunsail OD
The race of princesses in Sunsail Sun Odyssey 35's has resulted in Princess Anna 1st, Princess Sharda 2nd, Princess Athena 3rd. At the time of going to press all the boats are registered under Sunsail Thailand instead of the charterers name.

Bareboat
Elite Yachting's Atlantic 44 Amadeus stuck to their name sake with first place amongst the elite yachts. At thirty feet Asia Marine's Fidji must be the smallest boat in the class but managed second place in front of her much bigger rivals. RKV Engineering Consultants Oceanis 343 Tarawadee 2 closed in on the leaders in the latter stages to score third place.

Multi Racing
Having won several King's Cups before Khun Radab's Cedar Swan got their 2007 campaign off to a good start with first place. Tim Milner's Seekronghuk scorched around the course with the leaders to hold onto second place. Dave Wales much smaller Cosair trimaran The Sting put in a good performance to score third place.

Multi Cruising
Larry Pollock's Running Cloud finished a whopping eighteen minutes in front of the opposition to claim first place. Bob Mott's newly painted Chameleon supporting the sponsors logo smartly stepped into second place. Aussie Don McGrath's Oram 44 Cat Out of the Bag higher handicap relegated them back to third place.

All positions are provisional and based on the results at the time of going to press.

More KC 07 info and results at www.kingscup.com

21st Phuket King’s Cup Regatta 2007
AY Pre-Regatta Report

Wild and windy beginning...
Its that time of the year again when hundreds of sailors from all over the world descend on Phuket in Southern Thailand to compete for the prestigious King's Cup trophies. The airports are full of people with regatta shirts milling around for connecting flights and picking up some last minute duty free gifts. On arrival at the Kata Beach Resort the place is humming with boat registration, sail measurement, race management meetings and the all important media registration in full swing. Just wandering around and taking it all in, gives one a good appreciation of just how much goes on behind the scenes into organising such a large event.

The regatta is always held over the week that His Majesty the King of Thailand’s birthday falls each year. On the 5th December the whole nation and International sailors will celebrate the longest serving monarch in the world HM the King 80th birthday, 61 years since his accession to the Throne and the 21st Phuket King's Cup. A strong flow of north easterly trade winds is presently being experienced along the entire length of the Kra Peninsula which is expected to last for the next few days and should see the regatta off to a good start. Quite a milestone and the media jokingly say that the weather received each year is partially organised by His Majesty to test the Thai sailors racing skills. Keep your fingers crossed!

The three leading contenders for the 2007-08 AYGP Championships Frank Pong's Reichel-Pugh 75 Jelik, Fred Kinmonth / Nick Burns Mills 51 Fortis Mandrake and Ray Roberts DK46 Quantum Racing will be going head to head again but Chris Meads Corby 43 Full Metal Jacket, Dong Qing's Judel/Vrolijk 52 Microlab Moonlight Shadow from mainland China and Stephen Reith's Sydney 40 Foxy Lady III will be going all out to spoil their party.

The Sportsboat Class has Scott Duncanson past winner Phuket 8 Somtam Express and Kipsan Beck's trapesing Pornstar taking on five Platu 25's that were especially designed for the light Asian weather conditions. How they handle the stronger breeze and contain the rapidly planning Phuket 8 is sure to determine the outcome.

With 15 boats entered in the Premier Cruising Class is the biggest to date. Several new faces have appeared on the scene. Bob Yapp's Nest 56 Yo Mo, David Brennan's J160 Pipe Dream IX and Anthony Hastings Beneteau 53 Baby Tonga are relatively unknown but already being touted as prospective title chances. If the breeze stays in Hans Rahmann's 70ft Judel/Vrolijk Yasooda fresh from winning the Raja Muda two weeks ago, Dr Ian Nicolson's Dubois 80 Intrigue and Peter Churchouse's Moonblue 2 will all be in with a chance.

Three IRC Classes have been created to keep similar boats racing against each other. IRC 1 and 2 are split based on their TCF ratings. IRC 3 takes into account the yachts Hull Factor making it more competitive for smaller cruising boats as opposed to pure round the cans racers. Steve Manning and Robert Van Parodin are fielding two new Beneteau 44.7's Walawala and Tantrum that expect to be leading the IRC 1 fleet. Jeff Davidson Mumm 30 Panic has been raking in the silverware recently and wants to add a King's Cup to his ever increasing trophy cabinet.

IRC 2 is likely to be very competitive this year with the Thai Navy Farr MRX's re-challenging for the crown. Lieutenant Commander Pornprom Sagultem is helming Royal Thai Navy 1 which has won "back to back" since 2003. They can expect some added pressure from Peter Dyer's Madame Butterfly (2006 IRC 1 winner) and Raja Muda IRC 3 winner David Lindahl's Swan 42 La Samudra all competing for the IRC 2 trophy.

IRC 3 sees Cinders the smallest boat a First 285 skippered by Thai Khet taking on the much bigger Dr Basil Diethelm's Swan 44 Sarabande, Bo Sondergaard's S&S 46 Patrice III and Larry Emerson chartering the S&S 42 classic Remington to contend with.

The multihull divisions continue to grow at an alarming rate in Thailand. Eight Firefly 850 sportsboats are racing in their own One design class that have attracted allot of overseas attention with top flight skippers and crews clambering over each other to get aboard. Ian Southworth from the Hamble Sailing Club onboard the 2006 KC winner Chi Machine now renamed Sea Properties tops the list of big names. Henry Kay is a Kings Cup veteran returns again on Mamba with the rumor of a hot Aussy sail maker onboard and some spanking new sails. Roger Kingdon on Moto Inzi fresh from his win at the recent Phuket Race Week that wrapped up the 2007 Firefly Annual Awards will be looking to start the season off on a winning note. The stunning hull graphics of Pagatoon owned by Pierre Forsans and Voodoo Child owned by David Hill have both made the supreme effort of transporting their boats overland from Ko Samui.

A number of new Corsair trimarans have been launched in Pattaya that have made their way over to Phuket and swelled the ranks of the Racing Multihull Class. First they will have to beat Mark Pescott's class winning 10m catamaran Summersalt and Khun Redab's multiple winning Cedar Swan before they can claim the title.

Performance Multihull Class sees Bob Mott's Faraway 48 Raimon Land Chameleon heading the challenge. Aussie Don McGrath's Oram 44 Cat Out of the Bag and Simon Grant's Silkline 50 HarAlley will be aiming to spoil the party.

Rounding out the rest of the classes is the Ocean Rover and Sunsail One Design class. Ocean Rover is designed to encourage live aboard cruisers and first time visitors to join in the regatta in a less competitive division. Twelve boats have entered which includes the classic oldies which always add some colour and grandeur to the event.

Six Sun Odyssey 35's will battle it out for the Sunsail awards. Christian Eschenburg German crew and Keith Harding's English crew have have faugh it out over the last couple of years and expected to be at it again this year.

More KC 07 info and results at www.kingscup.com

The principal sponsor of the Regatta is Raimon Land Plc, who is joined by Kata Group, TMB Bank Plc, Thai Beverages Plc, Mom Tri’s Boathouse, Sunsail, Phuket Magazine, Phuket Gazette and a host of local businesses which support the event.

Goto past AY Race Reports and Summary 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Regatta Officials:
International Jury

• Mark Pryke (AUS) - Chairman, 2006 Asian Games ISAF Technical Delegate Mark Pryke returns for his role as the International Sailing Federation technical delegate overseeing the 2006 Asian Games in Doha.

• Li Quan Hai (CHN) - Secretary General, Chinese Yachting Federation
• Howard Elliot (AUS) - Australia, International Jury Race Officer, Official Scorer
• R Adm Prasart (THA) - Thailand, International Jury
• Katsu Hibashi (JPN) - Japan, International Jury

Race Management

• David Brookes (AUS) - Race Officer, Last year PRO Asian Games in Doha 2006

• Tony Denham (AUS) - Race Officer, Koh Samui Regatta 2006/2007, Sydney International Regatta 2006/2007
• Zhou Changcheng (CHN) - Race Officer, Asian Games Doha 2006

IRC Representative

• Jenny Howells – IRC Official (UK)

OMR Multihull Class Representative

• Geoff Cruse - (AUS)

Official Measurer

• Malcolm Runnels - National Measurer (AUS)

Goto the AY Photo Library for images of the 2003/04, 2004/05 2005/06 2006-07 AY Grand Prix Champions presentation with selected shots taken during the season here...

Check out the Annual AYGP 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 and 2006-07 Champions

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