22nd
Phuket King's Cup Regatta 2008
“Another AY Grand Prix Championship Event”
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22nd
Phuket King's Cup Regatta 2008
“Another AY Grand Prix Championship Event” |
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Goto the KC 08 Photo Gallery
As forecasted a light
10 Knot breeze was enough to get the boats away on schedule. Both Quantum
Racing and Mandrake made there start line approaches a bit
early and were forced to dip the line or return around the pin end just
as the starting signal sounded. The boats are being sailed to there full
potential so by the time they are half way up the first leg, the respective
order is established according to their speed and handicap ratings. At
75 feet Jelik is well up in the lead, followed by Island
Fling and Hi-Fi close behind. Then a gap to Mandrake
with Quantum Racing trailing at the back. Making errors, picking
up favourable wind shifts or pressure may reduce or expand the space between
them or even change the order which is the only visible sign any particular
boat is doing better than the other or who maybe winning on handicap whilst
on the water. Not wanting to be left behind Ray Roberts was determined to pick up the pace on his DK 46 Quantum Racing and scored Race 6 & 7 victories to bump them up to second overall and put the 2008 campaign back on track. Two second placing's for Paul Winkelmann's TP52 Island Fling keeps them at the top of the table, two points in front of Quantum Racing with one race to go. Two third places for Neil Pryde's Welbourne 52 Hi-Fi has them tied on thirteen points with Quantum Racing but relegated to third place as a result of Quantum's Race 7 win. The drop race is introduced today which has narrowed in the scores and the top place on the podium hinges on tomorrows final race. Talk about going down to the wire.
With five wins in a row Matt Allen's Beneteau First 44.7 Ichi Ban has completely dominated the IRC 1 class and can't be beaten for the title. Choosing the wrong side on the first beat during race 6 saw them drop down the order but they steadily worked there way back and scored second place which ultimately has no effect on the overall outcome but ruins the clean sheet they have maintained since the beginning. Rob Bottomley's Beneteau First 47.7 Sailplane have been pushing hard all regatta with a series of second places and despite scoring sixth in race 6 they hold onto second overall. After being on the brink of success Ben Copley's Swann CS 42 Katsu broke through by triumphing in race 6. This result has them comfortably holding third overall. Two third places today for Jonathan Mahony's Mumm 30 Happy Endings will lift their spirits after a mixed bag of results.
Two wins today for Toru Inoue's Japanese team on TAG has them scoring exactly the same places and points as Jan Kisteit's Bavaria 34 cruiser Little Eva. This has them both tied on all fronts, so tomorrows final race will be the big decider. Despite scoring eighth place today Trevor Joyce's Kinnon holds onto third overall as the rest of the competitors have scored at least one bad race.
Result corrections overnight has Radab Kanjanavanit's Farrier - 9A SEAMICO Cedar Swan taking out race 4 on top of winning today's race puts them firmly on the top of the pointscore. Relegated to second overnight David Liddell's Miss Saigon stayed on the pace today scoring second place to bring him within three points of SEAMICO Cedar Swan. Third place for Bob Brindley's X Catriot keeps them in third overall and brings to life the term 'A cat amongst the pigeons'. Paul Brunning's Dondang Sarang skippered by Christopher Edwards notched up another win to go to the top of the class. Second place for Ralph Goetz's Waconda skippered Simon Jupe has them closing in on the leaders. Weighing in at over 100 tons and exceeding 40 meters in length James Stoll's Argo has trouble going around short courses especially in light breezes so third place today has them slipping down to second overall but a fantastic all round effort and a steep learning curve for the trainee crew.
More PKCR 2008 news and results can be found at: http://www.kingscup.com Online AY
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Long
live the King
After
having his protest dismissed Dr Jon Wardill went out to prove a point
and relentlessly drove his Cassidy 55 Australian Maid to record
a Race 5 victory. Second place for Peter Cremers Shahtoosh has
lifted them to the top of the pointscore. David Ross' Swan 53 Macquarie
- Frangipani Girl has been leading since the beginning but a sixth
place today has them tied on points with Shahtoosh, so it is
not over yet. Third place for Dr Ian Nicolson's Dubois 80 Intrigue
has them in third overall just in front of Australian Maid which
is turning into a battle between the doctors.
Scott
Duncanson's Phuket 8 Raimon Land The Heights and Japan's Kenchi
Takahashi Platu 25 Motor Net shared the race wins today. In the
strong wind the Phuket 8 can get up and plane but in lighter airs it becomes
just another displacement boat and virtually impossible to sail up to
there rating. As the wind decreased during race 6 the inevitable happened
and Raimon Land The Heights finished in fourth place which became
her drop race. Only two points separates the two title contenders and
the prediction for tomorrow are for moderate winds, so the final score
hangs in the air. Two third places for Morten Jakobsen's Platu 25 Emma
Mathilde has them holding steady in third overall but something catastrophic
must happen to the leaders for them to advance.
The
Royal Thai Navy 1 Farr MRX skippered by CPO.3 Wiwat Poonpat are
making a bigger comeback than lazarus since breaking there mast by scoring
first and second places to go to the top of the points table. Firsts and
second places for Peter Dyer's defending champion Madame Butterfly
are also making a late charge and lifts them to third overall. Initially
the Royal Thai Navy 2 Farr MRX skippered by NC Pontap Sukudom
were the pacesetters but have since relinquished the lead to there navy
counterparts and today's fourth and third places has narrowed the points
down to just hold onto second overall by the slimmest of margins. 
In
the Sunsail One Design class Achim Griese's Dutch crew on Princess
Anna are continuing on their winning ways and have put themselves
in an unbeatable position for the overall title this year. Second place
for Jan Ruedel's German crew on Princess Arieta lifts them to
second overall after improving with every race. Third place for Nick Rose's
British crew on Princess Christina has them tied for third place
overall with Jakob Handte's German crew on Princess Isabella.
First
and second places for Peter Dyer's SEA Property puts at least
one hand firmly on the Firefly 850 Sport class trophy. Second and fourth
places for Hans Rahmann's Voodo Child is enough to hold onto
second overall but they will have to find a miracle to overcome the deficit
with SEA Property. Aussie Brent Gribble's Twin Sharks
two third places displaces Henry Kaye's Seahorse Interiors - Mamba
from third place overall and with one race left to run there only chance
is to improve on the minor placing's.
Japan's
Keitaro Kurihara's Magic Lady victory today sees them jump up
into second overall in the Ocean Rover Class. Kevan Perrins Rusalka
snuck into second place today but is out of the running for any podium
positions. Third place for Krasnoperov Oleg's Russian team on Thalassa
keeps them on top of the table by two points but cannot afford any slip
ups in the final race as Magic Lady and Chapus Marc's USA team
on Sailor Rest are ready to pounce.
"Sailor
Chick of the Regatta" What better time than at this
mornings sail past for our roving cameraman to spot some more candidates
for the Sailor Chick award. Unfortunately the indentity of the boat or
ladies could not be recognized so if any of the readers can help us please
email 
