The wind did not want to come out to play today
Queen Suthida Bajrasudhabimalalakshana arrived in Phuket this morning hoping to take part in the second race of the second day of keelboat racing at the 37th Phuket King’s Cup. Alas, it wasn’t meant to be as the wind did not want to come out and play – the irony being the Queen was to compete on the sleek Vayu THA 72, a yacht named after the god of wind. But fellow competitors will still get a chance to see the Queen sail on Vayu later in the week.
At 11am, with little or no wind on the water, PRO Simon James sent the fleet back to the shoreline so they wouldn’t bake in the noon-day sun. He said he would update them by 1pm: he did, but waited another half-an-hour before pulling the plug, realizing he wasn’t going to be able to conjure up any gusts today.
So, the sailing that did take place today was limited to the dinghies competing off of Kata Beach, and the SV-14s competing off of Ao Po Grad Marina. In this competition, eighty-one dinghy sailors battled it out over four days for eight titles: Boy’s and Girl’s Optimists, ILCA4 U18 (mixed), the ILCA 7 class, the ILCA6 Open Class, the International 420 class, the Open Skiff U18 class and the Inclusive S/V14 class.
Forty-one sailors competed in the boy’s and girl’s Optimist classes. YRAT’s Surapa Muangngam had an outstanding regatta winning four of the eight races in the class and finishing second three times. She beat her closest competitor China’s Youjia Xu by 17 points while YRAT’s Pakornkiat Chaiya-o-cha placed third, a further six points behind Youjia.
In the ILCA 4 class, there were 14 sailors (8 male, 6 female) competing, and Samut Prakan Provincial Sports Authority’s (SPPSA) Pinchanok Klaysomboon also had an outstanding regatta winning five of the eight races and finishing second twice to finish 12 points ahead of YRAT’s Kitchakhun Somkhanngoen, and 15 points ahead of Karit Phramanee.
The ILCA6 Open, ILCA7, and the 420s were scored together and by winning four races Voravong Rachrattanak of the RTNA edged Gass Anton of Kazakhstan by two points to capture the class with fellow-Thai Thorfun Boonnak in third spot, five points back of Gaas.
The nine-boat Open Skiff U-18 class saw another outstanding performance, this time by UWC’s Punthita Werotjanakul as she has won six of the eight races in the class to finish eight points ahead of UWC’s Andries Kosuge & 14 points ahead of UWC Owen Wong-Forhart: a clean sweep by UWC. Congratulations to Seahorse Sailing School’s Scott Duncanson and Garfield Meeyusamsen for the role they played in developing these sailors.
Disabled Sailing Thailand (DAT) finished on the east coast of the island, just off of Ao Po Grand Marina. After four days of racing, last year’s winners’ Suraphong Chitkhong (helm) & Mak Sarawat (crew), defended their title finishing two points ahead of Tanat Upatising (helm) & Tatiana Kaurova (crew), with the crew of Thitapa Saelime (helm) and Martin Holmes (crew) taking third, eight points back of Tanat/Tatiana. Garfield’s father, Thammasak Meeyusamsen was the racing official, presiding over these races.
Host Sponsor the Kata Group of Hotels, Amazing Thailand, Centara Hotel & Resorts, the RMA Group, Coca Cola Haad Thip PCL, Bangkok Airways, Garmin Thailand, Ford Thailand, RICOH (Thailand), the National Telecom Public Company Limited, Primus Marine, Ao Po Grand Marina, B & G Marine Electronics, Bangkok Hospital, and Singha.
For more information and result, please visit www.kingscup.com.
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About the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta – Asia’s legendary yacht race under Royal Patronage
Under Royal Patronage, the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta was founded in 1987, organized by the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta Organizing Committee under the auspices of the Royal Varuna Yacht Club, in conjunction with the Yacht Racing Association of Thailand, the Royal Thai Navy and the Province of Phuket.
For more information and result, please visit www.kingscup.com
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