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t was a new team of race officers led by Kenny Yim, regular crew of Lighthorse, who were on duty for Race 4 (5.Jul.15) in the nine-race Quest Yachting Typhoon Series 2015. Having attended the RO course run by Hebe Haven Yacht Club, Yim was keen to fulfil his quota of obligations and put something back into sailing. Although a little nervous, he and his team did a commendable job.
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and Table Islands, finishing at Little Palm Beach. The 10 boats in HKPN Div A and five J-80s followed on the same course with Temujin and the J-80, Jive, among the leaders across the line. With the breeze back to 85 degrees, but having strengthened to 15 knots, it was the turn of the 16 yachts in HKPN Div B to hit the line, with Danaya and Eclipse leading the pack. Their course, a 10nm loop of Table (p), Bluff (p), Bay (p),Table (s) again finishing at Little Palm Beach.
With a passage race scheduled in a 10-knot easterly, he had the IRC Div A and Div B fleet of 16 boats, eight in each, away on time on a 20nm course. This comprised The J-80, Jive, braving the swells Table (s), North Nine Pin (p), East Nine Pin (p), Basalt (p), Bluff (p), Table (s) and finishing at the red and white beacon in the channel between Kau Sai Chau and Sharp Island. The new Mills 41, Ambush, was amongst the Div A front-runners while the new Ker 46 Custom, Zannekin, was mounting a strong challenge. The J-111, Mojito, led the IRC Div B fleet. Within five minutes the breeze had swung 35 degrees but, undeterred, the 11 and four yachts in IRC Div C and Sport Boats (SMS) got away with Goddess in the lead. Their 16nm course involved two laps of Bluff 20
Number 282 / FRAGRANT HARBOUR
Conditions proved ideal for most of the race although the breeze eased off towards the end, slowing the return of the IRC Div C, J-80 and HKPN Div A & B fleet tailenders. All, however, were finished by 1500. The TP52, Free Fire, seemingly relished the
conditions to romp around the course in under two hours to take both line and handicap honours. Marcel Liedts’ Zannekin put in a good showing to finish 2nd. Signal 8 was 3rd.
boats with only the J-80, Footloose, retiring and TT not finishing.
The prizegiving back at the HHYC Garden Bar was tinged with sadness following the Lighthorse lead news that Merlin’s 35-yearthe IRC Div B charge old crew member, home for the daily Polly, had succumbed double with Sea to cancer despite her heroic fiveWolf and Blackjack in 2nd and year battle. In place of a minute’s 3rd. Unfortunately, several boats, silence, Stephen Bourne felt a including Mojito and Outrageous toast and big send-off cheer was came too close to Table Island more appropriate, the second of and found themselves becalmed, which raised the roof. with both suffering accordingly when the results were released. Two geometric races were planned for Races 5 & 6 on Kiasu! held a Sunday the 19th of July 2015 in comfortable lead in the waters outside Port Shelter, HKPN Div A, holding off with a further 30 minutes the challenge of Bits & officially allowed to ensure the Pieces on handicap. fleet reached the starting area on time. RO of the day, Inge Pepper & Salt Strompf, got racing underway finished nearly 14 minutes ahead in HKPN shortly thereafter into a 9-knot Div B and just hung on breeze in relatively lumpy and choppy seas. by 41 seconds to take handicap honours IRC Div C and Sport Boats over Simplicity. were set two laps of a windward / leeward course followed by Jive led the J-80 the HKPN Div A and J-80 fleets fleet home while the Welbourn DSS25, Brace! Brace!! Brace!!!, with IRC Divs A & B three laps. Unfortunately, PDSTI (Tornado now with an SMS handicap, led 2) was over the start line and, the Sport Boats but could not having failed to return, was match the Magic 25, Merlin, scored OCS. A second race on handicap. followed for all classes. All in all, a good day on the At the end of the day, in IRC water for the 62 participating
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S E R I E S Start of Race 5, HKPN Div A entry, Getafix with the advantage
Div A, Free Fire had taken line and corrected honours in Race 5. Just 36 seconds separated the next three finishers on corrected led by Zannekin, Signal 8 and Ambush. In Race 6, Zannekin took line and handicap honours, finishing 12 seconds ahead of Ambush on corrected with PDSTI making amends for its OCS and finishing 3rd. In IRC Div B, Lighthorse took line and corrected honours in Race 5 with Sea Wolf and Blackjack 2nd and 3rd. Outrageous benefited from its new suite of sails to claim handicap honours in Race 6 with Sea Wolf 2nd and Mojito 3rd.
Dexter II did the daily double with line and handicap honours in both races in IRC Div C whilst Moll and Lady Butterfly finished 2nd and 3rd respectively in both. Moll did remarkably well, the boat not designed for the short and steep wave conditions that prevailed. Sell Side Dream took line honours in both HKPN Div A races only to finish 3rd on corrected in both. Getafix took the main honours in Race 5 and secondary honours behind Tornado in Race 6, with DEA II slotting into 2nd place in Race 5.
In HKPN Div B, Red Kite likewise did the daily double in its two races. Pepper & Salt added a 2nd and 3rd to its tally with Windseeker finishing 3rd in Race 5 and Eclipse 2nd in Race 6.
Jive also scored a double daily double in the J-80 Class, with Footloose 2nd in both races and Jelik VII 3rd in Race 5 with JeNa PaBe 3rd in Race 6. Both Jazz and Jelik VII were caught OCS in Race 6.
fine and very hot with isolated showers. This proved right for once, with five knots at the start and RO, Bob Vart, getting the fleet off on schedule at 1100. The course was the same for all IRC divisions and Sport Boats, taking in East Nine Pin, an offshore mark, followed by a gate off Tai Ngam Hau, before
The HKPN and J-80 fleets had a shorter course rounding Basalt instead of East Nine Pin, shaving 6nm off the longer 23nm course.
Amaze and Goddess were in close quarters at the committee boat in their start. Amaze, sensibly, did a penalty turn to avoid a protest. Reasonable progress was made out to East Nine Pin where both Outrageous and Ding Dong opted to sail between the islands rather than around the group like the majority. Despite mumblings, there was apparently no infringement of any rules.
In Sport Boats, Sidewinder finished with a 1st and 3rd, Merlin a 2nd and 1st and Stingray a 3rd and 2nd. Conditions were such that five of the 53 boats in Race 6 retired. The Mirs Bay Race (Race 7) on Saturday, the 1st of August, as always proved one of the most popular races in the series with 62 boats turning up, including Frank Pong’s Dibley Custom RP75, Jelik, for its first outing in the series. It subsequently retired, but not before crossing the finish line in the fastest time. Conditions were forecast Force 2 to 3 (4-10 knots), mainly
Vineta
rounding Gau Tau to port, the Mirs Bay Mark North to port and finishing off Cham Pai Light. Except in the case of Sport Boats, which opted instead to finish at Gau Tau before returning to Hebe Haven.
Leaving East Nine Pin and heading for the offshore mark, the wind picked up as the southern skies darkened before a squall hit. Onboard RB, to spare the new No.1 jib, it was replaced with the No.2. Unfortunately, after the squall the breeze again eased on the approach to the finish line. In IRC Div B, Stella failed to round the Mirs Bay Mark North and, having been reminded of its omission, retired. Most surprising given their regular participation
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Kodo and Oi! hard on the wind
flicking tongues and gyrating hips left an impression!
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t was fortunate that the past organisers of Phuket Raceweek dropped their tag line ‘The Windy Regatta’ because the 12th Phuket Raceweek was anything but. In the end, though, there was enough breeze to complete the series and, with the ‘extravagant party nights’, Raceweek exceeded expectations. Previously organised by Grenville Fordham and his Image Asia team, the event is now owned and organised by Media Business Services. The title sponsor, in a deal up for renewal this year, is the Cape Panwa Hotel, which hosts the regatta HQ and functions and, along with its neighbouring Kantary Bay Hotel, provides a range of accommodation options.
Racing for the seven classes was scheduled to start at 1005 in the vicinity of Koh Lon and Koh Aeo — a bit of a trek from Cape Panwa. With the winds of the past week having abated, there was little alternative than for the RO to hoist the postpone ment flag. Principal race officer, Simon James of Regattas Asia, once again excelled in the trying conditions whilst Admiral Prasart Sribhadung chaired the protest committee. Thirty six boats joined Raceweek this year, compared with 41 last. The big difference was in the reduction in the size of the IRC Racing I fleet with just two entries: Ben Copely’s newly acquired TP52, Kodo (ex-Team Origin) and the syndicate-owned TP52, Oi!. Rather than consolidating them with the 30 and 40-footers in IRC Racing II, they opted instead to match race each other. According to Oi!’s Peter Ahern, this “avoided having to wait for the slower boats to finish before starting our next race.”
The appearance, a couple of hours later, of a 5-knot southeasterly from 130 degrees meant at least the fleets got away on their first race of the series, although most struggled as the breeze eased.
Oi! quickly completed two laps of its windward / leeward course and crossed the finish line before realising it still had a third lap to complete! The TP52 rushed off to round the leeward mark and proceeded to complete the course. Fortunately it had already established a commanding lead over Kodo, its initial oversight making no difference to the final result.
In IRC Racing II, having taken the honours at the 2015 Samui Regatta, Roland Dane’s Corby 36, Jessandra II, with Scott Duncanson again at the helm, demonstrated they were not just there It was a totally different for the parties, taking corrected time ball game for the team on The political situation in Thailand has had honours. Just three seconds on Kodo , a huge up-grade and a major impact on tourism but the hard-line steep learning curve compared with Copely’s corrected time separated David Dimmock’s approach by the ruling military party seems previous ‘Katsu’ yachts, the Swan CS42 and, chartered Swan 42, Foo 4, and Jonathan generally to be supported. The influx of Kingdon’s Farr 30, Judy. more recently, the Aquila Reichel-Pugh 45, sailors at the two hotels, therefore, during on which most used to sail. However, they the off-season is no doubt welcomed. In the Multihull Racing Class, Alan did a sterling job with several highs against Thomas Hain, manager of the Cape Carwardine’s Asia Catamarans Hurricane put the more experienced Oi!. Panwa Hotel was particularly supportive and, down its marker to take line and handicap Phuket has become something of a although not a sailor himself, seemed keen honours ahead of its sister Stealth 11.8, haven for multihulls demonstrated during the Java. Making it three podium positions for to learn. The hotel even entered its own previous week with the Multihull Solutions yacht — Kantus’ Bride. the stable Carwardine’s latest build, the Regatta Phuket 2015, which saw 14 entries Stealth 14, WOW, owned and skippered by Phuket Raceweek was held under the compete in extreme conditions. Despite the David Liddell, finished 3rd. auspices of the nearby Ao Chalong Yacht bruises, 12 came back for more in Raceweek With all classes other than IRC Racing Club and supported by the Sports Authority including three of four newly-launched Pulse I on just two windward / leeward laps, it of Thailand, the Yacht Racing Association of 600s* that competed in their own oneproved a close race in the Firefly 850 Class. Thailand, the Tourism Authority of Thailand design Corsair Class. John Newnham’s Twin Sharks (despite still and the Sports Association of Phuket. missing its shark images from its bows) Other supporters, official suppliers and roceedings got underway on took the honours ahead of Blue Nose! and media partners are too numerous to mention Wednesday, the 15th of July 2015 Advanced Racing Mamba. Unfortunately, here other than DaVinci Lifestyle which with the skippers’ briefing, held Newnham was injured and unable to sail but supported on-water activities and, perhaps on the beach in the grounds of the Cape seemingly still enjoyed the action watching the most appreciated by the sailors, the Panwa Hotel, followed by the opening from the media boat. suppliers of Finca de Malpica Spanish wines, ceremony and Mount Gay Rum Thailand The Corsair Class included the four Mount Gay Rum and the authentic Italian Party with a Caribbean buffet. Entertainment newly-launched Pulse 600s distinguished by beer, Peroni. included Polynesian dancers whose
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both colouring and nomenclature, red, grey, blue and yellow — SuDu 1, SuDu 2, SuDu 3 and SuDu 4** respectively. Victory went to Dirk Weiblen and his Chinese women crew on SuDu 3 in their first race. It was a mixed bag of participants in the Cruising Class with Mike Downard’s Krabi Beach Lagoon Piccolo*** taking on Patinyakorn ‘Ging’ Buranrom’s S&S 42, Sansiri Windstar. Libby Boyd’s Standfast 40, Mas Alegre, also with Chinese crew, and Bill Sax’s Fraser 41, Astraeus, the all women team minus one (their Russian crew member required 20 stitches after the practice race and opted out) of Sailescape Farrgo Ladies on Farrgo skippered by Liz Schoch and Brian Hume’s Brenneur Ketch 68, La Flute Enchantee****. With no other comparable classics competing, the latter’s Australian crew, chartering the boat, still made the most of things. Piccolo took the honours ahead of Windstar and the women on Farrgo. Five boats competed in the Charter / Bareboats Class with four teams from Australia. The only local entry was Cape Panwa Hotel’s Kantus’ Bride. Only the Hanse 400, Venture, managed to finish within the time limit with Kantus’ Bride and the Bavaria 32, Fei Yu, awarded 2nd and 3rd finishing places respectively. Tactics had proved decisive on the day. Picking the correct side of the course proved critical . . . Kodo and Fujin didn’t get it right. Fortunately, the Regatta Party Bar with free-flow Peroni and Finca de Malpica, and a tasty buffet, made for another pleasant evening.
(postponement) flag was raised ashore. The RO, an eternal optimist, remained afloat still praying for wind. Meanwhile, FH had joined La Flute Enchantee and rather than just wait around in the hope of wind, the skipper headed off on a voyage of discovery and swim at Koh Maithon. Radio communications at the back of the island were difficult but it was subsequently established that the AP flag had been lowered and the fleet was making tracks to the normal start area. By consensus on La Flute it was decided to join the racing. It was, of course, what the crew had come for, and the anchor was raised. By the time the start line was reached, racing had already begun but there was still time for a second.
Conditions on Saturday, the 18th of July, looked ominous from the beach where crews assembled, with barely a zephyr rustling the trees. Rather than leaving the fleet floating aimlessly at sea, the AP
A reversal of fortunes in the Cruising Class saw Windstar take the honours in the first race of the day, Race 2, with Piccolo 2nd and its sister ship, another Farr 1104, Farrgo, 3rd. Having missed the first race, La Flute Enchantee was well placed for the second start. As the race came to a close conditions changed dramatically. Dark clouds rolled in from the southwest along with a squall.
Phuket Raceweek
In the first race in IRC Racing I, Oi! came out ahead but the gap had further narrowed. It was a different story in the second race with Oi! caught OCS and obliged to return. Kodo made the most of the situation holding on for victory.
Foo 4 and Jessandra II won the two races in IRC Racing II. John Vause and his motley Hong Kong crew, on the Young 11, Ruby Tuesday, Mick Tilden’s Beneteau 44.7, Fujin and Judy joined them on the podium for one or other of the races. Again, it was a clean sweep of the Multihull Racing honours for Hurricane,
Friday, the 17th of July 2015, will go down in the annals of Phuket Raceweek as only the second time in the event’s 12-year history (the first occurred last year) that, after a four-hour wait, all racing for the day was abandoned, except for the two TP52s. The RO found 5 knots and quickly set up a 1nm windward / leeward. It was a much closer race than the first, with Oi! suffering briefly from a detached stay, fixed by sending a man aloft during the race, and only marred for Kodo by a disappointing rounding of the leeward mark, which allowed Oi! to sail away with the only trophy of the day.
In the Corsairs, the Corsair team of Andrew DeBruen and Zam Bevan won the two races on SuDu 1 with SuDu 3 and SuDu 4 sharing the honours for 2nd and 3rd.
Relishing the conditions and perhaps bringing back memories of its round the world adventures, La Flute heeled and accelerated away, rounding the leeward mark in a flurry of spray, and headed back up course for a second rounding. It took a while before it was realised that the RO had shortened the race at the leeward mark and the thrill of that particular race was over. Not before the old girl had shown her true colours and had a credible result, although last, on the scorecard..
Venture, Uhuru and Kantus’ Bride took the Charter / Bareboat honours in Race 2 and Fei Yu, Uhuru and Venture in Race 3. Unfortunately, the trophies to be presented by one of the media sponsors, Esquire, were engraved incorrectly so instead bottles of vodka were presented. While this may have upset the sponsor, it was probably a preferred award for the sailors!
Jessandra II and Fujin in Ao Chalong
Java and WOW in both races with Grenville Fordham’s Andaman Cabriolet Image Asia, Niña, 4th. Neither Henry Kaye’s Seacart 26, Sweet Chariot, nor Mark Horwood’s Formula 40 trimaran, Adrenalin, came out to play. In the Firefly 850 Class, Twin Sharks continued to draw blood, beating Voodoo by just 27 seconds in the first and Blue Nose! by 15 in the second.
The evening’s entertainment hotted up with the appearance of Barbie’s Army, a local band, who soon had the dance floor heaving and the sailors gyrating. They were so good they could well be back.
It was a relief for all on Sunday, the 19th of July 2015, to find a modest breeze had returned for the final day of the 12th Cape Panwa Hotel Phuket Raceweek. IRC Racing I was set Course 40 for the first of two races, taking in a windward mark (p) at 1.2nm at 255 degrees around Koh Aeo (s), round Koh Bon (s) and into the finish. The rest of the fleets, after rounding the windward mark, — continued on page 80 FRAGRANT HARBOUR / Number 282
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