The Third SEA Property International Phuket Multihull Championship

The Third
SEA Property International
Phuket Multihull Championship
July 16 - 18 2010

Fun and games in over 20 knots...
By AsianYachting Event Media

July 17th: Wind gusts up to 25 knots provided some exhilarating downwind rides with most boats sitting in the high teens for long periods of time. As a consequence the breakage list continues to grow and most boats have suffered from some sort of damage. Judging by the smiles on the crews faces as they come ashore and the lively bar talk long into the evening, everyone is very pleased with the boats performance and outcome whether it is good or bad. It is not very often that strong winds coincide with regatta dates but on this occasion the Ao Chalong Yacht Club have lucked in, much to everyone's pleasure.

For the first race today PRO Simon James choose to send the fleet on a passage race around Chalong Bay and out to the Phuket Port deep sea mark and back, then a windward / leeward course for the second race today.

Henry Kaye and Fergus Wilmer's Seacart 30 Thor did not have it all their way today. Despite taking line honours in both races they came to an abrupt holt when they hit an uncharted reef in Race 1 and broke the reefing line in Race 2, that severely hindered their progress and had to settle on third and second places. Much to everyone's surprise the newly launched Andaman Cabriolet Da Vinci skippered by German ace Andy Pape came to the fore by scoring two wins and take over the overall lead with one race to go. Richard Eyre's Corsair 37 Zhuka did the best of the Corsair trimarans to score second and third places and elevate themselves to third overall.

Quite a few crew were complaining about being tired and worn out after yesterdays racing. Which allowed Jock Cromie crewing on Thor to but in with "As we go around the course twice as fast as most the boats we have to do the same amount of work in half the time".

The eight one-design Firefly 850 Sport class catamarans continue to impress with their impressive bursts of speed and overtaking maneuvers. There has been a shake up in the order after Hans Rahmann's Voodoo added two wins onto yesterdays results to take the overall lead with a four point advantage. Mark Pescott skippering Twin Sharks disappeared off the radar in Race 3 but rebounded on Race 4 with second place to slip down to second overall. John Newnham's UK chartered The Frog jumped up into contention with second and third places as they are racing in conditions they are used to at home. Roger Kingdon's Moto Inzi scored third place in Race 3 and looked to be heading for a sure victory in Race 4 when they fouled the spinnaker hoist and the fleet merrily sailed past. Talk about most embarrassing moments in a very successful racing career.

Bill Phelps Seawind 1160 Maharani is the only boat in the Cruising Multihull class so it goes without saying that he again won both races today and is heading for inevitable victory.

Racing continues tomorrow with one remaining race to finish off the memorable series. The SW tradewind has settled in, so the weather forecast is similar tomorrow, and as there are a few old scores to settle we can expect plenty more action before the regatta is over.