The Third SEA Property International Phuket Multihull Championship

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

Horizon job earns Henry Kaye and Thor victory
By AsianYachting Event Media

July 18th: Overnight the strong conditions over the last couple of days moderated down to a mere 5 knots at start time and 10 knots being the highest reading, half way around the course. Simon James' race team decided to send the racing class on an 18nm passage race and the Firefly's on a lengthy windward/leeward course in the bay. Some Firefly skippers suggested they change to a passage race and after some neat diplomacy and owners voting by radio, PRO James announced that both classes will be doing Course 5, the long passage out to the safe water mark, then back through the Chalong Bay gate and up around Koh Bon and back.

All eyes were on the pointscore leaders - Henry Kaye and Fergus Wilmer's Seacart 30 Thor and the newly launched Andaman Cabriolet Da Vinci skippered by German ace Andy Pape who were tied for first place in the racing class - Hans Rahmann's Voodoo had a four point advantage over Twin Sharks skippered by boat designer Mark Pescott in the Firefly class. Caution seemed to be the order of the day at the startline, with the leading contenders taking clear lines and concentrating on boatspeed.

Thor disappeared into the distance and on the downwind leg past Koh Lon, they made sure to take the outside line around Koh Thanan were they ran aground yesterday.

Twin Sharks led the Firefly's around the top mark but slowed in the lee of Koh Lon, allowing the rest of the fleet to play catchup. The long upwind leg from the safe water mark saw a few place changes. Some short cover tacks to keep out of the current up past the Evason Resort, saw Roger Kingdon's Moto Inzi sneak past the dueling Twin Sharks and Voodoo, with Peter Dyer's SEA skippered by Damien Ford fast making up ground. When the spinnakers poked out around Koh Bon it was Moto Inzi in the lead, closely followed by Twin Sharks and SEA. It seemed to take forever for overall leader Vodoo to appear in fourth place.

As Henry Kaye's Seacart 30 Thor sped past towards the finish, all eyes turned to the stop watch and time calculations made on how far in front of Da Vinci they needed to be. This time Mark Norris the owner of Da Vinci restaurant was onboard the media boat and had some nervous moments as the crew crossed tacked the current and seemed to fall behind.

The four leading Firefly's took different lines on the long downwind leg and when they came together Twin Sharks skippered by Mark Pescott had overtaken Roger Kingdon's Moto Inzi and overall leader Hans Rahmann's Voodoo was closing in fast on SEA skippered by Damien Ford. Despite some further nip and tacks they all crossed the finish line within two minutes and in the same order. This kept Hans Rahmann's Voodoo in first overall and despite the last race win by Twin Sharks skippered by Mark Pescott had to settle on second overall. After an up and down sort of a regatta Roger Kingdon's Moto Inzi claimed the third podium spot.

After Henry Kaye's Seacart 30 Thor crossed the finish line the clock started ticking. Andy Pape pushed the Andaman Cabriolet Da Vinci as hard as they could but when fifty minutes had elapsed Thor was declared the race winner and overall champion. Four minutes latter Da Vinci crossed the finish line and had to settle on second overall. Richard Eyre's Corsair 37 Zhuka did the best of the Corsair trimarans to score third place on the podium.

Bill Phelps Seawind 1160 Maharani was the only boat in the Cruising Multihull class and received the Sportsmanship Award for their efforts. It is hoped that more cruising boats will enter the event next year.

Summary
The Ao Chalong Yacht Club must be commended for organising and running the "Multihull Only" event for the third year. Everyone chipped in to make it a success. The main sponsors SEA Property must be thanked for continuing on with the event despite the downturn in the property market and the daily sponsors Corsair Marine, Derani Yachts and Sea Bees must be also be thanked for supporting the event. The laid back and relaxed atmosphere at the yacht club makes it a worthy place to become a member and pursue some sailing activities while in Phuket. Judging by the happy skippers and crew this event has a bright future, especially in an area where multihull's reign supreme on the race course.

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