Phuket, Thailand, December 11, 2023 / TRAVELINDEX / Her Majesty Queen Suthida Bajrasudhabimalaksh sailed on the Vayu THA 72 in the prestigious IRC Zero class on the final day of the 35th Phuket King's Cup Regatta. Her presence proved fortunate, as the TP52 won both races of the eleven-race series today.

Ray Roberts' TP52 Team Hollywood, which finished second in both races, won the class and the overall King's Cup title for the fourth consecutive time. James and Kate Murray's Callisto, a Pac 52, finished third in the four-boat IRC Zero class, while Steve McConaghy's Aftershock Syndicate, a Davidson 55, finished fourth in the same class.

And what a regatta week it was: fair sailing conditions, close competition, and world-class sailors, coupled with great weather and fabulous parties ashore, created a fantastic atmosphere, further enhanced by Her Majesty's presence aboard the Vayu THA 72. She also presented the trophies at the royal awards ceremony.

The elegance of the four-boat Premier class undoubtedly drew attention during the regatta, but the class belonged to Ithinai Yingsiri's Thai yacht "Pine Pacific," an X-Yacht 55, which won all seven races. Peter Cremers' "Shatoosh," a Warwick 75, finished second five times, securing second place in the class. Hans Rahmann's JV 72 "Yasooda," a custom-built yacht, suffered a major setback with a retirement in the third race and had to settle for third place overall. Bernard Huybens' "Aphrodite," a Vitters 92, finished fourth in the class and did not participate on the final day.

Nick Burns' "Witchcraft" narrowly beat Rolf Heemskerk's "The Next Factor" in the seven-boat IRC-1 class, just as they had two weeks earlier at the Raja Muda Selangor International Regatta. "Witchcraft" won seven of the ten races sailed in this class. Craig Douglas and Gordon Kettleby's "Ramrod" finished third.

Craig Nichols' Alright edged out Susurnu Kurose's Char Chan by one point to finish fourth in the IRC-1 class. Robert Carr and Sandy Farquharson's Aquarii was hampered by a retirement in the eighth race and had to settle for sixth place overall. Clayton Craigie's Anjo had a difficult regatta with four retirements and one DNF, finishing last in its class.

In the six-boat bareboat charter class, Dean Peng and Tiffany Khoo won five of the seven races with their "Gragonborn." Mike Downard's "Piccolo" finished second, just one point ahead of Toshihiko Iijima's "Hippocrates." ASA Sailing Dream Asia's "Moonshine" came in fourth, while Team Hayato finished fifth. Alan Anderson's "Judy" did not participate in the last three races and therefore dropped to sixth place.

The monohull cruising class, with five boats, was the most closely contested until the final day, with three boats tied on nine points. In the end, Philippe Dallee's "Swan II" prevailed by two points over Steve Maine's "Enavigo" and Jianhao Yang's "Isabella" by three points. The latter had been disqualified in the third race for carrying an anchor on its bow. Thomas Veltins' "Brisk" finished fourth, and Mo Yiwei's "Sumalee" fifth.

In the two-boat multihull class, Dan Fidock's Kata Rocks Parabellum dominated the regatta, winning seven of the nine races. John Newnham's Kata Rocks 2, also known as Twin Sharks, was the only boat in this class. The striking Parabellum won all of the regatta's races.

Andrew McDermott's Trident won all five races in the multihull cruising class after having to sit out the first day due to a broken mast. She beat Frank Kastelein's Team No Escape (Pooichat), the only other yacht in the class.

This year's regatta for international dinghy classes took place over three days off Kata Beach. The event was divided into four classes: monohull handicap (12 boats); ILCA 4 (15 boats); open skiff (17 boats); and Optimist (79 boats).

The overall winner of the Optimist race was Patcharaphan Ongkaloy, who thus continued her gold medal winning streak from the Southeast Asian Games. Pailin Jaroenpon finished second, followed by Karit Phrammanee, all three Thai sailors.

The Open Skiff class was won by India's Anandi Chandavarkar – no surprise, as she won the class every day. Dom Kaewpradab from Thailand finished second on both days, and India's Ayaan Nath came in third.

The ILCA4 class was dominated by Thailand, with Nanvatorn Supaamphonwit taking first place every day, Ton Rattana achieving second place overall, and Thanaphat Sirichaoren finishing third.

The monohull dinghy class (handicap) was won by Claudia Nazarov, Voravong Racharattanaruk took second place and Morten Jakobsen third place.

Incidentally, Noppakao Poonpat, the 2010 Optimist World Champion, sailed with Her Majesty on the Vayu THA 72 today.

In closing, Kevin Whitcraft, President of the Organizing Committee of the 35th Phuket King's Cup Regatta, said: “The Phuket King's Cup Regatta is considered a major international sailing competition in Asia. The event aligns with Phuket's development plan, which aims to establish Phuket as a center for maritime leisure activities and a world-class yachting destination. This will boost the country's tourism industry, which is among the ten sectors expected to shape Thailand's future economy. Phuket generates the highest tourism revenue of all the southern provinces on the Andaman coast, which together have the highest number of tourists in the country.”

"This year's 35th Phuket King's Cup Regatta achieved its goals as expected. Over 200 million baht were generated during the sailing week. The regatta also provides young Thai sailors with an excellent platform to improve their sailing skills in competition with outstanding international sailors."

The sponsors of the regatta include the main sponsor Kata Group, the RMA Group, Khunying Patama Leeswadtrakul, the Ford Motor Company (Thailand), Ricoh (Thailand) Limited, Haad Thip PCL, Pine Pacific Corporation Limited, Singha Corporation Co., Ltd. and the National Telecom Public Company Limited.

About the Phuket King's Cup Regatta – Asia's legendary sailing race under royal patronage: The Phuket King's Cup Regatta is organized under royal patronage by the Phuket King's Cup Regatta Organizing Committee under the auspices of the Royal Varuna Yacht Club in cooperation with the Yacht Racing Association of Thailand, the Royal Thai Navy and the Province of Phuket.