Around The Island Race A First For The Sawadee.com Regatta in Koh Samui
Koh Samui, Thailand. June 5, 2009 – With the wind building consistently as the Sawadee.com Regatta has progressed throughout the week, Race Director Simon James made a decision to introduce something unique for this regatta – a full around the island race. The crews would compete in this contest knowing that to win it would give them a place in the regatta’s history books.
The slower boats in the Premier and Multihull classes took the option of starting early, with the bulk of the fleet getting away at the scheduled 1000hrs starting sequence. The Sportsboats and the Bareboat Charter classes were sent on the northerly course between Samui and Koh Pangan and back.
Racing got underway in 8 to 10 knots, with the hope that more wind was on the way. By the time the yachts passed between Ko Katen and the Southern end of Samui, the breeze turned into a few zephyrs on the water and the yachts were observed moving relatively slowly up the West Coast. Gray clouds built up over the mainland and at around 1500hrs a storm descended on Samui, which gave the yachts a little reprieve but which unfortunately was short lived. The leading yachts made it around to the North coast and PRO Ross Chisholm made the call to shorten the Multihull’s at Hin Kong Noi on the North West tip of Samui.
A strong North Westerly current made it somewhat difficult for the remaining classes to reach the shortened course mark laid off Ko Kong Ok. As the Sportsboats and Bareboat Charter classes did not reach the shortened finish line within the time limit, the recorded times taken at the previous mark were used to calculate their results. PRO Ross Chisholm then made a professional call to abandon the race for the Racing class and Premier Cruisers.
In the IRC/Sportsboat class, Jeff Davison’s Mumm 30 Panic was awarded first place after times were taken back at the previous rounding mark. Ken Eyears Oracle 32 Waka Tere ended up in second place and Mick Grover’s Elliot 7 Moonshadow jumped up into third place. This result advances Panic to hold a two-point lead in the overall stakes with one race day remaining. Ken Eyears lodged a protest as the crew of Waka Tere disputed the finishing times.
In the Bareboat Charter Class the irrepressible Aussie’s led by Andrew Short’s Oceanis 461 Constanza added a further win to their tally, putting them in an unbeatable position for overall victory. Recovering from two retirements, Howard Blowes Sunsail 43 Milliebella made up for it with second place. Third place for Hong Kong’s Chin Yew Seah on the Sunsail 39 Bussakorn gives them a solid second place overall.
Although the Fergus Wilmer/Henry Kaye’s Seacart 30 Thor was the first to breast the shortened finish line, it was Radab Kanjanavanit’s F9-A Cedar Swan that came out on top after handicaps were applied. Second place for Peter Dyer’s Firefly 850 SEA Property has them tied on ten points for second overall with Cedar Swan going into the final day. After two retirements Kirati Assahul’s Crowther 43 Bandara Sonic came good with a third place. By finishing fourth today the Fergus Wilmer/Henry Kaye’s Seacart 30 Thor has lost ground in the points score and holds a slim one point lead from the tied SEA Property and Cedar Swan, which makes this class still open for the taking.
Although the lack of wind meant that the first ever race around the island was impossible for some boats to finish, full marks must go to the race committee for attempting it and for providing a new challenge.
Yesterday was a racing rest day for the crews and regatta organizers and allowed them to turn their thoughts, and more importantly their actions, as to how the regatta gives back to both Samui and those that live on the island.
The day began with one of the biggest beach ‘clean-ups’ that Koh Samui has ever seen. Over 150 pupils from the Bluewater International and Baan Bangrak Schools, Bangrak Village and those involved in the regatta, including Regatta Chairman Callum Laing, descended on Bangrak Beach to do their part for Samui and the protection of its environment. Laing commented “Initiatives such as this help keep Samui idyllic and support its reputation as a top tourist destination in SE Asia”.
The rest day also saw the running of the 2nd ‘Samui Junior Sailing Squadron Challenge’. Superbly organized by John Stall and Sawadee.com Regatta GM, Frankie Brancaccio, the Challenge sees the youth sailors in Optimist Class boats, with the racing every bit as competitive as the full regatta. At the end of the day, Nat Panyawan, (age 11), came out on top with four wins out of four, closely followed in 2nd place by Mai Deridder (age 10) and Stephanie Bjork (age 9) in third. A fitting awards ceremony at ‘Tradewinds Cottages’ saw the happy competitors all receive medals and much-deserved accolade from the on-lookers and supporters. Next week, Nat & Mai depart for Singapore to represent Thailand and to compete against other talented youth sailors. They are part of the Yacht Racing Association of Thailand contingent that heads to Singapore to compete in the Sentosa Optimist Open Championships from 9-13th June – a great opportunity to see how they fare against the best from the region.
The final race of the Sawadee.com Regatta is scheduled for Saturday, followed by the Gala Dinner and Awards at the Centara Grand Beach Resort. Trophies for the winners will be presented as will the award for the ‘Asian Yachting Champion Skipper’.
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