Phuket King’s Cup Regatta 2024 Summary
by Scott Murray 7 Dec 08:22 PST
30 November – 6 December 2024
With royal attendance, Team Vayu wins the 36th Phuket King’s Cup
In the highly competitive Class Zero, the clash of the TP52s saw Kevin Whitcraft’s Team Vayu triumph over Ray Roberts’ Team Hollywood, securing victory on the last day with Her Majesty Queen Suthida Bajrasudhabimalalakshana participating on board. The races in this division were intensely contested, with Vayu narrowly defeating Team Hollywood by mere seconds in several heats, including one earlier in the week featuring fifteen tacks during the beat.
His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Phra Vajiraklaochaoyuhua took the helm of Vayu to guide it to the starting line, a significant moment for Thai sailing as this regatta began in 1987 as part of national festivities commemorating what would have been the 60th birthday of His Majesty’s father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Queen Suthida also graciously led the royal awards ceremony at the Beyond Kata Resort later that day.
In the seven-boat IRC 1 class, Rolf Heemskerk’s The Next Factor (MAS) and Nick Burns’s Blitz (HKG) finished with an equal points tally after considering the drop race, but The Next Factor clinched the title by winning the last race in the series where Blitz placed second. This mirrored Blitz’s previous outcome at the Raja Muda regatta. Craig Nicholls/James Bury’s Alright (AUS) secured third in this category.
World match racing ace Mati Sepp, at the helm of Gern Kard (Estonia), delivered a remarkable performance in the seven-boat IRC 2 class, winning seven out of nine races. Singapore’s Lee Yi Min secured second place, winning race five, and Maksim Lisun’s Uminoko (NEU) finished third after winning race seven and recording a DNS in race five.
In the Premier Class, Peter Cremers’ Shatoosh edged Thailand’s Ithinai Yingsiri’s Pine Pacific by two points, winning five out of eight races in this three-boat division. Pine Pacific claimed the remaining three races, while Hans Rahmann’s Yasooda finished third despite winning many of the races on elapsed time due to handicap rules. It was twenty years since Hans sailed Yasooda from Denmark to Southeast Asian waters alongside crewmate Ian Coulson.
Japan’s Luminous-Tiburon dominated the six-boat Bareboat Charter Class, winning eight out of nine races. China’s Xiong Tin’s Mermaid took the other win in race eight and finished second overall. Allen Chai’s Penghu Ocean Mists (TWN) secured third, edging Yu Zhengjun’s BW’s Flyingware Sailing Team (CHN) by one point.
Igor Ginzberg’s Wind of Change (NEU) claimed six victories in the nine-race series to win the seven-boat Monohull Cruising division. Philippe Dallee’s sleek Swan II ended up tied with William Wu’s Team Whitewave, featuring Olympic champion Lijia “Lily” Xu, but Swan II took second overall due to winning the final race. Tim A Hartnoll’s splendid gaff-rigger Cariad placed fourth, offering a graceful image as it maneuvered off the southern coast of Phuket.
Despite the performance handicap system proving challenging for Twin Sharks (GBR) skipper John Newnham, his Firefly and skilled crew won the competitive six-boat Multihull class. Andrew McDermott’s trimaran Trident (GBR), sailing with Twin Sharks at the Phuket Yacht Club, finished in second, followed by Ryan Merrill’s Compass Rose (THA) in third.
This year’s regatta did not feature a lay day, with the dinghy series concluding on the same day as the keelboats and multihulls.
In the eleven-race ILCA4 U18 female class, Prin Subying emerged as the champion, followed by Paranee Muangngam and Pichayapa Kamutatira, all representing the Yacht Racing Association of Thailand (YRAT). In the ILCA4 U18 male class, Ton Rattana led the leaderboard, closely followed by Darwin Hsu and Ton’s twin brother Torn, all members of the Royal Varuna Yacht Club (RVYC).
YRAT’s Kan Kachachuen excelled in the ILCA6 Open Class, dominating the eleven-race series, with RTNA’s NC Voravong Rachrattanaruk and Claudia Nazarov finishing second and third overall.
The eight-race Open Skiff U17 class saw UWC’s Punthita Werotjanakul and Puttisun Limpanon finish first and second respectively, with India’s Eashaan Mehta taking third.
NRS’ Bowonnan Chanram demonstrated strong skills by winning the ILCA/7 OK Dinghy class, finishing ahead of the agile Morten Jakobsen (RVYC), who came in second, and RTNYC’s Chairat Dangdeemark, who took third in the eleven-race contest.
Despite being disqualified in the last race, Suthon Yampinid & Kram Chantarawinij’s impressive first ten races allowed them to secure victory in the International 420/470 Open Class. Chalisa Krittanai and Nut Butmarasri finished second overall, while Pitipoom Jaroenpon & Worrakan Saksiriklom earned the third spot. All participants in this class represented YRAT.
YRAT also dominated the female Optimist class, with Prapassorn Kaewpron maintaining the lead through the eight-race series, ultimately winning over Pariyaporn Chantarawong in second and Surapha Muangngam in third. Adison Ein triumphed in the male Optimist class, with second-place Nattapon Chailob and third-place Sorawit Naksuk all hailing from YRAT.
The SV-14 Open Class took a break yesterday before returning today, where the team of Pol Chitkhong & Mak Sarawat from Ocean Marina Jomtien clinched victory in the seven-race series. They were followed by Ning Nakchuai & Nils Degenkolw. The pair of Tanat Upatising and Sorawit Suwannapat secured third in the class.
This year, the regatta implemented an arbitration system for resolving sailor disputes, eliminating the need for full protest hearings. Tom Sheppard was brought in from Hong Kong as the adjudicator. Under this system, the arbitrator’s decision is final: sailors present their accounts of events, and the arbitrator determines if a rule violation occurred. Should a violation be found, the implicated boat may receive a reduced penalty (30 percent), and the protestor will withdraw their case upon acceptance of the arbitrator’s ruling.
Often overlooked is the economic boost that the King’s Cup provides to Phuket, especially the Kata Beach area. Over the event, competitors, organizers, their families, and friends flocked to the region, benefitting everyone from taxi drivers to souvenir shops, clothing retailers, bars, restaurants, and hotels. The area suffered significantly during Covid, losing two years of the regatta, but the King’s Cup has long been a vital element of the Kata Beach community.
This year, special arrangements were made for disabled sailors, including a beach mat along Kata Beach for wheelchair access; sailors were then transported to a catamaran for ferries to their dinghies in Kata Bay. Additionally, an amphibious RIB with twin 300HP outboards was provided to facilitate access to Vayu for their majesties.
In conclusion, Kevin Whitcraft, President of the 35th Phuket King’s Cup Regatta Committee, stated, “This marked a highly significant year for us as we were honored to host their Majesties, the King and Queen of Thailand during His Majesty’s 72nd birthday and sixth cycle. We observed a growth in the number of sailboats and sailors; the wind conditions were excellent, and the racing was very competitive. We’re thrilled to see the event recovering and expanding to its rightful stature, establishing the Phuket King’s Cup as the premier regatta in the region.”
Overall, PRO Simon James organized 71 races; 40 keelboats and multihulls took part (383 sailors) in the big boat categories, while 118 dinghies (130 sailors) participated in the dinghy series.
The regatta’s sponsors this year comprised Kata Group as the Host Sponsor, along with Amazing Thailand, Centara Hotel & Resorts, Khunying Patama Leeswadtrakul, RMA Group, Coca Cola Haad Thip PCL, Garmin Thailand, Ford Thailand, RICOH (Thailand), Singha Corporation, and National Telecom Public Company Limited.
For further details and results, please visit www.kingscup.com.
