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Philippines Triumphant Claims 12th King's Cup Regatta
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Report
and photos by Phil Vidal
The last King's Cup Regatta for this century was part of the
celebration of one of Thailand's most auspicious occasions,
the 72nd birthday of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, which marks the
end of his sixth 12-year cycle, a major milestone for the people
of Thailand. For the Regatta, it marked the start of the 2nd
cycle of what has become the largest and best sailing event
in Southeast Asia.
The Regatta, held from the 5th to 11th of December, has in the
past started at the island of Phuket, but was marked this year
with a number of  first
time events. Both the opening ceremony and the first race were
held on the eastern side of Phang Nga Bay on the mainland at
Krabi. From Phuket to Krabi the beaches and islands of this
area can only be described as some of the most beautiful and
dramatic on our planet. With crystal clear turquoise waters
lapping white sandy beaches that surround mountainous rock and
limestone islands, it is little wonder that 70% of the contestants
return each year for the Phuket King's Cup Regatta.
In the dozen years of the Regatta, which usually hosts some
80 yachts, there have only been minor incidents, small collisions
and a couple of dismastings. The 1999 Regatta changed this record
and gave contestants a dramatic story to take home with them;
a collision which caused the first sinking of a yacht at the
event.
It was also the year the IRC2000 was introduced to the Regatta's
six racing classes, giving a more suitable handicapping system
to the fleet, which ranged from J24s to 80-foot luxury Swans.
The 81 yachts entered this year were able to find a suitable
spot in the categories of Racing Class, Performance Cruising,
Cruising, Classic, Ocean Multihull and the newly introduced
Platu class in which contestants could charter their own yacht.
The winds of this Phuket / Krabi region are seasonal and the
King's birthday falls closely to a transition period. There
have been some years where contestants have been bitterly disappointed
with the lack of wind, but no such disappointment occurred for
the 1999 event. All 7 races over the five racing days had constant
10 to 15 knot breezes, with 20 knots filling in during some
of the races.
The courses changed from day to day with a mix of passage, triangle
and windward / leeward races. During the lay day contestants
were able to test their land skills at the world class Blue
Canyon Golf Club.
Each year the competition in the racing class gets stronger
and this year was no exception. The top contenders included
last year's winner, Neil Pryde from Hong Kong with his Sydney
46 Hi Fidelity, Sydney based Ray Roberts with his Corel 46 Australia
Challenge, Jon Wardill from Darwin with Australian Maid, Ray
Ordoveza from the Philippines with his 53ft Alan Andrews designed
Karakoa, as well as the Malaysian built Pacific 50 Yo. Other
yachts from the Bashford Howison (now Sydney Yachts) yard included
Jenny 3, a BH41 (previously a King's Cup winner sailed by a
Swiss Olympic team) and the 36-ft Pla Loma from Singapore. >From
the X-Yachts were the 48-ft Hocux Pocux, the 42-ft Stripped
and the X 99, Forex.
The Racing
Racing started on the Monday after crews had relaxed and taken
in the sights of Krabi over the registration weekend. For the
racing fleet there were two triangular courses off the resorts
while the other classes had a triangular race followed by a
passage to Phi Phi Island some 20 miles to the southwest. At
Phi Phi the partying continued as crews were just recovering
from the Sunday night opening party where there was a free flow
of beer and wine supplied by the Thai sponsors, Singha Breweries.
The Tuesday race was the Andaman Sea Race, this year sponsored
by the major sponsor, the well known yacht insurers QBE. The
start of this 40-mile classic has to be one of the most spectacular
sights seen in yacht racing anywhere in the world. Yachts cross
the line under full spinnaker with the limestone cliffs towering
on each side of the course. For the cruisers and classics it
is a direct run to Phuket, while for the racing and performance
class yachts there is an added dogleg, which gives yachts a
reaching aspect to the race. Once in Phuket the yachts anchor
at Kata Bay, transforming it into a fairyland with the mastlights
twinkling during the night.
On Phuket Island the hosts were the Kata Group who provided
the lawns of their fabulous Kata Beach Resort for the third
day of partying and prizegiving.
For the lay day, those not keen on playing golf were able to
sleep in and casually take in the sights of Phuket.
Bargains are to be had with the multitude of top name brands
of watches, T-shirts and jeans along with Thai silks and carvings.
As well as the spicy Thai food there are abundant western restaurants
on the island, so racers were all nicely fed and rested for
the start of the fourth day of racing.
The course started with a triangle, which then turned into a
classic passage race round the islands on the southern end of
Phuket. As the yachts went into this penultimate race, there
was a major battle between Hong Kong and the Philippines as
both Hi Fidelity and Karakoa were tied for 1st place with just
8 points each. Disaster struck at the top mark for Neil Pryde
as the 20-knot wind caused a crack in Hi Fidelity's mast base
to give way, compressing the mast through the deck and thus
destroying his chance of winning the regatta.
Moments later at the same mark the 40-foot sloop, Monsoon Blue,
and classic ketch, Stormvogel, converged and collided, ripping
the transom from Monsoon Blue, causing her to sink. A controversial
protest was entered with the result being that both yachts were
disqualified. Stormvogel was famous worldwide in the mid sixties
as the yacht with the tallest single-piece mast.
The final day's racing was made up of shorter courses and raced
directly off the Kata Bay area. There were no major protests,
which gave early results, and plenty of time for contestants
to prepare for the famous King's Cup closing party. This was
again held at the Kata Beach Resort and honoured with the presence
of the King's representative, Rear Admiral Usni Pramoj.
The overall Regatta winner was Ray Ordoveza's Adams sloop Karakoa,
helmed by Steve Benjamin. For Ray and Steve the King's Cup win
completes their aim of winning all the major regional regattas.
Their winning streak started in 1994 with the China Sea Race,
again in 1996, followed by Singapore Straits Regatta and Raja
Muda Regatta wins the same year and the President's Cup in the
Philippines in 1998. Second in the Racing Class from Singapore,
was Keith Moore's Pla Loma, followed by Australia Challenge
then Yo.
In the Cruising Class it was an exciting battle between the
Thailand based Dave Bell's Graffiti and Singapore based Hans
Rahmann's Master Blaster. Bell won by two points giving him
his second King's Cup win while third place went to the Japanese
team on Simpatico, with Oki Naotake at the helm.
When Monsoon Blue sank during race 6, so did the chance of Merv
Owens winning the Performance Cruising class. He was clearly
in the lead up to that point but the disqualification and DNS
for the last race gave Viroj Nualkair's Thai entrant Zephyr
the Regatta just 1/4 of a point ahead of Hong Kong's Anicka.
Andres Soriano's big Swan from the Philippines was third.
In the Multihull division, the local boys, led by Kiwi Muzza,
had no problem taking their radical Fine Pitch to victory ahead
of Summersalt and Cedar Swan. The Classic Division went to Isobar
while Mark Haswell won the Platu division.
Although Neil Pryde may have lost the King's Cup, he was however,
the winner of the Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy. This honor goes
to the yacht that has the best overall performance in the Perpetual
Cup series, which is made up of the Singapore Straits Regatta,
The Raja Muda Regatta and the King's Cup. Collectively the series
consists of 18 races sailed in the waters of Indonesia, Singapore,
Malaysia and Thailand.
The Phuket King's Cup is truly a fantastic regatta in an incredible
geographic region. Anyone who is interested in competing in
the year 2000 event is strongly advised to make themselves known
to the committee, who will point them in the right direction
regarding accommodation and flights etc. For more information
on the 14th King's Cup, visit the website on http://www.kingscup.com
or fax the office at (66 76)383326. See you in Phuket next December.
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