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The King's Cup Collision - By Grenville
Fordham
Call it excitement. Call it disaster. Whatever the label, the
collision between Stormvogel and Monsoon Blue - on the penultimate
day of the 1999 Phuket King's Cup regatta - gave participants
and outsiders alike a topic of conversation for weeks.
A collision alone would have been enough. But one of the boats
ended up on the bottom. The jury's decision-making process was
drawn  out
and tense; the last-minute nature of the final verdict added
spice to what was already the buzz of the regatta. What happened?
The first those on land knew about it all was a call on the
regatta office VHF. "Everyone available get down to the beach.
Now! We have people in the water. We're trying to get them ashore.
They may need assistance." The urgent tone left us in no doubt
that something momentous was going on.
Monsoon Blue, leading the field in the Performance Cruising
division, approached the windward mark in the race off Kata
Bay. It was tight, with the 74-foot Stormvogel forging ahead
on the inside. Was there an overlap? Some say yes, some say
no. In the event, the judgement call on Monsoon Blue was to
turn for the mark across Stormvogel's bow. Perhaps the excitement
of being so close to winning influenced the decision. There
is talk from those close by of dissension between the helmsman
and the tactician. But in the exhilaration and tension of the
action, who can rely on what 'witnesses' think they heard?
In the event, Monsoon Blue's move was disastrous, irrespective
of who was in the right by the racing rules. Stormvogel nipped
her stern radar mast and backstays. This was the only connection
between her stern and the rest of the hull, and they were hooked
fast to Stormvogel - and the smaller boat was dragged onto its
side, spilling the crew into the water. Again there is contention.
Would Monsoon Blue have gone over on her side if the stays had
not been caught on the larger boat? Was the situation made worse
by Stormvogel's anchor? Should the anchor have been stowed during
racing? Again, some say it made no difference, others disagree.
One bright spot in an unfortunate incident: boats in the vicinity
responded in grand style. Without exception they reefed their
sails instantly, irrespective of position in the race, and stood
by to assist. Closest, Anicka picked up some of those in the
water, others were hauled aboard the nearby committee boat.
Race Officer, John Maclennan, decided not to abandon the day's
racing. Everyone on Monsoon Blue accounted for, the race went
on, leaving officials to try and get the stricken Monsoon Blue
back to safe anchorage.
Some of the crew went back on board for the tow, little knowing
they were in for yet another taste of the Andaman Sea. Monsoon
Blue had taken on too much water immediately after the collision.
During the tow, she went down, slowly and majestically, to rest
15m beneath the surface.
The excitement, the tension was over - at least on the water.
Not so in the jury room. This was the first time a King's Cup
jury had faced such a deliberation - at least one that had ended
with such grim consequences. In one way, though, they were lucky.
The committee boat at the mark not only carried a competent
witness in the shape of the regatta's Vice President for racing,
Andy Dowden, it also had a video camera crew on board. The entire
incident was on film. Well, almost the entire incident. There
was one vital piece missing: what happened immediately BEFORE?
Did Stormvogel have that crucial overlap?
It was not on film. The jury had to extrapolate from what they
could see. They watched the footage time and time again. They
called witnesses. They agonised. Then they decided Stormvogel
had erred. Judging speed and distance, the jury determined the
overlap did not exist the critical two lengths before the mark.
Stormvogel should have given way, they concluded. She was disqualified
from the race. And Monsoon Blue? Unable to continue, she was
awarded average points for the remainder of the regatta.
And that made, by the afternoon of the last day, for an interesting
situation: the winner of the Performance Cruising division lay
peacefully on the bottom - and had done so for the last two
days. So far ahead was she in the races leading up to her misfortune
that average points were enough. The end of the saga? One newspaper
journalist, who filed his story with this dramatic news just
before heading off to the regatta closing ceremony, thought
so. He was lucky. Embarrassment was avoided when someone got
a message to him minutes before the prize giving commenced.
The jury had been deliberating again. And again. Stormvogel
was not happy with the initial decision against it. Other factors
had to be taken into account. The jury, according to sources
close to the 'action', leaned towards a change of heart. Monsoon
Blue was not happy. At the last possible moment, minutes before
the trophy would have gone to the boat on the bottom; a new
decision was reached. Not a reversal, officials stress. A separate
decision. Stormvogel remained disqualified on the basis of that
overlap. But now Monsoon Blue was disqualified too. Why? It
was all so last minute, so confusing, that only those involved
may know the true outcome in detail. But the grapevine has it
that the second disqualification was based on Monsoon Blue's
failure to 'avoid collision at all costs'.
For the regatta organisers and participants, this is now history.
Certainly not so for the boats involved, their owners and their
insurance companies.
After a week providing a new, temporary home to the fish in
Kata Bay, Monsoon Blue now stands on the hard at the Boat Lagoon,
awaiting her fate. But there is a question - one that sailors
around Phuket are still asking each other. What would you have
done, in the thrill of the race, had you been skipper on either
boat?
The Regal Rolly Tasker
A New King of the Seas - Kingcat M270
The King's Cup Collision |
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