RACING 18 th Samui Regatta
THA72 TOP IN SAMUI AGAIN
K
evin and Tom Whitcraft’s THA72
bravely held on to their narrow lead
going into the final day to claim
the IRC 0 title and their fourth
consecutive win at the Samui Regatta in
Thailand’s second-biggest island.
Heading into the final day, THA72 led Team
Hollywood by just half a point, but got off to
the worst-possible start at the back of the pack
while the Australians screamed off the line
and led up the first leg, with Hong Kong yachts
Jelik and Zannekin also in the mix.
All changed on the downwind leg and the
next leg upwind, as THA72 – with Noppakao
Poonpat back at the helm after missing the
penultimate day’s races – passed all in front
to take the lead and finish first across the line
with a win on corrected time. Zannekin got
the better of Freefire to finish third and fourth
respectively, while Jelik corrected out in fifth.
With clouds over the shoreline sucking
away the breeze, the course area was beginning
to look like a lake and with nothing on the
horizon, the decision was made at 12.45pm
that there would be no more racing. The
series results stood and THA72 were declared
winners at the end of eight races for IRC 0.
It was a tightly contested class as all six
entries made it onto the podium over the five
days, four won at least one race and THA72
and Jelik actually tied on corrected time in
race five.
In IRC 1, Hong Kong’s Mandrake III
secured seven wins from seven races to retain
their title, while a second place for Australia’sFujin on the final day was enough to claim
second overall. A third place for compatriots
Tenacious ensured they held off the charge by
Thailand’s Over Here.
A shortened course for the Premier boats
appeared to reveal a chink in the armour of
series-leaders Bella Uno of Malaysia who,
having won all races coming into the final
day, settled for a second-place finish in the
final race, but still comfortably won the
series. Thailand’s Lawana and Hong Kong’s
Moonblue 2 enjoyed some close racing during
the week and the former’s win on the final day- their first in the series – helped them pip
their rivals to second overall.
The Hong Kong-flagged Open 60,
Scallywag Fuku Bld 60, left the rest of the
NHC Premier Open Division in their wake,
finishing almost 50 minutes ahead of the
next boat and correcting out for a win by 20
minutes, which bumped them up to second
overall behind Bella Uno, edging a tie with
Lawana due to their final win.
Damage to USA’s SailQuest Hi Jinks on
day four meant they didn’t make day five,
leaving a two-boat shootout in IRC Cruising.
A win for Thailand’s MoonShadow2 was
their second in the series, but wasn’t enough
as they finished a point behind Graffiti of
Thailand, competing for the first time in the
regatta under the new ownership of Andre
Den Braven.http://www.samuiregatta.comSkippered by Noppakao Poonpat, THA72 held off Australia’s Team
Hollywood to win the Samui Regatta for a fourth straight year.
Below: Graffiti won IRC Cruising; Top left: THA72 (far right) leads IRC 0 on the final day;
Top right: Windsikher was among the 52-footers in IRC 0