Monsoon breezes kick in at Six Senses Phuket Raceweek

4:14 PM Thu 23 Jul 2009 GMT

'Six Senses Phuket Raceweek 2009. Thor puts the hammer down.' Guy Nowell &copy Click Here to view large photo

Yesterday the rain came down by the cartload, making for a very bedraggled Registration Day for the 31 entrants. But never mind, paperwork and formalities over, and the skippers' briefing as well, and the Six Senses Phuket Raceweek kicked off in the usual style with a buffet dinner and party at regatta headquarters, the Evason's Into the Beach.

New faces in the crowd included Neil Pryde and the crew of Hi Fi, keen to defend their AYGP crown right from the beginning of the season, with Ray Roberts (Evolution Sails, formerly Quantum Racing) there to keep them honest (and try to knock them off the perch).

Henry Kaye appeared in the 'new boat, familiar name' category, with his new super-go-fast carbon Sea Cart trimaran, Thor. And also putting in a first appearance in the Multihull division is Da Vinci Nina, a new Andaman Cabriolet catamaran part owned-and-built by Gren Fordham, Phuket Raceweek organizer.

Six Senses Phuket Raceweek 2009. Wet, wet, wet. Registration Day. - Guy Nowell &copy Click Here to view large photo

There were more buckets of rain - and more than a capful of breeze - overnight, so it looks as if the south-west monsoon is definitely here. Phuket Raceweek was started in 2004 as an antidote to light-air sailing in Thailand's 'high' season, and has billed itself as 'Phuket's Green Season Regatta' and even as 'Thailand's Windiest Regatta'.

Today started more grey than green, but five divisions went away on a windward-leeward course in 8-10 knots of breeze, and gradually the overcast cleared and the breeze piped up to a high of 15 knots by mid-afternoon. The second race of the day was a figure-of-eight around Koh Aeo and Koh Bon.

In the first race Hi Fi set the pace all the way round the racecourse, but it wasn't quite quick enough to hold off the smaller Evolution Sails and even Peter Ahern's Farr 40 Yo!2 - that scored eight bullets from eight races last year.

For the record, Yo!2 pipped Hi Fi for second place by a scant two seconds. Going round the islands in the afternoon was again a test of concentration at the front of the fleet for the Hi Fi crew, but once again it was Evolution Sails that collected the handicap honours - first by 14 seconds.

Six Senses Phuket Raceweek 2009. Hi Fi leads the way round Koh Aeo. - Guy Nowell &copy Click Here to view large photo

There must have been some snakes and ladders on the racecourse today for the IRC 1 fleet, with three boats ending the day on 5 points and one on 6. Peter Dyer's IOR ? tonner Madame Butterfly scored 1,4 and Jaray Tipsuk's Platu Mitrmitri - cleverly disguised as a newspaper - swapped 2,3 with Niels Degenkolw's ? tonner Phoenix's 3,2. Next on 6 (5,1) points is Stuart Williamson's Skandia Endeavour of Whitby.

'Obviously, it got better,' said Williamson. 'The first race was a bit of a disappointment, but the wheels were back on for the trip round the islands, and the breeze and the sea conditions suited us jus fine. All we need to do to stay at the front now is keep the crew work up to scratch.'

Six Senses Phuket Raceweek 2009. Are we having fun yet? YES! - Guy Nowell &copy Click Here to view large photo

The Firefly 850 division produced what might well be described as 'consistent' results, with the four entries coming home in the same order in both races: Voodoo, Moto Inzi, The Frog, Blue Nose. These were potentially tricky sailing conditions for the colourful little cats - enough breeze to really put the pedal to the metal on the spinnaker reaches, but watch out for the occasional speed bump!

There were some entertaining moments out there, with spray a-plenty, and The Frog chancing it with a bit of hull-flying. Round the back and through the 'hole' at the southern end of Koh Aeo, Roger Kingdon's Moto Inzi got the better of Voodoo, but it was still owner Hans Rahmann and Firefly designer Mark Pescott in front at the finish.

Stepping down to a Firefly from his luxurious 80' Yasooda, Rahmann says he is having the time of his life - 'and organizing four crew instead of 15 is so much easier!' he says.

Six Senses Phuket Raceweek 2009. ’Shooting the splash’. Voodoo. - Guy Nowell &copy Click Here to view large photo

There's a very mixed bag racing in the Multihull division, ranging from Henry Kaye/Fergus Wilmer's Sea Cart 30, Thor, to Arnold Duckworth's Happy Feet - the former is a Swedish production all in carbon, with a furling Code Zero enough attitude to stop a traffic cop.

Duckworth's unusual-looking cat has two unstayed mast, square-top high aspect sails about the same proportions as a regatta banner, and two foils attached to a central 'pod' (which doesn't touch the water and is therefore not a hull). The boat goes well upwind, but suffers from lack of downwind sails as soon as she turns the corner at top of the course.

(Picture here, and we'll have more later.) And there's the brand new, only-launched-last-week Da Vinci Nina, an Andaman Cabriolet belonging to Image Asia's Gren Fordham, and skipered by designer Alan Carwardine, that pulled two wins out of the bag on her first day's racing.

There's a Classics division too, but with only one entry. 'We're so good, we scared away all the other entries,' said Merv Owen this evening. So Tom Howard's stately Seraph circumnavigated Koh Lon in style today, and at a relaxed pace, and then went home for tea. 'Tomorrow we might go round two islands - if the wind is right,' said Owen. (And if the beer holds out! - Ed).

Six Senses Phuket Raceweek 2009. Island cruising. Madame Butterfly. - Guy Nowell &copy Click Here to view large photo

Racing round the islands of this south east corner of Phuket is very much a feature of Six Senses Phuket Raceweek, and this afternoon's sunshine and breeze was just the ticket.

But the short hop from the finish line to the anchorage involved many crews getting a major drenching as another tropical squall passed overhead - yes the monsoon is with us, and the forecast says it's here for a couple of days, so stand by to stand by for more good racing.

IRC Racing Race 1 (Provisional)

8889

Sail No	Boat	Name	TCF	Elapsed Time	Corrected Time	Place	Points

Evolution Sails	Ray Roberts (AUS)	1.206	1:24:10	1:41:30	1	1
AUS2000	Yo!2	Peter Ahern (AUS)	1.177	1:27:31	1:43:00	2	2
HKG2112	Hi-Fi	Neil Pryde (NZ)	1.338	1:17:00	1:43:02	3	3
HKT801	Quantum Fusion M	Scott Duncanson (AUS)	1.121	1:33:07	1:44:23	4	4
AUS 1943	Katsu	Ben Copley (AUS)	1.180	1:30:01	1:46:13	5	5
	Tantrum	Robert van Paridon John Vause (NED)	1.110	1:36:06	1:46:40	6	6
MAS 99	Baby Tonga	Antony Hastings Fraser Jonson (GBR)	1.167	1:34:29	1:50:16	7	7

Fastest Time Hi-Fi

IRC Racing Race 2 (Provisional)

Sail No	Boat	Name	TCF	Elapsed Time	Corrected Time	Place	Points
8889	Evolution Sails	Ray Roberts (AUS)	1.206	1:53:15	2:16:35	1	1
HKG2112	Hi-Fi	Neil Pryde (NZ)	1.338	1:42:15	2:16:49	2	2
AUS2000	Yo!2	Peter Ahern (AUS)	1.177	1:58:18	2:19:14	3	3
HKT801	Quantum Fusion M	Scott Duncanson (AUS)	1.121	2:05:54	2:21:08	4	4
	Tantrum	Robert van Paridon John Vause (NED)	1.110	2:09:01	2:23:13	5	5
AUS 1943	Katsu	Ben Copley (AUS)	1.180	2:02:55	2:25:02	6	6
MAS 99	Baby Tonga	Antony Hastings Fraser Jonson (GBR)	1.167	2:07:49	2:29:10	7	7

Fastest Time Hi-Fi

Current protest time limit for IRC Racing Class 15:44

IRC 1 Race 1 (Provisional)

Sail No	Boat	Name	TCF	Elapsed Time	Corrected Time	Place	Points
GBR4497	Madame Butterfly	Peter Dyer (GBR)	0.999	1:11:50	1:11:46	1	1
1234	Mitrmitri	Jaray Tipsuk (THA)	0.970	1:14:10	1:11:56	2	2
JPN 777	Phoenix	Niels Degenkolw (DEN)	0.981	1:13:49	1:12:25	3	3
	Windstar	Peter Wood (IRL)	0.935	1:20:00	1:14:48	4	4
MAS88	Skandia Endeavour of Whitby	Stuart Williamson (GBR)	1.007	1:14:30	1:15:01	5	5
THA777	Minx	Mick Kealy Kevin Gillow (AUS)	0.953	1:19:17	1:15:33	6	6
JPN6373	Emma	Toshio Furuta (JPN)	1.094	1:09:35	1:16:07	7	7
THA118	Coco ColaTuay Lek	Sail in Asia David Iszatts (THA)	0.970	1:19:26	1:17:03	8	8

Fastest Time Emma

IRC 1 Race 2 (Provisional)

Sail No	Boat	Name	TCF	Elapsed Time	Corrected Time	Place	Points
MAS88	Skandia Endeavour of Whitby	Stuart Williamson (GBR)	1.007	2:22:34	2:23:34	1	1
JPN 777	Phoenix	Niels Degenkolw (DEN)	0.981	2:26:49	2:24:02	2	2
1234	Mitrmitri	Jaray Tipsuk (THA)	0.970	2:28:44	2:24:16	3	3
GBR4497	Madame Butterfly	Peter Dyer (GBR)	0.999	2:24:30	2:24:21	4	4
	Windstar	Peter Wood (IRL)	0.935	2:35:23	2:25:17	5	5
THA777	Minx	Mick Kealy Kevin Gillow (AUS)	0.953	2:33:13	2:26:01	6	6
JPN6373	Emma	Toshio Furuta (JPN)	1.094	2:16:06	2:28:54	7	7
THA118	Coco ColaTuay Lek	Sail in Asia David Iszatts (THA)	0.970	OCS	OCS	OCS	9

Fastest Time Emma

Current protest time limit for IRC 1 Class 16:15

Club Charter Race 1 (Provisional)

Sail No	Boat	Name	TCF	Elapsed Time	Corrected Time	Place	Points
AUS 36	Awatea	Andrew de Bruin (AUS)	0.969	1:31:40	1:28:50	1	1
181	Prosafe Cunning Plan	Rob Azzopardi (AUS)	0.988	1:32:17	1:31:11	2	2
MLT 1295	Big A	Horst Lakits (AUT)	1.045	1:30:58	1:35:04	3	3
	NRG Alissa	Elite Yachting Benjamin Dupal (THA)	1.042	1:42:09	1:46:26	4	4
M	Amandla Star	Chrisotpher Kingsley-Smith (GBR)	0.997	DNS	DNS	DNS	6

Fastest Time Big A

Club Charter Race 2 (Provisional)

Sail No	Boat	Name	TCF	Elapsed Time	Corrected Time	Place	Points
AUS 36	Awatea	Andrew de Bruin (AUS)	0.969	2:49:28	2:44:13	1	1
MLT 1295	Big A	Horst Lakits (AUT)	1.045	2:41:32	2:48:48	2	2
	NRG Alissa	Elite Yachting Benjamin Dupal (THA)	1.042	3:17:53	3:26:12	3	3
M	Amandla Star	Chrisotpher Kingsley-Smith (GBR)	0.997	DNS	DNS	DNS	6
181	Prosafe Cunning Plan	Rob Azzopardi (AUS)	0.988	OCS	OCS	OCS	6

Fastest Time Big A

Current protest time limit for Club Charter Class 16:57

Multihull Race 1 (Provisional)

Sail No	Boat	Name	TCF	Elapsed Time	Corrected Time	Place	Points
	Madame Cholet	David Thomson (GBR)	0.706	1:33:12	1:05:48	1	1
	Da Vinci Ni?a	Composite Catamarans Alan Carwadine (THA)	0.761	1:33:45	1:11:21	2	2
	Thor	Henry Kaye/Fergus Wilmer (GBR)	1.017	1:15:42	1:16:59	3	3
234	Shanghai Baby	Neil Ayre (GBR)	0.803	1:37:37	1:18:23	4	4
20	Chameleon	Faraway Yachting Shane Smith (THA)	0.839	1:35:37	1:20:13	5	5
GBR 720M	Miss Saigon	David Liddell (GBR)	0.884	1:33:48	1:22:55	6	6
00	Happy Feet	Arnold Duckworth (USA)	0.914	1:31:47	1:23:53	7	7

Fastest Time Thor

Multihull Race 2 (Provisional)

Sail No	Boat	Name	TCF	Elapsed Time	Corrected Time	Place	Points
	Da Vinci Ni?a	Composite Catamarans Alan Carwadine (THA)	0.761	2:07:13	1:36:49	1	1
	Thor	Henry Kaye/Fergus Wilmer (GBR)	1.017	1:37:45	1:39:25	2	2
20	Chameleon	Faraway Yachting Shane Smith (THA)	0.839	2:06:28	1:46:06	3	3
234	Shanghai Baby	Neil Ayre (GBR)	0.803	2:14:02	1:47:38	4	4
00	Happy Feet	Arnold Duckworth (USA)	0.914	2:02:24	1:51:52	5	5
GBR 720M	Miss Saigon	David Liddell (GBR)	0.884	2:09:00	1:54:02	6	6
	Madame Cholet	David Thomson (GBR)	0.706	2:52:19	2:01:39	7	7

Fastest Time Thor

Current protest time limit for Multihull Class 16:42

Firefly 850 Race 1 (Provisional)

Sail No	Boat	Name	TCF	Elapsed Time	Corrected Time	Place	Points
FF777	Voodoo	Hans Rahmann (GER)	1.000	1:20:03	1:20:03	1	1
FF222	Moto Inzi	Roger Kingdon (GBR)	1.000	1:22:30	1:22:30	2	2
690	The Frog	Andaman Sea Club John Newnham (THA)	1.000	1:26:09	1:26:09	3	3
	Blue Nose	Damian Kimble Mark Horwood (CAN)	1.000	1:28:55	1:28:55	4	4
	SEA Property	Peter Dyer (GBR)	1.000	DNS	DNS	DNS	6

Fastest Time Voodoo

Firefly 850 Race 2 (Provisional)

Sail No	Boat	Name	TCF	Elapsed Time	Corrected Time	Place	Points
FF777	Voodoo	Hans Rahmann (GER)	1.000	1:38:11	1:38:11	1	1
FF222	Moto Inzi	Roger Kingdon (GBR)	1.000	1:38:16	1:38:16	2	2
690	The Frog	Andaman Sea Club John Newnham (THA)	1.000	1:48:35	1:48:35	3	3
	Blue Nose	Damian Kimble Mark Horwood (CAN)	1.000	1:58:32	1:58:32	4	4
	SEA Property	Peter Dyer (GBR)	1.000	DNC	DNC	DNC	6