The only casualty of day one was a small monohull called Ava. Ava struck a submerged rock a few hundred metres of Koh Bon pushing the keel up in the hull. Taking water she was dragged to a nearby beach and grounded with the help of the regattas inflatable RIB. Unfortunately the incoming tide and sea conditions broke her up on the beach before a rescue effort could be organized. All aboard escaped without injury and were taken back to the Evason jetty aboard the RIB.
Cyrene a 38 foot Mark Pescott design cat beam flipped in a strong gust of around 30 knots in medium to rough sea conditions close reaching with a spinnaker up and both dagger boards fully down. Without getting into details it must be said the incident had nothing to do with the cat and a lot to do with the choice of sails - to much sail up and a lack of coordination aboard. It was a text book example of how not to sail a cat in windy conditions and a perfect example of how to capsize a catamaran. Mozart immediately withdrew from the race and stood by for assistance until the situation aboard Cyrene was secure. Fortunately the eight aboard escaped with minor injuries being quickly plucked out of the water by the large inflatable RIB camera boat.
The boys Darryl and Red provided the dingy and volunteered for the task. Their only want was to be feed plenty of beers in the evening. Darryl and Red were kept busy during the regatta serving multiple roles as photography boat, dropping off media and rescuing wet sailors from the warm waters of Phuket.
Mozart later rejoined the race with a time adjustment to take out 1st place on handicap against Kilo in performance cruising. Later in the second race Mozart took out line honours and 1st, she was the only cat in both divisions that completed the course with Kilo and Chameleon withdrawn due to sail damage and all the racing cats retired for various reasons. Chameleon went out as a spectator to follow the fleet while testing her repaired headsail. Well worth it ,as she trailed Mozart to see the big 14.4 metre alloy cat effortlessly lift a hull and gently place it back in the water a few minutes later. At the time Mozart had one reef in the main and two thirds of a headsail out pushing close hauled into Chalong Bay with an apparent breeze of 30 knots plus. Mark Pesscott withdrew Voodoo Child from the second race to secure Cyrene and make it ready for righting. Using some rusty diving skills - it had been five years since the last dive- he removed and buoyed the broken rig and made her ready for righting. She was then towed over to a secure anchorage in the lee of Phuket Island near the Evason resort.
SY Chameleon at high speed
With the events of day three still fresh in everyone's minds accompanied by the unsettling sight of a huge water spout circling the race area with some ominous black clouds drifting past the fleet opted for reefed sails. The day unfolded to be a pleasant sunny day with constant winds of around 12 to15 knots. The reefs were shook out before the start for a short windward fetch followed by a long spinnaker run up Chalong Bay. From there a one mile run to a turning mark and a two mile close hauled run to the windward turning mark. Two of these circuits were covered with all of the boats back to their moorings by one in the afternoon. Chameleon took out first in Performance Cruising having passed all but one yacht/catamaran Needless to say Voodoo Child was the only cat not passed even though Chameleon did make time up on her. Mozart came in second and Kilo a distant third in Performance Cruising. Chameleon's effort was not good enough to beat her sister ship Mozart for the series. In racing Voodoo Child crossed first with Henry Kaye's Charro second over the line and the Ceberus taking third with the sail training youth team aboard. The heavens opened up later in the afternoon with strong winds and heavy rain seemly giving there approval to the finish of the second Evason Phuket Race Week activities whilst washing the salt spray of the competitors boats and crew.
The host Evason Resort was the venue for all the parties; all held at the "On the Beach Bar" right near the action. Five parties - plenty of Tiger Beer and spirits along with a refreshing change some home grown Thai wine - red and white to test the palate and not to bad either.
There were varieties of nibbles - finger food for three of the five parties and a splendid buffer for the other two nights included traditional Thai dishes and much western cuisine - even varieties of ice cream - cream caramel - bread and butter pudding accompanied by copious amounts of fresh fruit to those watching their waist line. Music was by way of a resident disc jockey playing tunes that brought one back to the 60s, 70s and 80s.
As usual the events Madre De Bill O'Leary stumbled through the prize giving ceremonies with the regular mispronunciation of boat names a seeming well practiced art to " have a go" at the various owners. Bill, it is Chameleon not Camelot!
Grenville Fordam and Andy Dowden haven't reinvented the wheel with this racing event but they have added some new racing tread tyres. A slightly changed quote from an old movie may apply here "They have done for racing what Stonehenge has done for Rocks!" Running the event during the off season in windy conditions was a big bonus. It has paid off with The Evason Phuket Race Week securing itself as an event to be at - for that matter the only event timed for the South West Monsoon season.
Only in it second year and attracting thirty one yachts amongst them eight catamarans, it has certainly made its mark in the yachting scene in Thailand. The event slots in well, a few months before the Kings Cup and is supported by the Kings Cup and the Kings Cup's major sponsor Raimon Land a major real estate developer in Thailand. Bangkok based Raimon Land are also sponsors of the Top of the Gulf Regatta in Pattaya and sponsor yachts in the Koh Samui Regatta. They are a much needed and welcomed force behind yachting events in Thailand.
Post regatta news sees the retrieval of Cyrene at Latitude Eight's boatyard. Cyrene was later towed to Ao Makham commercial port and righted with the help of a shore based crane. From there she was towed to Latitude Eight's boatyard in Chalong Bay under the supervision of Mark Pesscot the builder designer. The replica motor launch Jessie was the tow boat with Mark Horwood at the wheel. Cyrene was soon on the trailer and dragged up the beach by four wheel drive and in the shed for repairs. Apart from the missing mast she didn't look all that worse for wear. She floated happily at anchor for three days awaiting her retrieval. Not much can be said for the fate of Ava. Cyrene will be out there sailing again in no time but Ava is only drift wood on the beach. "Give me a cat any day".
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