A 'United Nations' of winners at the 2011 Top of
the Gulf Regatta
Racing
down to the wire in IRC Racing 1; New Coronation Cup champion crowned
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03
May 2011, (Pattaya) The
final day of racing at the 2011 Top of the Gulf Regatta saw idyllic, tropical
sailing conditions and lots to sail for with many classes going down to the
wire. Over 30 nationalities enjoyed four days of testing racing off Ocean
Marina Yacht Club, Jomtien Beach, Pattaya, Thailand.
The Top of the Gulf Regatta
saw one of the largest fleets ever in Thailand (and Asia) with 49 entries in
the keelboat and ocean multihull classes (course one), 61 in the beach
catamaran and monohull dinghy classes (course two), and 129 Optimists (course
three) – a total of 239 boats.
Courses two and three
finished yesterday with winners being presented series prizes at the Gala
Dinner sponsored by the Ocean Marina Yacht Club, with today the final day of
racing for keelboat and multihull classes.
Regatta Race Officer, Simon
James, managed to complete two races today for all keelboat and multihull classes, and squeezed in a third
race for the one-design Platus.
The IRC Racing 1 class
enjoyed the company of the International Jury with a series of protests,
dismissals and hearings being re-opened, which resulted in a disqualification
on Day 2 for Hi Fi (Neil Pryde) and a final protest being withdraw by Team
Premier (Johannes Waimer). The outcome of this, and the disqualification
was critical in the final top three placings.
In the two races today, Hi
Fi pulled out all the stops taking two bullets in what were very close
battles on the water, with Team Premier in second (both races)
and Evolution Racing (Ray Roberts) in third (both races). The standard
of racing was some of the best-ever seen in the seven years of the Top of the
Gulf Regatta and with that comes pressure and a deep desire to win, resulting
in 'battle by protest'. After all protests have been taken into account, the
winner of the IRC Racing 1 class for the 2011 Top of the Gulf Regatta was Team
Premier from Hi Fi in second and Evolution Racing, third.
In IRC Racing 2 Jing
Jing (Rick Pointon) continued their charge taking two bullets today with Ichi
Ban (Matt Allen) second in race one and Katsu (Ben Copley), third.
Having the series already wrapped up, Ichi Ban came back to shore early
and never took part in the second race leaving Katsu to take second from
Dynamite (Brad Kirk) third.
The Sports Boats raced in
conjunction with IRC Racing 2. Some impressive sailing from the crew on the
Shaw 650 Pornstar (Kipsan Beck) saw them overtake the 45-foot Pasaya
(Schle Wood Tan) on race one today, and take out the Sports Boat title from C
U Later (Mikael Pophillat) in second.
Royal Thai Navy 1 (Nuttapol Srihirun) took two more
bullets today in IRC Racing 3 and drop their worst finish, a second, to take
the series. Hi Jinks (Shoun Toh), sailed by the SMU team, put in a
consistent performance with two more second place finishes today to take second
overall in the series. While in race one today Magic (David Bell) took
third and Souay I (Jean Rheault) took third in race two. After the drop,
Magic took third overall in the class series.
The Cruising class enjoyed
the best of the Regatta's winds today and managed to complete two
windward-leeward races. In race one, Amanda (Lennart Fahlgren) took
first from Reef Knot+ (Simon Denny) in second and San Sanook
(Andrew Watt) third. Race two saw a switch in the placings with San Sanook
first, Amanda second and Reef Knot+ third. After consistently
placing in the top two all series, Amanda took the class honours from San
Sanook and Reef Knot+ in second and third respectively.
The one-design Platu class,
racing for the prestigious Coronation Cup, went right down the line... and the
protest room. A disqualification in the penultimate race for Lucky Lady
(Kenta Inaba) meant they were bumped off the top spot. In today's first race, Magic
Dragon (Maximillian Soh) took first from The Ferrett (Scott
Duncanson) in second and another SMU Team entry The Weasel (SMU Team 2),
in third. After a disappointing disqualification, Lucky Lady stormed
into first in the final race, beating Naiad (Wiwat Poonpat) into second
and The Fox (Rolf Heemskerk) in third.
After nine races, and with
one discard, Magic Dragon were crowned Coronation Cup champions. After
the last day's drama, Lucky Lady finished second and Naiad held
on to third with a strong finish.
The Sting (James Haste) has lead the Ocean
Mutihulls almost from start to finish at the Top of the Gulf Regatta. However,
today they did not have it all their own way. A first in race one by less than
a minute on corrected time was followed by a hard fought second in race two, falling
short of the day's clean sweep by only 15 seconds on corrected time. Second in
race one today was Bladerunner (Alan Carwadine) with Black Swan
(Scott Galle) third. In the second race of the day Cedar Swan (Radab
Kanjanavanit) took first from The Sting in second, with Bladerunner
third.
The 2011 Top of the Gulf
Regatta saw professional on-the-water race management, a team of Jurors of the
highest calibre and some of the most competitive racing to be found anywhere in
Asia. Combined with challenging sailing conditions, the Regatta has been
chalked up as a success. Plans are already on the drawing board for 2012.
Series results at the 2011
Top of the Gulf Regatta, are as follows:
IRC Racing 1
1. Team Premier, Johannes
Waimer (9)
2. Hi Fi, Neil Pryde (12)
3. Evolution Racing, Ray
Roberts (13)
IRC Racing 2
1. Ichi Ban, Matt Allen (7)
2. Jing Jing, Rick Pointon
(10)
3. Katsu, Ben Copley (17)
IRC Racing 3
1. Royal Thai Navy 1,
Nuttapol Srihirun (6)
2. Hi Jinks, Team SMU (11)
3. Magic, David Bell (20)
Cruising
1. Amanda, Lennart Fahlgren
(5)
2. San Sanook, Andrew Watt
(7)
3. Reef Knot+, Simon Denny
(13)
Platu (Coronation Cup)
1. Magic Dragon,
Maximillian Soh (20)
2. Lucky Lady, Kenta Inaba
(23)
3. Naiad, Wiwat Poonpat
(24)
Ocean Multihulls
1. The Sting, James Haste
(9)
2. Bladerunner, Alan
Carwadine (14)
3. Cedar Swan, Radab
Kanjanavanit (18)
For full series results in
detail, go to http://topofthegulfregatta.com/results.shtml.
The
2011 Top of the Gulf Regatta is supported by the Principal Sponsor Ocean Marina
as host venue. Co-Sponsors include Land Rover and Range Rover, Thai Airways,
Gulf Charters and Mont Clair Wines as Co-sponsors. A large contribution was
also made by an anonymous sailor this year. Other sponsors include Ocean
Property Co. Ltd., Singha Corporation Group, Thai Numthip Co., Ltd. (Coca
Cola), Lucaris, Bangkok Pattaya Hospital, Golden Foods Siam Ltd., Bank of
Ayudhya Plc., Seat Boat Co., Ltd., Corsair Marine Thailand Co., Ltd., QBE
Insurance (Thailand) Co., Ltd., Mõvenpick ice cream, Nivea, CAT Telecom, Media
Representation International and Sail Quest. Media partners include Pattaya
Mail, SEA Yachting magazine, Ensign Media and Mix 88.5 FM. The event is
supported by the Yacht Racing Association of Thailand (YRAT), Royal Varuna
Yacht Club and Pattaya City.
Website:
www.topofthegulfregatta.com
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/pages/TOG-Regatta/179908192379
Photos: https://picasaweb.google.com/infinityprcomms/TopOfTheGulfRegatta2011#
# # #
Media
Contact
Chanut Nawnarong/ Nungruthai Julakul
Infinity Communications
Tel: +66 (0) 83 650 6848/ +66 (0) 89 512 7030
Email: pr@infinity-comms.com
Day 3 May
2nd
A new champion crowned at Thailand Optimist
National championship
13
year old Chaninat Poolsirikot schools 130-strong Optimist entries, winning by
four points

Winner of the
2011 Thailand Optimist Nationals, Chaninat Poolsirikot (THA 188)
02
May 2011, (Pattaya) After nine races over three days, the 130
international junior sailors finished the Thailand Optimist Nationals in style,
with tropical blue skies and steady wind and Thailand winning the top three
places in all divisions. The Thailand Optimist Nationals is incorporated in the
Top of the Gulf Regatta and organised in co-operation with the Yacht Racing
Association of Thailand.
The
Under 12s division, Jarupong Meeyusamsan showed his class to take first from
Phuket Dinghy Series champion Anapat Ngarmdee in and Kamonchanko Khlahan in
third.
In
the girls division, Chaninat Poolsirikot scored consistently well to take a
resounding victory over Kanapan Pachatikapanya in second and Kamonchanok
Khlahan in third.
The
Thailand National Optimist champions has a long and storied history with many
of today's top Thai sailors having competed, and won, the perpetual trophy. In
1976 the Yacht Racing Association of Thailand started Junior Sailing, a
programme to encourage and train young Thai sailors and send them to compete in
international sailing events. In the same year, YRAT started what was then
called the Optimist Thailand Championship Cup, known today as the Thailand
Optimist Nationals. Now in its 35th year, the Thailand Optimist Nationals is as
competitive as ever, with many leading Thai juniors, international teams and
world champions competing for the title.
This
year, 2010 Thailand Optimist Nationals champion and 2010 World Champion,
Noppakao Poonpat, could not enter, no longer being eligible to race Optimists
having reach the class age limit. This meant 2011 would see a new national champion
and a new star take the headlines.
In
2010, Thailand won the Team World Optimist Championships and two members of
that winning team took part in the Thailand Optimist Nationals over the last
three days. Expectations were high for the two World Champions. After nine
competitive races, Sarawut Phetsiri took second overall and Jirawat Jadklay
fourth. Neither could match the five firsts and overall consistency of the
series winner, 13 year old Thai girl Chaninat Poolsirikot, who won by four
points and is the 2011 Thailand Optimist Nationals champion.
Sarawut
Phetsiri took second and Pongsapat Pumyam third.
Prizes
were presented at the Gala Dinner hosted by Ocean Marina Yacht Club with the
new Thailand Optimist National champion being cheered by all the participants,
big and small.
Racing
continues for keelboats and ocean multihull fleets tomorrow, and the inaugural
Thailand Open Opti Team Racing Championship also, with 8 – 10 teams expected.
The
2011 Top of the Gulf Regatta is supported by the Principal Sponsor Ocean Marina
as host venue. Co-Sponsors include Land Rover and Range Rover, Thai Airways,
Gulf Charters and Mont Clair Wines as Co-sponsors. A large contribution was
also made by an anonymous sailor this year. Other sponsors include Ocean Property
Co. Ltd., Singha Corporation Group, Thai Numthip Co., Ltd. (Coca Cola),
Lucaris, Bangkok Pattaya Hospital, Golden Foods Siam Ltd., Bank of Ayudhya
Plc., Seat Boat Co., Ltd., Corsair Marine Thailand Co., Ltd., QBE Insurance
(Thailand) Co., Ltd., Mõvenpick ice cream, Nivea, CAT Telecom, Media
Representation International and Sail Quest. Media partners include Pattaya
Mail, SEA Yachting magazine, Ensign Media and Mix 88.5 FM. The event is
supported by the Yacht Racing Association of Thailand (YRAT), Royal Varuna
Yacht Club and Pattaya City.
Day 3 May
2nd
On water rivalries reignited on Day Three of
2011 Top of the Gulf Regatta
Singaporeans
to the fore with three teams taking first places on Day Tree

Ocean
Multihulls line up for the start on Day Three of the Top of the Gulf Regatta
2011.
02
May 2011, (Pattaya) Day
Three at the 2011 Top of the Gulf Regatta saw the wind Gods return with steady
breezes throughout, rising to 12 knots towards the end, and blue skies all
around showcasing what a stunning race venue the Gulf of Thailand really is.
A tete-a-tete continued in
the protest room today as Evolution Racing filed a protest against
yesterday's Jury decision to dismiss their protest. The upshot saw Neil Pryde's
Hi Fi disqualified from yesterday's sole race, which sees they drop down
the series rankings. However, the rumour mill is working overtime and a protest
by Hi Fi is expected on the protest by Evolution Racing about the
previous protest result by Evolution Racing. All may not be settled just
yet.
Protests aside, IRC Racing
1 completed two races today. In Race 1, Hi Fi showed their class and
lead from start to finish with Team Premier and Evolution Racing
in second and third respectively. Team Premier went one better in the
second race taking first place by two minutes on corrected time from Evolution
Racing, with Hi Fi in third.
IRC Racing 2 also completed
two races today and in the first race Ichi Ban continued her winning
ways with another bullet. Jing Jing took second and Katsu third.
In Race 2, all boats exceeded the time limit as per the Sailing Instructions,
so timings were taken at the last mark. This meant Jing Jing knocked Ichi
Ban off her perch and took first with Ichi Ban second and Katsu
third.
Two races for IRC Racing 3
saw a twist in fortunes for Royal Thai Navy 1 who scored second in the
first race and a fifth in the second race to drop them down the series
standings. Hi Jinks, sailed by a team from Singapore Management
University took first in Race 1 with Souay I in third. In the second
race, Kirafiki took the honours from Hi Jinks and Souay I,
in second and third respectively. Going into the final day, the series looks
set to be a two boat battle between Hi Jinks and Royal Thai Navy 1.
Race Officer, Simon James,
sent the Cruising class on a long distance race off and around the islands.
After a good stretch of the legs, Amanda took first with San Sanook
in second and Free Wind third.
The one-design Platu class,
racing for the Coronation Cup, managed to complete three races today, bringing
the series total to six. With an expected 10 to complete the series, the last
day looks set to be busy to say the least for the race committee. In Race 1, Lucky
Lady took the honours from Naida in second and series leaders Magic
Dragon, raced by the ever-popular SMU team, in third. In Race 2 today, The
Ferrett returned to their winning ways putting in a strong performance to
take their first bullet of the series so far. However, their 'luck' ran out in
the next race with a seventh. Second in Race 2 was Lucky Lady with Magic
Dragon, third.
In the last race of the day
for the Platu class, another of the SMU teams, Wikki, jumped up the
rankings with a first followed by Lucky
Lady and The Weasel in second and third respectively.
In the Ocean Multihull
class, two races were completed with The Sting taking first in Race 1
from Sonic in second and Bladerunner third. In the second race of
the day, Bladerunner returning to their winning ways with a first, Dash
took second and Sonic third.
Final series resulted were
today announced for Hobie Tiger/ Nacra F18, Hobie 16, Open Monohull Dinghy,
Laser and Optimists.
In the Hobie Tiger/ Nacra
F18 class, after a nine race series with one discard, Jason Waterhouse walked
away with a clean sweep. In second was Morten Jakobsen followed by Aroon
Ruengcharungpong in third.
Well known Thai Hobie
sailor, Kritsada Vongtim, took the class honours with five firsts and three
seconds after one discard. Tirapong Vatibunrueng took second from Chulapong
Chanyim in third.
In the Monohull Dinghy
class a series of 420s and 470s raced nine over three days with Navee/ Tanapong
running away with first place, followed by Sittisart/ Peerapun in second and
Sutee/ Atinat in third.
Thirty-five boats lined up
for the Laser class including 2010 Asia Pacific Laser Champion Kirati Bualong.
Kirati's skills proved too much for the rest taking the class title with an 18
point lead, followed by Kamonwan Chanyim and Nut Butmarasri in second and third
respectively.
The Thailand Optimist
Nationals came to a close today and without perennial winner Noppakao Poonpat,
who has reached the class age limit A new winner was assured. 130 junior
sailors from around South East Asia took part, one of the biggest ever
Nationals fleet. Prizes for Overall, Girls and Under 12 were on offer.
Thailand outshone their
neighbours taking the top three places in all divisions. In Under 12, Jarupong
Meeyusamsan took first from Phuket Dinghy Series reigning champion Anapat
Ngarmdee in second, and Kamonchanok Khlahan third.
In the Girls division,
first place went to Chaninat Poolsirikot with Kanapan Pachatikapanya in second
and Kamonchanok Khlahan third.
Overall results saw
Pongsapat Pumyam take third with Sarawut Phetsiri in second. And the winner,
crowned Thailand Optimist Nationals champion for 2011 was 13 year old Thai girl
Chaninat Poolsirikot.
The last day of racing for
the keelboats and ocean multihulls will take place tomorrow at Ocean Marina
Yacht Club, Jomtien Beach, Pattaya, Thailand.
The
2011 Top of the Gulf Regatta is supported by the Principal Sponsor Ocean Marina
as host venue. Co-Sponsors include Land Rover and Range Rover, Thai Airways,
Gulf Charters and Mont Clair Wines as Co-sponsors. A large contribution was
also made by an anonymous sailor this year. Other sponsors include Ocean
Property Co. Ltd., Singha Corporation Group, Thai Numthip Co., Ltd. (Coca
Cola), Lucaris, Bangkok Pattaya Hospital, Golden Foods Siam Ltd., Bank of
Ayudhya Plc., Seat Boat Co., Ltd., Corsair Marine Thailand Co., Ltd., QBE Insurance
(Thailand) Co., Ltd., Mõvenpick ice cream, Nivea, CAT Telecom, Media
Representation International and Sail Quest. Media partners include Pattaya
Mail, SEA Yachting magazine, Ensign Media and Mix 88.5 FM. The event is
supported by the Yacht Racing Association of Thailand (YRAT), Royal Varuna
Yacht Club and Pattaya City.
Website:
www.topofthegulfregatta.com
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/pages/TOG-Regatta/179908192379
Photos: https://picasaweb.google.com/infinityprcomms/TopOfTheGulfRegatta2011#
# # #
Media
Contact
Chanut Nawnarong/ Nungruthai Julakul
Infinity Communications
Tel: +66 (0) 83 650 6848/ +66 (0) 89 512 7030
Email: pr@infinity-comms.com
Day 2 May 1st
Challenging conditions flavour of Day Two at Top
of the Gulf Regatta 2011

Team Premier,
from the UAE, leads the IRC Racing 1 class after Day Two.
01
May 2011, (Pattaya) Shifty
and light winds were the order of the day on Day Two of the 2011 Top of the
Gulf Regatta, held at Ocean Marina Yacht Club, Jomtien Beach, Pattaya,
Thailand. The conditions proved a test of tactics and team work (and patience)
as all classes got away after a delay on windward-leewards. Race 1 for Ocean
Multihulls and IRC Racing 2 saw the course shortened, while all other classes
finished.
The wind Gods didn't return
to the party and after a wait for the offshore winds to fill-in, PRO Simon
James called it a day and cancelled the rest of the day's racing programme.
In IRC Racing 1, the tussle
of the top three – Evolution Racing, Hi Fi and Team Premier
– continued and ended in the protest room, with the protest subsequently being
dismissed. Neil Pryde's Hi Fi crossed the line first and took the
handicap honours from Ray Roberts on Evolution Racing and Johannes
Waimer on Team Premier.
The IRC Racing 2 boats saw
their planned three laps reduced to two as the wind died out towards the end of
Race 1. While Katsu (Ben Copley) took line honours he was relegated to
third on corrected time behind Ichi Ban (Matt Allen) and Jing Jing
(Rick Pointon), first and second respectively.
In IRC Racing 3 Royal
Thai Navy 1 (Damrong Sirisakorn) continued their winning ways with another
first keeping a clean sheet of three-out-of-three so far in the series. Hi
Jinks (Surapol Tippawongse) took second from Magic (David Bell) in
third.
San Sanook (Andrew
Watt) jumped up from a fourth yesterday to take first place on corrected time
today in the Cruising class, from Amanda (Lennart Fahlgren) and Japanese
entry Tai Two (Sadunori Osada) in third.
The Platus were looking
forward to getting in two or three races today, but conditions only allowed for
one and with some poor spinnaker work, a number of boats slipped down the
placings. Magic Dragon (Maximillian Soh) and their SMU crew took their
second first place with The Ferret (Scott Duncanson) in second and Luck
Lady (Kenta Inaba) in third. After a fifth place in the first race of the
series yesterday, last years Coronation Cup winner The Ferret, is
getting her challenge back on track with two subsequent second place finishes.
The shortened course for the
Ocean Multihulls didn't dampen the competitive enthusiasm with The Sting
(James Haste) coming to the fore taking her first win of the series from Bladerunner
(Alan Carwadine) in second and Cedar Swan (Radab Kanjanavanit) third.
The international fleet of
130 battling for the Thailand Optimist National championship title are giving
no quarter. Due to the light winds today, only two out of three planned races
were completed. Coming into the day leading the series standings, 12-year-old
Pongsapat Pumyam could only manage a fifth and seventh in the tricky weather
conditions today, but managed to hold on to his series lead by a single point.
Sarawut Phetsiri kept the pressure on with a second and first today, tied in
second with Chaninat Poolsirikot who scored a ninth and second place.
Provisional
series results after Day Two: in IRC Racing 1 Team Premier (1), Evolution
Racing (2), Hi Fi (3); in IRC Racing 2 Ichi Ban (1), Jing Jing (2), Katsu (3);
in IRC Racing 3 Royal Thai Navy 1 (1), Hi Jinks (2), Magic (3); in Cruising
Amanda (1), San Sanook (2), Free Wind (3); in the Platu class Magic Dragon (1),
Naiad (2), The Ferret (3); in Ocean Multihulls Bladerunner (1), The Sting (2),
Cedar Swan (3); in the Thailand Optimist Nationals Pongsapat Pumyam (1),
Chaninat Poolsirikot (2), Sarawut Phetsiri (3).
Races
continue tomorrow, 2nd May, off Ocean Marina Yacht Club, Jomtien
Beach, Pattaya, Thailand.
The
2011 Top of the Gulf Regatta is supported by the Principal Sponsor Ocean Marina
as host venue. Co-Sponsors include Land Rover and Range Rover, Thai Airways,
Gulf Charters and Mont Clair Wines as Co-sponsors. A large contribution was
also made by an anonymous sailor this year. Other sponsors include Ocean
Property Co. Ltd., Singha Corporation Group, Thai Numthip Co., Ltd. (Coca
Cola), Lucaris, Bangkok Pattaya Hospital, Golden Foods Siam Ltd., Bank of
Ayudhya Plc., Seat Boat Co., Ltd., Corsair Marine Thailand Co., Ltd., QBE
Insurance (Thailand) Co., Ltd., Mõvenpick ice cream, Nivea, CAT Telecom, Media
Representation International and Sail Quest. Media partners include Pattaya
Mail, SEA Yachting magazine, Ensign Media and Mix 88.5 FM. The event is
supported by the Yacht Racing Association of Thailand (YRAT), Royal Varuna
Yacht Club and Pattaya City.
Website:
www.topofthegulfregatta.com
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/pages/TOG-Regatta/179908192379
Photos: https://picasaweb.google.com/infinityprcomms/TopOfTheGulfRegatta2011#
# # #
Media
Contact
Chanut Nawnarong/ Nungruthai Julakul
Infinity Communications
Tel: +66 (0) 83 650 6848/ +66 (0) 89 512 7030
Email: pr@infinity-comms.com
Day 1 April 30th
Australians leading the way on first day at Top
of the Gulf Regatta

Ichi Ban, IRC Racing 2, on her way to two wins
on Day One of the Top of the Gulf Regatta 2011.
30
April 2011, (Pattaya) Good
steady winds saw all classes away cleanly on the first day of the 2011 Top of
the Gulf Regatta (TOG Regatta). Held off Ocean Marina Yacht Club, Jomtien
Beach, Pattaya, Thailand, winds ranged from 8 to 12 knots as all keelboats and
ocean multihulls raced windward-leewards, except the cruising class which raced
a longer passage race.
IRC Racing 1 class brings
together an international fleet with Asian circuit regulars Evolution Racing
(Aus), Hi Fi (Hong Kong), Wan Ma Rang (Thai) and relative newcomers
Team Premier (UAE) and Zanzibar (Sing). Of the five, it's the
first TOG Regatta for Hi Fi, Team Premier and Zanzibar. Hi
Fi and Evolution Racing, pre-regatta expected to be duelling for the
top positions were surprised on Day One as Team Premier fired a shot
across everyone's bow with line honours and handicap in Race 1. In Race 2 Team
Premier was beaten into second by Evolution Racing, with Hi Fi
third.
IRC Racing 2 saw a nine
boat fleet take to the startline with all eyes on Australian favourite Matt
Allen and his crew on Ichi Ban. Tactics were the call of the day and Ichi
Ban called them correct. Although pushed close in Race 1, Ichi Ban
took line honours and class win on corrected time from Jing Jing (China)
skippered by Rick Poulson, and Katsu (Thai), skippered by Ben Copley, in
second and third respectively. In Race 2 Ichi Ban took his second bullet
with Jing Jing steady in second place from El Coyote (Aus)
skippered by Gary Baguley, in third.
IRC Racing 3 saw Royal
Thai Navy 1, skippered by Damrong Sirisakorn, continued their
winning form in Thailand regattas with a close fought win in Race 1 by 25
seconds on corrected time from Hi Jinks (Thai) skippered by Surapol
Tippawongse in second, and Magic (Aus), skippered by David Bell in
third. Race 2 saw the same place finishes, Royal Thai Navy 1 (1), Hi
Jinks (2) and Magic (3).
The Sports Boat class are
being run on the same startline and sequence as the IRC Racing 2 class, but
with separate class trophies being given. Pornstar (Thai) skippered by
Kipsan Beck took two bullets from C U Later (Fra), skippered by Mikael
Pophillat.
The one-design Platu class
lit up the course with some tight and entertaining racing, places being traded
mid-fleet throughout race one. Magic Dragon, crewed by one of three SMU
teams in the class, took to the front early on and rounded the windward mark
first. She continued to stretch her lead throughout and easily took the bullet.
Lucky Lady (Japan) skippered by Kenta Inaba, took second with Naiad
(Thai), skippered by Wiwat Poonpat, in third. Last year's Coronation Cup
winner, The Ferret, skippered by Scott Duncanson, came back from a poor
start to take fifth, one place behind their perennial rivals The Fox,
skippered by Rolf Heemskerk. Race 2 saw Naiad pull out all the stops to
take first from The Ferret and The Fox in second and third
respectively.
The passage race by the
Cruising class saw the 11 strong fleet head offshore to out-lying islands. Amanda
(Sing), skippered by Lennart Fahlgren, won the day on corrected time from Free
Wind (USA) skippered by George Foose in second, and Reef Knot+
(Thailand), skippered by Simon Denny in third.
In the Ocean Multihull
class, Radab Kanjanavanit skippering Cedar Swan (Thai) bounced back from
a third in Race 1 to take the bullet in Race 2 and lead the series standing
after the first day. A ripped mainsail didn't stop Sonic (Thai) taking
first in Race 1 from Bladerunner (Thai), skippered by Thierry Cercleron
in second. In Race 2 Bladerunner again took second from Dash
(Thai), skippered Bob Garner, in third.
Day
One saw some upsets and a number of regatta-newcomers leading in the series
standings. Provisional series results for IRC Racing 1 are Evolution Racing
(1), Team Premier (2), Hi Fi (3); in IRC Racing 2 Ichi Ban (2), Jing Jing (2),
Katsu (3); in IRC Racing 3 Royal Thai Navy 1 (1), Hi Jinks (2), Magic (3); in
Cruising Amanda (1), Free Wind (2), Reef Knot+ (3); in the Sports Boat Pornstar
(1), C U Later (2); in the Platu class Naiad (1), Magic Dragon (2), The Ferret
(3); in Ocean Multihulls Cedar Swan (1), Bladerunner (2), The Sting (3).
The
2011 Top of the Gulf Regatta is supported by the Principle Sponsor Ocean Marina
as host venue. Co-Sponsors include Land Rover and Range Rover, Thai Airways,
Gulf Charters and Mont Clair Wines as Co-sponsors. A large contribution was
also made by an anonymous sailor this year. Other sponsors include Ocean
Property Co. Ltd., Singha Corporation Group, Thai Numthip Co., Ltd. (Coca
Cola), Lucaris, Bangkok Pattaya Hospital, Golden Foods Siam Ltd., Bank of
Ayudhya Plc., Seat Boat Co., Ltd., Corsair Marine Thailand Co., Ltd., QBE
Insurance (Thailand) Co., Ltd., Mõvenpick ice cream, Nivea, CAT Telecom, Media
Representation International and Sail Quest. Media partners include Pattaya
Mail, SEA Yachting magazine, Ensign Media and Mix 88.5 FM. The event is
supported by the Yacht Racing Association of Thailand (YRAT), Royal Varuna
Yacht Club and Pattaya City.
Website:
www.topofthegulfregatta.com
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/pages/TOG-Regatta/179908192379
Photos: https://picasaweb.google.com/infinityprcomms/TopOfTheGulfRegatta2011
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Media
Contact
Chanut Nawnarong/ Nungruthai Julakul
Infinity Communications
Tel: +66 (0) 83 650 6848/ +66 (0) 89 512 7030
Email: pr@infinity-comms.com