Strong winds greet sailors on Day One of Multihull Solutions Regatta in Phuket

One of the region’s most exciting sailing regattas kicked off yesterday (Saturday) off the coast of Chalong in southern Phuket. The Multihull Solutions Regatta beings together some of the fastest racing yachts in Asia.

Day one of the 12th annual Multihull Solutions Regatta was delayed for an hour due to strong shifting winds gusting to 31 knots. PRO Simon James then got the fleet underway just before 1 pm with the Racing and Ocean Multis sharing the same start, followed by the Fireflies. Some shifty manoeuvring by John Newnham’s Twin Sharks saw Ray Waldron’s Surf Patrol go OSR in the Firefly division, but then it was off to the races around Koh Bon with the fluctuating weather and wind conditions causing some frustration and an eventually shortened course for the shortened multihulls.

By the time the second race got underway later in the afternoon the wind had died down to seven knots and PRO James held two more windward-leeward races, the first being three laps, the second two, which was shortened shortly before 5 pm when racing was scheduled to end for the day.

There was a minor battle within a major battle in the Racing Multihull Class – the battle of the Fugazis; Dan Fidock’s new customized catamaran vs. the old Fugazi (a Moore 37), now Bonza. It was the first race for Bonza with its new crew and the first race for the new Fugazi (a Bakewell White 10.5).

Phantom took the division on this day, with Warwick Downes’ Bonza second. Dirk Weiblen podiumed on No Fear finishing third on the day. This boat was previously known as Offline and This! Dan Fidock’s Fugazi was fourth and Twister 2 fifth.

The Firefly division was particularly competitive with multiple lead changes throughout the three races: Twin Sharks won the day, Blue Noze came second and Voodoo placed third overall, after being disqualified from the third race. Surf Patrol and Moto Inzi rounded out the class in that order.

Shovel in the Cruising Multihull Class won the day with new sails and tactical skills capturing all three races though its only other competitor in the division unexpectantly had to undergo minor repairs before race one, so had to sit that one out but joined in for the latter two races.

The regatta’s on-water team deserves a lot of credit for pulling off three races in challenging weather and wind conditions that changed dramatically throughout the day.

The principal sponsor for the sixth straight year is Andrew de Bruin and Multihull Solutions. Race day sponsors include Boat Lagoon, East Marine Asia and Octopus Electrical Services. Supporting sponsors are SEA Yachting, the Thailand Yacht Show, Asia Catamarans, Regatta’s Asia and Doyle Sails.

Original report: Phuket Yacht Club