Phuket King’s Cup Regatta Day 4: IRC2 Class goes to the wire
PHUKET: While the outcome in many of the classes remains a foregone conclusion, the IRC 2 class is wide open going into the final day of the 2009 King’s Cup after Thai Navy 1, skippered by CPO. 3 Wiwat Poonpat, won the only race of day four to cut Team Bentley’s lead in the series to a single point.
Team Bentley, skippered by Peter Dyer, finished in second place – but only just – finishing three seconds ahead of Waka Teare and four seconds ahead of Phoenix, once the times had been adjusted.
CPO. 3 Wiwat Poonpat is confident that he will be able to defend his lead and win the King’s Cup for a second consecutive year.
“The wind today was good and the team worked very well together. We have a heavy boat, which gives us an advantage in windy conditions. If the wind is good tomorrow, I think we will be able to win the series,” he said.
Thai Navy 2 did not fare quite so well in the rough conditions; a broken mast effectively ending the boat’s participation in this year’s regatta.
Elsewhere, Neil Pryde’s Hi Fi looks certain to win the Premier Class after nearest rival Chris Mead’s Full Metal Jacket could only finish sixth. Matt Allen’s Ichi Ban has an unassailable lead in the IRC 1 class, as does Fergus Kaye and Henry Wilmer’s Thor in the Multihull Class, with both boats consistently finishing first.
Only three Firefly 850s finished race 6 with Brent Gribble’s Twin Sharks winning the race to give it a one point lead over Hans Rahman’s Voodoo Child.
— James Goyder
