Two race finale wraps up successful 2018 Samui Regatta

PHOTO: Java Yachting

The sun teased and the wind held steady on the final day of the 2018 Samui Regatta. Race Officer Ross Chisholm set two windward/ leewards for the keelboat and multihulls classes while it was a three-race showdown for the Hydrofoil Kites off Mae Nam Beach.

It’s been a week of dominance by Kevin and Tom Whitcraft and their crew on the TP52 THA72. Other than a fourth place on Day 3, they haven’t put a foot wrong across a wide range of conditions and have won eight from nine races, defending their IRC Zero title with a 17 point winning margin.

When you delve into the results deeper, however, the racing has been much closer than it at first appears with winning margins of eight seconds in Race 1 and only four seconds in Race 3, a trend that can be seen across the seven-strong class.

Today the battle was more about second and third places. Tensions were high with individual recalls for Ark 323 and Freefire in the first race and a general recall in the second. A second in Race 8 by the much improved Chinese team on Ark 323 (less than 60 seconds behind THA72 on corrected time) helped put some breathing space between them and Freefire (HKG) in the overall standings while a third for Zannekin (HKG) saw them leapfrog Alive.

Heading into the final race, Sarab Singh’s team on WindSikher were sitting second overall with a five point lead over Zannekin and bearing any major mishap, had their place secured. A fifth in the final race for WindSikher was enough for them to finish second overall while a third for Alive saw them claim third place, two points ahead of Zannekin.

Seeing two or three TP52s on the startline of any regatta in Asia is quite special, but four is almost unheard of. A fifth TP52 was expected to compete this year but sadly had to pull out last minute, and there’s talk of two more joining the circuit in the not-too-distant future – seven TP52s on a startline is a distinct possibility come next year.

It was all change in Performance Cruising today when SailQuest Hi Jinks (THA) won the first race – their first win of the series. A second for Souay 1, despite some sail damage, was, however, enough for them to secure the title with one race to spare while they went on to wrap up the series with a win in the final race by 20 seconds on corrected time. Two DNS’ brought Moon Shadow’s (THA) series to an early end and a third place overall.

Andy Pape’s Sudu Red (GER), leader of the Multihull class, broke his centerboard in yesterday’s passage race and fellow competitor Paul Baker, skipper of Sudu Yellow (AUS) – an identical one-design Corsair Pulse 600 – kindly offer his for use in racing today. This gesture of sportsmanship helped Sudu Red score two wins on the final day and with that, the class title. Two second places for Sudu Grey (THA) saw them tie with Pixalux (AUS) who on count back (having more second place finishes over the series) were crowned second overall.

After a slow start for Thailand and Asian Champion, Narapichit Pudla, he came out all blazing in the Hydrofoil Kites – Men’s class today. Three bullets saw him jump to the top of the standings and crowned inaugural Men’s winner in the first stop of the KTA Asia Pacific Hydrofoil Series, while compatriot Benyapa Jantawan went on to claim the Women’s class.

In the Master’s class Daniel Leow (MAS) showed his class with six wins from nine races to dominate the class while Singapore’s Maximillian Maeder won the Boys division undefeated and racing off the startline was never out of the top three places when all class results are combined.

In Samui to observe the action was the team from JS Concert who following the conclusion of racing signed a contract for the Malaysia round of the KTA Asia Pacific Hydrofoil Series, which is set to take place later this year in November at Desaru Coast, in Johor. An area of 3,900 acres along a pristine 17km unspoiled beachfront, the location offers perfect conditions for the KTA to bring international kiteboarding competition to Malaysia for the first time.

Top three results in each class:
IRC Zero
THA72 (THA), Kevin and Tom Whitcraft (8)
WindSikher (SIN), Sarab Singh (25)
Alive (AUS), Duncan Hine (29)

TP52
THA72 (THA), Kevin and Tom Whitcraft (8)
Freefire (HKG), Sam Chan (19)
Ark323 (CHN), Chen Fulin (21)

IRC One
Mandrake III (HKG), Nick Burns/ Fred Kinmonth (13)
Loco (SIN), David Dimmock (15)
Fujin (AUS), Timothy Fox (17)

Performance Cruising
Souay 1 (CAN), Jean Rheault (6)
SailQuest Hi Jinks (THA), Tim McMahon (11)
Moon Shadow (THA), Mick Grover (19)

Multihull
Sudu Red (GER), Andy Pape (7)
Pixalux (AUS), Mick Tilden (14)
Sudu Grey (THA), Nut Thongtoam (14)

Hydrofoil Kites – Men
Narapichit Pudla (THA), 10pts
Teerarat Sudpumkaew (THA), 11pts

Hydrofoil Kites – Women
Benyapa Jantawan (THA), 10pts

Hydrofoil Kites – Masters
Daniel Leow (MAS), 10pts
Rachan Taktin (THA), 19pts
Kazumasa Sugihara (JPN), 23 pts

Hydrofoil Kites – Boys
Maximillian Maeder (SIN), 8pts
Huang Qibin (CHN), 16 pts