On behalf of the Regatta Asia Team, thank you to all our competitors, venues, sponsors, volunteers and supporters of the 2021 Bay Regatta. - We could not do it without you.
Come and join us for our 25th Anniversary in early 2022.
The Regattas Asia Team.
Stay Safe, Go Sailing.
Report by Scott Murray, Sea Yachting.
The fourth and final day of the Bay Regatta saw PRO and race organizer Simon James started the multihulls and monohulls together for the Budget Car Rental and Coca Cola Haad Thip Race Day, for their long race back to Ao Chalong. Originally scheduled to start off of Krabi’s Railay Beach, a lack of wind saw the fleet motor approximately 6 miles towards Ko Yao Yai until they found enough to start. A line was quickly setup utilising two fish traps and the Start/Mark Boats and the racing commenced with the fleet being led by the ever-present Mojo.
John Coffin’s Fez pulled the surprise of the regatta winning the five-boat Multihull Racing Class with John Newnham’s Twin Sharks coming in second. Twin Sharks had a man overboard on day two, which saw them lose valuable time and finish fourth, which would hurt them later in the overall standings, though thank God crewmate Ken Wottawa was alright (a big shout out to Grenville Fordham who was crewing on Coconuts as they were hot on the heels of Twin Sharks as he managed to alert his squad to avert as Wottawa hit the water).
Dan Fidock’s Fugazi had a number of line honours throughout the regatta but handicap saw them settle for third overall. Alan Carwardine’s Coconuts never recovered from their DNF on the first day and settled for fount overall, while Glywn Rowlands’ Twister 2 took fifth-place in the class. Multihull Performance saw the order shift as follows: Twin Sharks, Fugazi, Fez, Coconuts, Twister 2 & Mojo.
Niels Diegenklow and Phoenix rode three first-place finishes to victory in the four-boat IRC monohull class allowing the Dane to win this class for the umpteenth time in the Bay Regatta. Fellow Dane Torben Kristienson’s Kinnon was third and it was only Andrew McDermott’s Jessandra, who was able to take a spot away from Phoenix at the top of the podium winning day two of the regatta, allowing them to finish second overall in the class. Paul Merry’s Night Train was fourth. Overall results were the same for the class in the Monohull Performance division.
Rick Fielding’s Mojo led the fleet to win the day 4 prize in the Multihull Performance Cruising Class. While not Mojo finishing high in the overall standings Fielding did show great sportsmanship in ferrying Night Train’s crew to shore safely in Ao Nang. He was honoured by PRO Simon James with a bottle of port in memory of the late Marty Rijurkis who made a habit of highlighting good deeds people would perform during regattas.
Simon did a tremendous job as PRO setting the courses, manning the starts and keeping things in order. Kae Wattana and her Regattas Asia team made sure everyone was happy onshore, providing plenty of good food and drink and great entertainment from songstress Bonnie Anderson. Bob Mott provided his “Rainman” boat as the support vessel which Chandran used to lay the marks and act as a gate to record times during the regatta. A big shot out to Simon’s team on the water—Susie, Chandran & Eddie—who as always, made sure all the starts and finishes were correctly posted and recorded. And a huge round of applause for the great job Brenda Kealy did for providing his catamaran Catapulta the committee boat. The final night’s party was once again held at Kan Eang 2 restaurant, overlooking Chalong Bay and a great time was had by all.
Report by Scott Murray, Sea Yachting.
World Sailing International Race Officer Simon James staged two different starts for the mono-and-multihulls on the third day of the 2021 Bay Regatta. Krabi Race Day saw both classes eventually settle on 17 mile course though there was a two-and-a-half hour delay between the start of the multi and monohull classes. Lack of wind, which wasn’t factor on the first two days of the regatta, was definitely a concern today. Squalls were not on the menu today.
The five-boat Multihull Racing Class saw John Newnham’s Twin Sharks rebound from their man overboard yesterday finishing first with John Coffin’s Fez in second, Alan Carwardine’s Coconuts in third, Glywn Rowlands’ Twister 2 in fourth and Dan Fidock’s Fugazi rounding out the class. Multihull Performance saw the order shift as follows: Twin Sharks, Fugazi, Coconuts, Fez, Twister 2 & Mojo.
The four-boat IRC monohull class was agonizing slow, but all competitors finished the course and no one complained. When it was all sailed and done, Niels Diegenklow’s Phoenix took top spot again followed by Andrew McDermott’s Jessandra and Torben Kristienson’s Kinnon was third. Paul Merry’s Night Train (named after the Jimmy Forrest song) brought up the caboose. Results were the same for the Monohull Performance class.
Kudos must go out to Rick Fielding’s Mojo, no one knows how to have more fun in light wind than the crew on that cat.
A special shout-out to John Newnham for freeing up Matt McGrath and his supply boat to be the photography boat for the day, which captured all the great images of the stunning karst topography that Phang Nga Bay is so famous for.
The evening party was held at Pra Nang Villa where prizes were given out for racing on days two and three. The final day will be an exciting race home to Ao Chalong as both classes are still up for grabs.
Just a huge shout-out to Matthew na Nagara all the staff at the Port Takola Marina for the gracious hospitality in allowing the majority of the fleet to moor at the marina for two nights.
And Hughie Thompson turned 83 during the regatta serving as crew on Mojo. Hughie has been support crew for many Phuket regattas over the years and it was great to see him racing, Still sharp as a tack, Hughie shows no signs of slowing down.
Report by Scott Murray, Sea Yachting.
After a buffet and awards presentation at Baan Chang on Koh Yao Noi, the crews were well rested and set out for day two of the 2021 Bay Regatta on Friday April 2nd, sponsored by Octopus Electrical Service.
The 20 mile course today left from east of Koh Yao Noi rounding Koh Pang to starboard, then passing Koh Pak Bia to port, and then passing Koh Ka and Koh Ka to starboard. The fleet moved past through the gate to Koh Kaya (between the island and the committee boat), and then rounded Koh Ngang to port, passing between Koh Daeng and Koh Samet finishing between the committee boat and Koh Ya Man.
PRO and race organizer Simon James had two starts for the competitors again: first off were the monohulls (4 boats) followed by all the multihulls (6 boats). Bad weather set in again soon after the start as a squall quickly moved in.
This caused an unfortunate incident as Twin Sharks lost bowman Ken Wottowa overboard after he moved to the stern of the boat an during a manoeuvre and lost his footing falling overboard. Crewmate Olly Wilce was the first to notice as the crew scrambled to take down the kite – they were going 25 knots. Jason Corall spotted Wottowa in the water and directed the Firefly back to him. After being in the warm water for about 15 minutes, Ken was pulled onboard and later seemed the avid sportsman seemed totally unfazed by the whole incident - great recovery by the Twin Sharks crew.
In Racing Multis, Dan Fidock’s Fugazi took line honors again finishing twelve minutes ahead of its nearest competitor but when handicap was figure in John Coffin’s Fez was the winner of the division, followed by Alan Carwardine’s Coconuts with Fugazi taking third. John Newham’s Twin Sharksrebounded after their mishap to take fourth with Glywn Rowlands’ Twister in fifth spot. Rick Fielding’s Mojo again hung tough through rough weather finishing the race and grabbing a sixth in Multihull Performance.
Results in the four boat-Monohull IRC Class saw Niels Diegenklow’s Phoenix taking top spot followed by Torben Kristienson’s Kinnon in second Paul Merry’s Night Train in third with Andrew McDermott’s Jessandra bringing up the rear. For Monohull Performance, Night Train & Jessandraflipped third and fourth place finishes.
Just a big shout out to the all women making this regatta happen including co-organizer Kae Wattana and her volunteer crew, many of whom are university students. Jessandra has eight women sailors on board, Phoenix has four and Coconuts and Twister 2 also have a number of female crew.
Many in the fleet docked at Port Takola Marina but it was a free night in the Krabi area for all competiot9ord as the awards for today’s races will be handed out tomorrow at the Phra Nang Inn in Ao Nang.
Report by Scott Murray, Sea Yachting.
Regattas Asia have done what few people in this region have done: stage two major regattas throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. Co-operating with local health authorities the 24th Bay Regatta, and second Bay Regatta since the novel coronavirus outbreak, set sail this morning from Ao Po Grand Marina.
And indeed it was a breath of fresh sea air to see ten sailboats head out from their moorings to head through some of the world’s most stunning karst topography on their four-day nautical journey.
Held later this year after from March 31st to the 4th of April, the Bay Regatta is a series of passage races – an event format that catches the attention of the region’s best sailors as they competed in two classes, Racing Multihulls and Monohulls with a cruising multi (Mojo) thrown in for good measure.
This four-day circumnavigation of Phang Nga Bay focuses on fun. Attracting the serious, the not-so-serious and the not-at-all-serious “racing” sailors, the regatta appeals to those who enjoy the stunning sailing grounds of the area and a different destination each evening.
Each evening, the regatta anchors at a different venue and the sailors go ashore. Those staying ashore –the majority of the fleet – book accommodation and either eat in the local restaurants or enjoy the official event functions which engage with the local community. Most of the expenditure of the regatta goes directly into the local economies of the areas the regatta visits — this has been the case since the regatta was launched and it will remain so for the future — an excellent example of how sports tourism works to the benefit of communities and local economies.
Starting in Ao Po on Phuket's east coast, after registration and an opening party yesterday evening at Ao Po Grand Marina, the yachts did something different this year. The government prohibited the yachts from racing north as they usually do, so they went south instead.
The 25 mile course set off from Koh Naka Yai, passing Koh Sup to starboard and rounding Koh Yao Yai to port, before passing through the gate (between the committee boat and the Hin Mu Sang Mu Nua).
PRO and race organizer Simon James had two starts for the competitors today: first off were all the multihulls (6 boats) followed by all the multihulls (4 boats). The weather did not cooperate today as a squall set in almost as soon as the sailors crossed the start line (Thank God for warm rain!!).
Dan Fidock’s Fugazi took line honors in the Multihull Racing class followed by John Newham’s Twin Sharks, John Coffin’s Fez, and Glywn Rowlands’ Twister. The rough weather took its toll on Alan Carwardine’s Coconuts who did not finish the race. The results stayed the same for the Multihull Performance Class though Rick Fielding’s Mojo did finish ahead of Coconuts because if its DNF, and Mojo must be commended for sticking it out in the rough weather and finishing the race.
Results for the four boat-Monohull IRC & Performance Class were identical with Andrew McDermott Jessandra finishing on top followed by Niels Degenkolw’s Phoenix with Torben Kristienson’s Kinnon in third, followed by Paul Merry’s Night Train..
The Bay Regatta was originally described thus: “The regatta allows participants to experience the best of southern Thai hospitality and the unrivaled sailing grounds in the area. Boats sail amongst 200-metre high karsts and past hidden bays on their way to nights under-the-stars in idyllic anchorages.”
That description still rings true today.
The Sailing Instructions and Course Diagrams for the 2021 Bay Regatta are available for download in the Regatta Documents section of www.bayregatta.com
We can now confirm that registration and the opening of the 24th Bay Regatta will be held at The Port of Call, Ao Po Marina.
Marina Berths will be available at a discounted rate for regatta competitors for the evening of the 31st March.
Due to current restrictions from the National Park, the first-day route has been revised. Race One will now head South-East from Ao Po, around the southern tip of Ko Yao Yai and back up to the Channel between Ko Yao Noi and Ko Yao Yai for the event at Baan Chang.
All other courses will remain roughly the same, allowing for a few restrictions on Mark laying, which are currently being clarified.
Updated course diagrams will be published soon.
We can now confirm that registration and the opening of the 24th Bay Regatta will be held at The Port of Call, Ao Po Marina.
Marina Berths will be available at a discounted rate of 50% off for regatta competitors for the evening of the 31st March.
For booking please contact derrickd@aopograndmarina.com and or use the booking form on their website at http://aopograndmarina.com/project/berth-reservations/
For further details on berthing please contact:
The Bay Regatta is delighted to announce the return to Vacation Village, Phra Nang Inn as the Krabi stop-over venue for the 2021 Regatta.
The resort has offered a fantastic deal on accommodation for both the 2nd (Free night in Krabi) and 3rd night (The Phra Nang Inn Prize giving dinner).
For these special rates goto:
https://phrananginn.vacationvillage.co.th/accommodation/
Use Promotion Code: REGATTA2021
Phra Nang Inn was the first resort established on Ao Nang beach, located in the best location where you can easily take off to Krabi’s beautiful islands. It is a boutique resort of 69 rooms with two main buildings; Beach Wing and Spa Wing. The resort is situated in the very centre of Ao Nang beach; only a few steps away from Ao Nang’s shopping and dining streets.
The 2021 Notice of Race for The Bay Regatta is now available online, http://www.bayregatta.com/nor
We are delighted to announce that the The Bay Regatta will return to Baan Chang Restaurant & Bar on Pasai Beach, Koh Yao Noi as the stopover venue on April 1st.
We are delighted to announce that the 24th Bay Regatta is now confirmed for 3rd-7th February 2021.
We have always worked with the local communities to bring income to the local businesses and are working hard to maintain our traditional route between Phuket, PhangNga and Krabi with stop-overs on Koh Yao Noi and 2 nights in Krabi province before returning with our traditional sprint back to Phuket.
Based on the confirmation of venues, we will publish a provisional NOR on 1st December, with online entries open on 15th December, offering a discount for early entries.
We will be running a poll about our Krabi Province stop-overs on our official Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/BayRegatta
Please take a look, let us know your thoughts and don’t forget to follow, so that you get the latest updates.
Regattas Asia
The photo libraries of the 23rd Bay Regatta by Scott Murray are now available online in the photo & Video section at www.bayregatta.com
Images are available for personal use only at 1200 px.
If you require hi-res versions or image3s for commercial use, please contact us at info@bayregatta.com for licensing details.
On the fourth and final day of the Bay Regatta, the Coca Cola Haad Thip Race, PRO Simon James continued the regatta’s two-start format as all the multihulls crossed the start line together followed by all the monohulls. Today’s race saw the participants start off of Krabi’s Railay Beach between the committee boat and Koh Yaman, then pass Koh Dam Hok and Koh Dam Kwan to starboard before hitting the gate at Hin Mu Sang Noi. The racing class & racing multis made it through the gat and finished at the Cape Panwa finish line, but the wind died before the other boats could get there, so their finishing times was taken from the gate.
After all the boats crossed the finish, they headed back to either their berths at Phuket’s marinas or Ao Chalong , where they celebrated the final prize giving and dinner at Kan Eang 2 restaurant, overlooking Chalong Bay.
The Racing Class came down to the final race and even then the top two boats finished tied on points but as Craig Nicholls Aquarii won the last race over former two-time regatta winner Alexey Mashkin’sMegazip, it took home the crown. John Hearne’s Pi Jui Express with seven-year-old Tanya Zhang came in third overall just three points behind the top two boats while John Kara’s Insanity came fourth finishing last in every race.
In Cruising A, Paul Merry's Night Train rode three first-place finishes to victory while Steve McConaghy’s Jing Jing came in second, trailing by three points in the final tally. Garry Smith’s Resolution of Whitby was third followed by Brendon Roscoe’s Lola and Jack Christensen’s Linda.
Cruising B results saw Sergei Kataev’s Turtle (Farrgo Express) take three first-place finishes to edge out the Thai team on Tessana Mahasamuth’s followed by Oleg Samolov’s Winds of Change and Steve Joos’ Sengawa, who did not start on the final day.
The Bareboat Class saw Venture, skippered by Anna Afonia, and Kinnon, helmed by Evgenii Nikiforov, each win two races Venture took the class winning the last race (Venture was scolded soundly by PRO Simon James for trying to use a symmetrical spinnaker pole in the Assymetric limited class…….), AllSail Angela helmed by Russell Waddy came third in every race.
The Racing Multihull class Dan Fidock’s Fugazi 3 beat out Mark Thornborrow’s Bonza (Fugazi 1) and John Newnham’s Twin Sharks for top spot as Bonza and Twin Sharks also tied on points, but Bonza earned the higher place for finishing higher in h final race. followed by Alan Cawardine’s Phantom 5, George Eddings’ Blue Nose, Glywn Rowlands’ Twister 2 and Dirk Weiblen’s No Fear, who after winning the class on the first day suffered a DNF & two DNSs due to the boat’ s fragile frame.
The Cruising Multis class saw Andrew de Bruin’s Multihull Solutions Neel 51 beat out Mark Horwood’s Charro each win two races but as the Neel 51 won the last race it took top honours in this class.
Simon James did a tremendous job as PRO setting the courses, manning the starts and keeping things in order. Kae Wattana and her Regattas Asia team made sure everyone was happy on shore, providing plenty of good food and drink and good entertainment.
A big shot out to Simon’s team on the water—Susie, Chandran, Neil & Eddie—who as always, made sure all the starts and finishes were correctly posted and recorded. And thank you very much to the Passport Resort & Yacht Club for providing the regatta’s committee boat.
Special thanks to Scott Murray from SEA Yachting for reports and Photography. The full phortos are currently published on the SEA Yachting facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pg/SEAYachting/photos/ and a edited set of fully downloadable images will be available on www.bayregatta.com by mid Week.
Windy and wavy from the get-go, World Sailing International Race Officer Simon James staged two different starts (for the mono-and-multihulls) and set two different courses for the third day of the 2020 Bay Regatta. The Racing and Multihull class were off on the longer 21NM course and then a shorter windward-leeward, while the Cruising classes, and the Bareboats hit the 16NM course: all finishing off of Krabi’s Ao Nang Beach.
The Racing Class saw Megazip win the first race while Aquari was second, but they flipped positions for the second shorter race while Pi Jui Express came third in both races and Insanity finished fourth both times.
Cruising A saw Steve McConaghy’s Jing Jing take first and they yearned for a second race but their class was too spread out over the course with the last boat finishing 1:20 later. Paul Merry’s Night Train came in second with Garry Smith’s Resolution of Whitby and Brendon Roscoe’s Lola in fourthand Jack Christensen’s Linda in fifth.
Cruising B results were the same as the first two days with Sergei Kataev’s Turtle edging out Tessana Mahasamuth’s Thai Team followed by Steve Joos’ Sengawa and Oleg Samolov’s Winds of Change.
The Bareboat Class repeated its results from yesterday as well with Kinnon, helmed by Evgenii Nikiforov, and Venture, skippered by Anna Afonia coming in one-two and AllSail Angela helmed by Russell Waddy coming in third again.
In the “bat-out-of-hell” Racing Multihull class Mark Thornborrow’s Bonza took top honors on the day with a first and second as well as line honors in both races. John Newnham’s Twin Sharks was next with a third and a first followed by Dan Fidock’s Fugazi 3 with a second and a third. Alan Cawardine’s Phantom 5 was next with a fifth and a fourth spot followed by George Eddings’ Blue Nose with a fourth and fifth and Glywn Rowlands’ Twister 2 with two six-place finishes. Dirk Weiblen’s No Fear did not finish as the boat was damaged in the heavy wind.
The Cruising Multis class saw Andrew de Bruin’s Multihull Solutions Neel 51 beat out Mark Horwood’s Charro on corrected time. It was great to have Mark Horwood back as he did help start and run the first few Bay Regattas.
The regatta incidentally was founded by a photographer (John Everingham) and friends (Chris Schaefer and Andy Stephens). Everingham, a long-time Phuket King’s Cup Regatta committee member, was motivated in part by frustration at the annual struggle over setting that regatta’s courses. On the one hand, he wanted to shoot the fleet of sails contrasted against the dramatic scenery. The hard-core sailors, on the other hand, wanted their boats as far away from land as possible to avoid fickle winds. Dramatic photos would attract more sponsors, argued the photographer; but the sailors always won. So the stymied lensman rounded up some like-minded friends and established a regatta designed to sail among the dramatic limestone island towers and mainland forests off Phuket’s east coast. The problem was that the courses would go too deep into the Bay, where the wind didn’t blow. So. when the Ao Chalong Yacht Club (now the Phuket Yacht Club) gained control over the regatta over 10 years ago, a compromise was worked out between beautiful scenery and good sailing courses.
The ACYC committee, however, felt it could not provide the resources to continue the development of the event, so Regattas Asia were asked to assumed the mantle in 2012, being one of its principle logistic organizers , so they knew exactly what they were getting into and they have done a tremendous job of running the regatta with Simon dealing with all the on-water logistics and Kae handling all the issues on terra firma.
A special shout-out to Brent McInnes for supplying the photography boat that captured all the great images of the stunning karst topography that Phang Nga Bay is so famous for.
A great evening party was held at Ao Nang Villa with with great food and entertainment along with presentations for Friday’s Raymarine sponsored race day by longtime regatta supporter Mick Kealy and , Ao Nang Villas, presented by Khun James.
The final day will be an exciting race home to Ao Chalong as many of the classes are still up for grabs.
Yesterday’s Jungceylon/SEAYachting Race Day from Ao Po to Koh Yao Noi was followed by today’s Raymarine’s Race Day. But the star of the show by far was seven-year-old Tanya Zhang who joined her mother, Yvonne, as crew on John Hearne’s Pi Jui Express. Already a dinghy sailor, the exuberance and can-do attitude this young girl carries with her wasn’t lost on anyone and it’s a credit to her single mom raising her.
Raymarine Race Day - Ko Yao to Krabi
Participants in the 23rd Bay Regatta continued to enjoy great sailing weather as the party that sails around continued to do just that. World Sailing International Race Officer Simon James staged two starts for the RAymarine Ko Yao to Krabu Race: first off were all the multihulls followed by all the monohulls and again there were no major incidents to report – just a nice clear spinnaker run down Phang Nga Bay.
The Raymarine 20nm course for the racing class and racing multis left from east of Koh Yao Noi, rounded to starboard Koh Pang, passing Koh Pak Bia, and then past Koh Ka to starboard through the gate at Koh Heng (keeping the committee boat to port), then rounded Koh Ngang to port before passing between Koh Deng and Koh Samet and finally finishing between the committee boat and Koh Ya Man. The 18nm course for the rest of the classes followed much of the same route except the boats didn’t round Koh Ngang.
The Racing Class saw Megazip, skipped by Alexey Mashkin place first followed by John Hearne’s Pi Jui Express, starring Tanya Zhang with Aquari skipped by Craig Nichols coming in third and John Kara’s crew on Insanity finishing fourth.
Cruising A saw Paul Merry’s Night Train took the top spot for the second day in a row with Garry Smith’s Resolution of Whitby in second spot, Steve McConaghy’s Jing Jing in third and Brendon Roscoe’s Lola in fourth.
In the Cruising B class, Sergei Kataev’s Turtle edged out Tessana Mahasamuth’s Thai Team who were followed by Steve Joos’ Sengawa and Oleg Samolov’s Winds of Change in the four-boat class.
In the three-boat Bareboat Class, Kinnon, helmed by Evgenii Nikiforov, and Venture, skippered by Anna Afonia, flip-flopped finished their one-two placings from yesterday and AllSail Angela helmed by Russell Waddy came in third again.
In the hyper-competitive Racing Multihull class Alan Cawardine’s Phantom 5, Dan Fidock’s Fugazi 3 (line honors), John Newnham’s Twin Sharks took the top three spots with Glywn Rowlands’ Twister 2,George Eddings’ Blue Noze, Mark Thornborrow’s Bonza, and Dirk Weiblen’s No Fear rounding out the class.
The Cruising Multis class saw Mark Horwood’s Charro edge out Andrew de Bruin’s Multihull Solutions Neel 51 by seven seconds.
In the deep channels between the spectacular, vertical rock walls, the Bay Regatta’s philosophy of fun-amidst-beauty shone through for all to see. The hallmark of this event is a casual, fun-filled atmosphere. Many friends join together to sail the four-day event and while the sailing is serious for many racing class yachts, a large number of cruisers join for the experience of sailing through some of the world’s most amazing maritime scenery.
As fear gripped the region because of the growing concern over the corona virus Bay Regatta PRO and World Sailing International Race Officer, Simon James declared that Phuket was still open for business as he officially launched the Bay Regatta along with the mayor of Thalang and other dignitaries at the regatta’s opening party at the Chandara Villas Resort
And indeed it was a breath of fresh sea air to see twenty-five sailboats head out from their moorings on Thursday morning to head through some of the world’s most stunning karst topography on their four-day nautical journey.
Held this year after from the 5th to the 9th of February, the Bay Regatta is a series of passage races – an event format that catches the attention of sailors from around the world with participants coming from as far afield as Australia, Russia, the UK and Canada to compete in six classes (Racing Class, Cruising A, Cruising B, Bareboat Charter, Racing & Cruising Multihulls)
This four-day circumnavigation of Phang Nga Bay takes in three of southern Thailand's most scenic provinces–Phuket, Phang Nga and Krabi–with the emphasis is on fun. Attracting the serious, the not-so-serious and the not-at-all-serious “racing” sailors, the regatta appeals to an international mix who enjoy the stunning sailing grounds of the area and a different destination each evening.
Each evening, the regatta anchors at a different venue and the sailors go ashore. Those staying ashore – more than 60% of the fleet – book accommodation and either eat in the local restaurants or enjoy the official event functions which engage with the local community. Most of the expenditure of the regatta goes directly into the local economies of the areas we visit – this has been the case since the regatta was launched and it will remain so for the future—an excellent example of how sports tourism works to the benefit of communities and local economies.
Starting in Ao Po on Phuket's east coast, after registration and an opening party yesterday evening at Chandara Resort & Spa, the yachts raced north through the stunning rocky outcrops of Phang Nga Bay finishing off Koh Yao Noi, where yachts anchored and enjoyed a prize-giving party on the beach at the Baan Chang resort.
The actual race started at Koh Naka Yai, then the participants sailed north leaving Koh Phanak and Koh Na Ka Ya to port before hitting the first mark, where the wind died down and the course had to be shortened. It was a long haul for many, but all persevered, even though it took a few boats almost six hours to finish.
World Sailing International Race Officer, Simon James had two starts for the competitors today: first off were all the monohulls (16 boats) followed by all the multihulls (9 boats). There were no real glitches, or incidents, on the course as sailboats deftly dodged the longtail fishing boats and fishing lines as they made their way across Phang Nga Bay.
In the Racing Class, John Hearne’s Pi Jui Express took first place by 1 second on corrected time with Aquari skipped by Craig Nichols coming in second and Megazip (a two-time Bay Regatta winner), skipped by Alexey Mashkin placing third overall. John Kara’s crew on Insanity finished fourth on the day.
Cruising A saw Paul Merry’s Night Train took the top spot with Steve McConaghy’s Jing Jing in second followed by Brendon Roscoe’s Lola in third, Garry Smith’s Resolution of Whitby in fourth and Jack Chamberlain’s Linda rounding out the five-boat class.
In the Cruising B class, Sergei Kataev’s Turtle edged out Tessana Mahasamuth’s Thai Team who were followed by Steve Joos’ Sengawh and Oleg Samolov’s Winds of Change.
In the Bareboat Chater Class, Kinnon, helmed by Evgenii Nikiforov took first while Venture, back from its drift to Banda Aceh, skippered by Anna Afonia finished second and AllSail Angela helmed by Russell Waddy came third.
No Fear, Fugazi and Bonza (line honors) and came one, two, three in the seven-boat Multihull A class with Twin Sharks, Phantom 5, Blue Nose and Twister 2 rounding out the pack in that order.
The Cruising Multis class saw Mark Horwood’s Charro edge out Andrew de Bruin’s Multihull Solutions Neel 51.
The Bay Regatta was originally described thus: “It takes sailors through the three provinces of Phuket, Phang Nga and Krabi allowing participants to experience the best of southern Thai hospitality and the unrivaled sailing grounds in the area. They sail amongst 200-metre high karsts and past hidden bays on their way to party under-the-stars on an idyllic beach.”
That description still rings true today.
The Bay Regatta - Now in its 27th year, attracting around 40 – 50 yachts and often billed ‘Asia’s fun regatta’, the hallmark of this event is a casual, fun-filled atmosphere.
Many families and friends join together to sail the four-day event and while the sailing is serious for many racing class yachts, a large number of cruisers join for the experience of sailing through some of the world’s most amazing maritime scenery.
With four days of racing and five days of partying, the regatta crosses the three provinces of Phuket, Phang Nga and Krabi, is surely one of the most scenic regattas on the Asian racing calendar and always lives up to its reputation as the FUN Regatta!
Singha Corporation
