International interest zeroes in on Phuket regattas
Action from Phuket Race Week. - Photo courtesy Image Asia.
The weather, the scenery, the after-race parties – all of these have combined to put Phuket’s three major regattas on the Asian sailing map. And interest is growing beyond Asia.
After what competitors described as the best racing yet, Phuket Raceweek, held during the blustery southwest monsoon conditions of July, has opted to join the Asian Yachting Grand Prix (AYGP) circuit.
The circuit already includes the Phuket King’s Cup regatta in December, along with the China Coast Regatta, the Hongkong-Vietnam race, the Raja Mudra and Royal Langkawi regattas in Malaysia, the Singapore Straits Regatta, the President’s Cup in the Philippines and two more in Thailand - the Top of the Gulf and Samui regattas.
Neil Pryde, skipper of the current AYGP title holder, Hi Fi, which competed in Raceweek for the first time this year, labeled the event “ a great regatta that should grow”. It already has. The first event, in 2004, had just 19 locally-based boats competing. This year saw 33 boats on the water, including crews from Australia, New Zealand, Austria, the Netherlands, Britain, Denmark, Japan, Ireland and Canada.
Meanwhile, the organisers of the island’s oldest regatta, the Phuket King’s Cup, have announced that one of Britain’s top young sailors is to compete in the regatta in early December.
He is Matthew Mee, 22, whose wins include the 2004 Merlin Rocket championships and the 2009 GP14 national championship in Britain. He is widely tipped to be picked for the British team in the London Olympics in 2012. He also excels in Fireball racing.
He will be racing aboard the Platu Tuay Lek, owned by local sail training outfit Sail In Asia whose boss, Mike Downard, commented, “We are proud to have Matt and team racing our boat.”
