As the crews left the anchorage in a steady 10 knots of wind on Day 3 of the 2012 Samui Regatta, the blue skies as well as perfect tropical island conditions that Samui is well known for appeared. Followed by a coastal course, Principal Race Officer Ross Chisholm called the courses: Windward/ Leewards for IRC Zero and IRC One in race one. For the rest of the fleet it was a single coastal course south past Lamai Beach.
The 40-footers in IRC One class are racing tooth and nail. On Day 3, Foxy Lady 6 yacht leads the standings by a single point with just two days to go. Photo by MarineScene.asia.
IRC Zero were first away with all but Genuine Risk bunching at the start boat end of the line. Tactics made for a tight start as Geoff Hill and his crew on the 90-foot sailing yacht Genuine Risk enjoyed clear air and an open race-track to put some distance between themselves and the rest of the class. Rounding the mark first, Genuine Risk lead through to the finish taking her fifth consecutive line honours of the series.
Things were much tighter amongst the 52-footers as Hooligan showed superior speed on-the-water to take the win on corrected time ahead of HiFi, skippered by Neil Pryde, who finished just ahead of Sam Chan’s Freefire.
Part way up the beat in the second race Freefire retired leaving the three 52-footers to battle it out against the 90-foot superyacht Genuine Risk on the coastal course. Marcus Blackmore added another win to his trophy cabinet to take a five point lead into the final two days, while Genuine Risk made the podium scoring a second place ahead of HiFi in third.
Bill Bremner and his crew on yacht Foxy Lady 6 continued where they left off yesterday with a win in the first race of IRC One today. KukuKERchu had effected overnight repairs after shipping in parts from Phuket, and were on the startline in the ten boat class. Despite performing well on-the-water, on corrected time she could only manage a fourth place, behind Steve Manning’s Walawala 2 in second and EFG Bank Mandrake, skippered by Nick Burns/ Fred Kinmonth in third.
On the coastal course, Foxy Lady 6 yacht suffered and finished fifth. After adding the drop race, Foxy Lady 6 lead the series by a single point with two days to go. Getting back into their groove, KukuKERchu, skippered by David Ross, took both Line Honours and handicap win ahead of Steve Manning’s Walawala 2 and Rick Pointon’s Jing Jing, second and third respectively.
IRC Premier boats completed their fourth race of the series today and despite being quicker on-the-water and taking Line Honours, Moonblue 2, skippered by Peter Churchouse, finished second on corrected time behind El Coyote, skippered by Gary Baguley in first. Brad Kirk and his crew on Dynamite finished third.
In IRC Two/ Bareboat class, the longer coastal course suited Lennart Fahlgren and his Thai crew on Amanda who stretched out a three minute win on corrected time ahead of Abraxas, skippered by Greg Coops, and Line Honours winner Reef Knot, skippered by Stuart Collins in third.
The distance race didn’t suit all in the Multihull class with Turbo Cat, skippered by Kim Thomas, and Cedar Swan, skippered by Radab Kanjanavit retiring. Crazy Horse, skippered by Kunta scored a 1-3 yesterday and today continued their form with a second place, taking them to the top of the series standings. Kirati Assakul and his Thai crew on Sonic showed their skills over distance, scoring the win on corrected time from Andrew Stransky’s Fantasia in third. Sonic lies fourth overall in the series and within reach of a podium place.
Tomorrow is the Lay Day. Racing returns Friday 1st June off Centara Grand Beach Resort Samui, Chaweng Beach, Samui Island, and with two days of racing to go, classes are still wide open.
