Samui slam
Two race finale wraps up successful 2018 Samui Regatta.
04 June 2018
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The sun teased and the wind held steady on the final day of the 2018 Samui Regatta, and Race Officer Ross Chisholm set two windward/ leewards for the keelboat and multihulls classes.
It was 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 didn’t put a foot wrong across a wide range of conditions and won eight from nine races, defending their IRC Zero title with a 17 point winning margin.
Seeing two or three TP52s on the start line of any regatta in Asia is quite special, but four is almost unheard of.
Over Samui Regatta week all four have made it on to the podium but it was THA72’s consistency that saw them claim the division win. Second and third place went down to the wire with Sam Chan’s Freefire having a single point lead over Ark 323 with just one race to go. Freefire drove their advantage home in the final race finishing second, and in the process claimed second overall in the TP52 division. Ark 323 had to settle for third, two points back.
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Timothy Fox and crew on the chartered Fujin saved their best for the final day – two wins from two races. A second for Mandrake III in Race 8 meant Loco had an uphill battle needing to reign in a three point differential in the final race. Ultimately, it was too big of an ask. While they finished second ahead of Mandrake III, their third place was enough for them to win the IRC One class.
Nick Burns and Fred Kinmonth, co-owners of Mandrake III, have not only defended their IRC One title at Samui Regatta this year, but this win is the cherry on top of their 2017/18 AsianYachting Grand Prix season.
It was all change in Performance Cruising when SailQuest Hi Jinks won the first race – their first win of the series. A second for Souay 1, despite some sail damage was 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 series to an early end and a third place overall.
For the finale of the Multihull class, Andy Pape, sailing on Sudu Red, broke his centerboard in a previous passage race and fellow competitor Paul Baker, skipper of Sudu Yellow, an identical one-design Corsair Pulse 600, kindly offer his for use. 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 saw them tie with Pixalux who on count back (having more second place finishes over the series) were crowned second overall.
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