King's Cup: 'Start spreading the news...'

5:25 AM Sun 30 Nov 2008 GMT

'PKC_08. Simon James, Race Director, makes the call' Guy Nowell &copy Click Here to view large photo

We were reminded of the speed, power and reach of the internet just the other day - OK so we are working with it all the time, but sometimes a salutary reminder is necessary...

On Friday I received a phone call from Simon James, Race Director of the Phuket King's Cup Regatta, advising me that the regatta programme had been amended to take into account the current travel disruptions caused by the closure of Bangkok Airport.

I was a passenger in a car at the time, half way between Sai Kung and Hong Kong Central, so I sat there and typed the story into my laptop as we went along.

PKC_08. Guy Nowell, Sail-World.com Asia Editor, takes the call - Guy Nowell &copy Click Here to view large photo

Arriving at the office half an hour later, I went on line and uploaded the story shortly afterwards - and assuming that there were people coming here from all over the world, it was sent straight to all the Sail-World.com newsletter subscribers in Asia, Australia, New Zealand, UK, Europe and the USA - about 150,000 in total. And it appeared on the respective editions' websites, as well as the Kings Cup website.

The incoming phone call was timed at 15.21 hrs and the story was distributed at 16.24 hrs - 63 minutes later. Four minutes later, at 16:28 the Google news bots, were sending News alerts around the world.

Today, PKC Committee Member Khun Santi Kanchanabandhu said, 'we are absolutely delighted with the way that King's Cup competitors are coping with the transport situation - some have managed to organise alternative travel arrangements, some have re-routed through Kuala Lumpur or Singapore, some have come by bus from a number of different directions. There is a real air of 'can-do' here at the moment, and we are very grateful to all our competitors and supporters who are making concerted efforts to get here. Thank you, one and all. The show will go on!'

Today Sunday is Registration, Measuring etc, and the Opening Party will take place this evening, as per schedule. Monday's race is replaced by a practice day, and the lay day on Thursday will be used for racing. Chris King, who has probably been a PKC Committee Member probably than the regatta has existed, added, 'I am sure this is the first time in 22 years that we have used the lay day to re-schedule the entire regatta - it's been used before to fill in a race for a class here or there, but not for the entire fleet!'

Predict Wind (www.predictwind.com) is showing 11 knots of breeze tomorrow at 0800 hrs, easing later in the day. Let's go racing!

by Guy Nowell, Sail-World Asia

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