Captain Marty Rijkuris from Asianyachting.com reports 'Day 2 of the Koh Samui Regatta never got going - the RO and the fleet waited and waited and waited, and eventually it was N over A, three guns, and a merciful release from the grip of the blazing sun.

Day 3 didn't start too well either, with a dose of the 'light weather blues'

Once again the wind gods bypassed Koh Samui on their global tour. At least the race committee had the sense to hoist the postponement flag on the beach before the sailors went out on the water. Patiently everyone watched zephyrs of breeze descend upon Chawaeng Bay from all directions as storm clouds brewed on the hills behind. It was not until after one o'clock when a steady breeze appeared to settle from the north and the crews were summonsed from the respective beach bars and restaurants to attempt to get race two underway.

With full approval from all skippers PRO Tony Denham quickly got the starting sequence underway at 14:10 before the breeze decided to change again. Most the racers gathered at the favoured pin end and Sam Chan's FfreeFire 52 won the start just in front of Frank Pong's Jelik.

As the boats made there way up the first windward beat the breeze started to clock around to the right, which turned the downwind leg into a procession. A strong northerly current played havoc at the rounding mark and the sailors that wisely gybed twice and kept the boat moving benefited from these actions. The top mark was moved to suit the new wind direction but as the breeze continued go right it favoured the mid fleet runners on the last downwind leg.

Frank Pong's 75ft R/P Jelik took line honours but did not get the opportunity to save their time on the others. Ray Roberts DK46 Quantum Racing benefited from the wind direction change and sailed the last downwind directly to the finish and in the process managed to pip the bigger 50 footers at the same time to score first place. Andrew Taylor's Mills 41 Ambush also had the benefit of the breeze change to capture second spot. Chris Mead's Corby 43 Full Metal Jacket filled third spot and less than a minute separated the podium places.'

IRC A: Quantum Racing, Ambush, Full Metal Jacket
IRC B: Panic!, Happy Endings, Ichi Ban
SBR: Pornstar, Ice Bucket, Moon Shadow
Cruising: Constanza, Princes Sharda, Big Blue
Multihull: The Sting, Sea Horse Interiors, Sonic


Everyone seems happy that at least one race was completed after all this waiting around has severely tested their patience. What was supposed to be the lay day tomorrow will be used to try and get some races completed - weather permitting...

More info on the Koh Samui Regatta 2008 website at: www.samuiregatta.com/

by AsianYachting.com

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