Koh Yao Noi Venue Confirmed.

We are delighted to announce that the The Bay Regatta will return to Baan Chang Restaurant & Bar on Pasai Beach, Koh Yao Noi as the stopover venue on April 1st.

www.facebook.com/baanchangkohyaonoi

Revised Dates for the 24th Bay Regatta.

Full steam ahead for the 24th Bay Regatta.

We are delighted to announce that the 24th Bay Regatta is now confirmed for 3rd-7th February 2021.

We have always worked with the local communities to bring income to the local businesses and are working hard to maintain our traditional route between Phuket, PhangNga and Krabi with stop-overs on Koh Yao Noi and 2 nights in Krabi province before returning with our traditional sprint back to Phuket.

Based on the confirmation of venues, we will publish a provisional NOR on 1st December, with online entries open on 15th December, offering a discount for early entries.

We will be running a poll about our Krabi Province stop-overs on our official Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/BayRegatta

Please take a look, let us know your thoughts and don’t forget to follow, so that you get the latest updates.

Regattas Asia

Looking for photos of The 23rd Bay Regatta ?

The photo libraries of the 23rd Bay Regatta by Scott Murray are now available online in the photo & Video section at www.bayregatta.com

Images are available for personal use only at 1200 px.

If you require hi-res versions or image3s for commercial use, please contact us at info@bayregatta.com for licensing details.

ALL PHOTOGRAPHS ©SCOTT MURRAY/REGATTAS ASIA WWW.BAYREGATTA.COM

Craig Nicholls’ Aquarii captures top honours in 23rd Bay Regatta

On the fourth and final day of the Bay Regatta, the Coca Cola Haad Thip Race, PRO Simon James continued the regatta’s two-start format as all the multihulls crossed the start line together followed by all the monohulls. Today’s race saw the participants start off of Krabi’s Railay Beach between the committee boat and Koh Yaman, then pass Koh Dam Hok and Koh Dam Kwan to starboard before hitting the gate at Hin Mu Sang Noi. The racing class & racing multis made it through the gat and finished at the Cape Panwa finish line, but the wind died before the other boats could get there, so their finishing times was taken from the gate.                 

After all the boats crossed the finish, they headed back to either their berths at Phuket’s marinas or Ao Chalong , where they celebrated the final prize giving and dinner at Kan Eang 2 restaurant, overlooking Chalong Bay.  

The Racing Class came down to the final race and even then the top two boats finished tied on points but as Craig Nicholls Aquarii won the last race over former two-time regatta winner Alexey Mashkin’sMegazip, it took home the crown. John Hearne’s Pi Jui Express with seven-year-old Tanya Zhang came in third overall just three points behind the top two boats while John Kara’s Insanity came fourth finishing last in every race. 

In Cruising A, Paul Merry's Night Train rode three first-place finishes to victory while Steve McConaghy’s Jing Jing came in second, trailing by three points in the final tally. Garry Smith’s Resolution of Whitby was third followed by Brendon Roscoe’s Lola and Jack Christensen’s Linda.     

Cruising B results saw Sergei Kataev’s Turtle (Farrgo Express) take three first-place finishes to edge out the Thai team on Tessana Mahasamuth’s followed by Oleg Samolov’s Winds of Change and Steve Joos’ Sengawa, who did not start on the final day.     

The Bareboat Class saw Venture, skippered by Anna Afonia, and Kinnon, helmed by Evgenii Nikiforov, each win two races Venture took the class winning the last race (Venture was scolded soundly by PRO Simon James for trying to use a symmetrical spinnaker pole in the Assymetric limited class…….),  AllSail Angela helmed by Russell Waddy came third in every race.

The Racing Multihull class Dan Fidock’s Fugazi 3 beat out Mark Thornborrow’s Bonza (Fugazi 1) and John Newnham’s Twin Sharks for top spot as Bonza and Twin Sharks also tied on points, but Bonza earned the higher place for finishing higher in h final race. followed by Alan Cawardine’s Phantom 5, George Eddings’ Blue Nose, Glywn Rowlands’ Twister 2 and Dirk Weiblen’s No Fear, who after winning the class on the first day suffered a DNF & two DNSs due to the boat’ s fragile frame.  

The Cruising Multis class saw Andrew de Bruin’s Multihull Solutions Neel 51 beat out Mark Horwood’s Charro each win two races but as the Neel 51 won the last race it took top honours in this class. 

Simon James did a tremendous job as PRO setting the courses, manning the starts and keeping things in order. Kae Wattana and her Regattas Asia team made sure everyone was happy on shore, providing plenty of good food and drink and good entertainment.

A big shot out to Simon’s team on the water—Susie, Chandran, Neil & Eddie—who as always, made sure all the starts and finishes were correctly posted and recorded. And thank you very much to the Passport Resort & Yacht Club for providing the regatta’s committee boat.         

Special thanks to Scott Murray from SEA Yachting for reports and Photography. The full phortos are currently published on the SEA Yachting facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pg/SEAYachting/photos/ and a edited set of fully downloadable images will be available on www.bayregatta.com by mid Week.

Great spinnaker runs hi-lites Krabi Race Day

Windy and wavy from the get-go, World Sailing International Race Officer Simon James staged two different starts (for the mono-and-multihulls) and set two different courses for the third day of the 2020 Bay Regatta. The Racing and Multihull class were off on the longer 21NM course and then a shorter windward-leeward, while the Cruising classes, and the Bareboats hit the 16NM course: all finishing off of Krabi’s Ao Nang Beach. 

The Racing Class saw Megazip win the first race while Aquari was second, but they flipped positions for the second shorter race while Pi Jui Express came third in both races and Insanity finished fourth both times.

Cruising A saw Steve McConaghy’s Jing Jing take first and they yearned for a second race but their class was too spread out over the course with the last boat finishing 1:20 later. Paul Merry’s Night Train came in second with Garry Smith’s Resolution of Whitby and Brendon Roscoe’s Lola in fourthand Jack Christensen’s Linda in fifth.      

Cruising B results were the same as the first two days with Sergei Kataev’s Turtle edging out Tessana Mahasamuth’s Thai Team followed by Steve Joos’ Sengawa and Oleg Samolov’s Winds of Change.      

The Bareboat Class repeated its results from yesterday as well with Kinnon, helmed by Evgenii Nikiforov, and Venture, skippered by Anna Afonia coming in one-two and AllSail Angela helmed by Russell Waddy coming in third again.

 In the “bat-out-of-hell” Racing Multihull class Mark Thornborrow’s Bonza took top honors on the day with a first and second as well as line honors in both races. John Newnham’s Twin Sharks was next with a third and a first followed by Dan Fidock’s Fugazi 3 with a second and a third. Alan Cawardine’s Phantom 5 was next with a fifth and a fourth spot followed by George Eddings’ Blue Nose with a fourth and fifth and  Glywn Rowlands’ Twister 2 with two six-place finishes. Dirk Weiblen’s No Fear did not finish as the boat was damaged in the heavy wind.

The Cruising Multis class saw Andrew de Bruin’s Multihull Solutions Neel 51 beat out Mark Horwood’s Charro on corrected time. It was great to have Mark Horwood back as he did help start and run the first few Bay Regattas. 

The regatta incidentally was founded by a photographer (John Everingham) and friends (Chris Schaefer and Andy Stephens). Everingham, a long-time Phuket King’s Cup Regatta committee member, was motivated in part by frustration at the annual struggle over setting that regatta’s courses. On the one hand, he wanted to shoot the fleet of sails contrasted against the dramatic scenery. The hard-core sailors, on the other hand, wanted their boats as far away from land as possible to avoid fickle winds. Dramatic photos would attract more sponsors, argued the photographer; but the sailors always won. So the stymied lensman rounded up some like-minded friends and established a regatta designed to sail among the dramatic limestone island towers and mainland forests off Phuket’s east coast. The problem was that the courses would go too deep into the Bay, where the wind didn’t blow. So. when the Ao Chalong Yacht Club (now the Phuket Yacht Club) gained control over the regatta over 10 years ago, a compromise was worked out between beautiful scenery and good sailing courses.

The ACYC committee, however, felt it could not provide the resources to continue the development of the event, so Regattas Asia were asked to assumed the mantle in 2012, being one of its principle logistic organizers , so they knew exactly what they were getting into and they have done a tremendous job of running the regatta with Simon dealing with all the on-water logistics and Kae handling all the issues on terra firma. 

A special shout-out to Brent McInnes for supplying the photography boat that captured all the great images of the stunning karst topography that Phang Nga Bay is so famous for.   

A great evening party was held at Ao Nang Villa with with great food and entertainment along with presentations for Friday’s Raymarine sponsored race day by longtime regatta supporter Mick Kealy and , Ao Nang Villas, presented by Khun James.

The final day will be an exciting race home to Ao Chalong as many of the classes are still up for grabs.  

Seven-year old steals hearts on Raymarine Race Day

 Yesterday’s Jungceylon/SEAYachting Race Day from Ao Po to Koh Yao Noi was followed by today’s Raymarine’s Race Day. But the star of the show by far was seven-year-old Tanya Zhang who joined her mother, Yvonne, as crew on John Hearne’s Pi Jui Express. Already a dinghy sailor, the exuberance and can-do attitude this young girl carries with her wasn’t lost on anyone and it’s a credit to her single mom raising her.      

Raymarine Race Day - Ko Yao to Krabi

Participants in the 23rd Bay Regatta continued to enjoy great sailing weather as the party that sails around continued to do just that. World Sailing International Race Officer Simon James staged two starts for the RAymarine Ko Yao to Krabu Race: first off were all the multihulls followed by all the monohulls and again there were no major incidents to report – just a nice clear spinnaker run down Phang Nga Bay. 

The Raymarine 20nm course for the racing class and racing multis left from east of Koh Yao Noi, rounded to starboard Koh Pang, passing Koh Pak Bia, and then past Koh Ka to starboard through the gate at Koh Heng (keeping the committee boat to port), then rounded Koh Ngang to port before passing between Koh Deng and Koh Samet and finally finishing between the committee boat and Koh Ya Man. The 18nm course for the rest of the classes followed much of the same route except the boats didn’t round Koh Ngang. 

The Racing Class saw Megazip, skipped by Alexey Mashkin place first followed by John Hearne’s Pi Jui Express, starring Tanya Zhang with Aquari skipped by Craig Nichols coming in third and John Kara’s crew on Insanity finishing fourth. 

Cruising A saw Paul Merry’s Night Train took the top spot for the second day in a row with Garry Smith’s Resolution of Whitby in second spot, Steve McConaghy’s Jing Jing in third and Brendon Roscoe’s Lola in fourth.      

 In the Cruising B class, Sergei Kataev’s Turtle edged out Tessana Mahasamuth’s Thai Team who were followed by Steve Joos’ Sengawa and Oleg Samolov’s Winds of Change in the four-boat class.      

 In the three-boat Bareboat Class, Kinnon, helmed by Evgenii Nikiforov, and Venture, skippered by Anna Afonia, flip-flopped finished their one-two placings from yesterday and AllSail Angela helmed by Russell Waddy came in third again.

In the hyper-competitive Racing Multihull class Alan Cawardine’s Phantom 5, Dan Fidock’s Fugazi 3 (line honors), John Newnham’s Twin Sharks took the top three spots with Glywn Rowlands’ Twister 2,George Eddings’ Blue Noze, Mark Thornborrow’s Bonza, and Dirk Weiblen’s No Fear rounding out the class.

The Cruising Multis class saw Mark Horwood’s Charro edge out Andrew de Bruin’s Multihull Solutions Neel 51 by seven seconds. 

 In the deep channels between the spectacular, vertical rock walls, the Bay Regatta’s philosophy of fun-amidst-beauty shone through for all to see. The hallmark of this event is a casual, fun-filled atmosphere. Many friends join together to sail the four-day event and while the sailing is serious for many racing class yachts, a large number of cruisers join for the experience of sailing through some of the world’s most amazing maritime scenery.

Corona Virus ? The Bay Regatta sails on……. by Scott Murray.

As fear gripped the region because of the growing concern over the corona virus Bay Regatta PRO and World Sailing International Race Officer, Simon James declared that Phuket was still open for business as he officially launched the Bay Regatta along with the mayor of Thalang and other dignitaries at the regatta’s opening party at the Chandara Villas Resort

And indeed it was a breath of fresh sea air to see twenty-five sailboats head out from their moorings on Thursday morning to head through some of the world’s most stunning karst topography on their four-day nautical journey.         

Held this year after from the 5th to the 9th of February, the Bay Regatta is a series of passage races – an event format that catches the attention of sailors from around the world with participants coming from as far afield as Australia, Russia, the UK and Canada to compete in six classes (Racing Class, Cruising A, Cruising B, Bareboat Charter, Racing & Cruising Multihulls)

 This four-day circumnavigation of Phang Nga Bay takes in three of southern Thailand's most scenic provinces–Phuket, Phang Nga and Krabi–with the emphasis is on fun. Attracting the serious, the not-so-serious and the not-at-all-serious “racing” sailors, the regatta appeals to an international mix who enjoy the stunning sailing grounds of the area and a different destination each evening. 

 Each evening, the regatta anchors at a different venue and the sailors go ashore. Those staying ashore – more than 60% of the fleet – book accommodation and either eat in the local restaurants or enjoy the official event functions which engage with the local community. Most of the expenditure of the regatta goes directly into the local economies of the areas we visit – this has been the case since the regatta was launched and it will remain so for the future—an excellent example of how sports tourism works to the benefit of communities and local economies.

 Starting in Ao Po on Phuket's east coast, after registration and an opening party yesterday evening at Chandara Resort & Spa, the yachts raced north through the stunning rocky outcrops of Phang Nga Bay finishing off Koh Yao Noi, where yachts anchored and enjoyed a prize-giving party on the beach at the Baan Chang resort.

 The actual race started at Koh Naka Yai, then the participants sailed north leaving Koh Phanak and Koh Na Ka Ya to port before hitting the first mark, where the wind died down and the course had to be shortened. It was a long haul for many, but all persevered, even though it took a few boats almost six hours to finish.   

World Sailing International Race Officer, Simon James had two starts for the competitors today: first off were all the monohulls (16 boats) followed by all the multihulls (9 boats). There were no real glitches, or incidents, on the course as sailboats deftly dodged the longtail fishing boats and fishing lines as they made their way across Phang Nga Bay.   

 In the Racing Class, John Hearne’s Pi Jui Express took first place by 1 second on corrected time with Aquari skipped by Craig Nichols coming in second and Megazip (a two-time Bay Regatta winner), skipped by Alexey Mashkin placing third overall. John Kara’s crew on Insanity finished fourth on the day. 

Cruising A saw Paul Merry’s Night Train took the top spot with Steve McConaghy’s Jing Jing in second followed by Brendon Roscoe’s Lola in third, Garry Smith’s Resolution of Whitby in fourth and Jack Chamberlain’s Linda rounding out the five-boat class.      

In the Cruising B class, Sergei Kataev’s Turtle edged out Tessana Mahasamuth’s Thai Team who were followed by Steve Joos’ Sengawh and Oleg Samolov’s Winds of Change. 

In the Bareboat Chater Class, Kinnon, helmed by Evgenii Nikiforov took first while Venture, back from its drift to Banda Aceh, skippered by Anna Afonia finished second and AllSail Angela helmed by Russell Waddy came third.

 No Fear, Fugazi and Bonza (line honors) and came one, two, three in the seven-boat Multihull A class with Twin Sharks, Phantom 5, Blue Nose and Twister 2 rounding out the pack in that order.   

 The Cruising Multis class saw Mark Horwood’s Charro edge out Andrew de Bruin’s Multihull Solutions Neel 51. 

The Bay Regatta was originally described thus: “It takes sailors through the three provinces of Phuket, Phang Nga and Krabi allowing participants to experience the best of southern Thai hospitality and the unrivaled sailing grounds in the area. They sail amongst 200-metre high karsts and past hidden bays on their way to party under-the-stars on an idyllic beach.” 

 That description still rings true today. 

We're underway, Results for Day 1 now online

Click here For the latest results …

A full report will be published later this evening.

Venue for final presentation - Sunday 9th February.

This years closing party for the 23rd Bay Regatta will be held at the Kan Eang II Seafood restaurant, in Ao Chalong.

The final prize-giving will be held at 19.00 on Sunday 9th February and will include a buffet dinner and freeflow drinks..

The private events room will be the venue for the final presentations.

The Restaurant is situated just a stones throw between the Phuket Yacht Club and the Phuket Cruising Yacht Club.

Address:

9/3 Moo 9 Chofa Tawan Aok Road Chalong Bay, Chalong, Phuket Town, Phuket 83130 Thailand

Looking for more navigation information?

The Bay Regatta is delighted to announce that Grenville, Andy and Bill at https://www.southeastasiapilot.com, will be holding a prize draw for 5 copies of their latest edition of the Southeast Asia Pilot for Bay Regatta Entries.

The draw will be held at the opening party at Chandara Villas Resort on Wednesday night.

From Cairns to Thailand & the Andaman Sea…

…and everything in between… 300 pages with over 600 stunning locations illustrating several recommended anchorages in each. Now in its 6th edition (15th year).

The Course Diagrams for the 23rd Bay Regatta are now available online.

The Course Book for the 23rd Bay Regatta are now available online for download.

A laminated copy will be available at registration, which is held between 12.00 - 17.00 at Chandara Villas Resort, Ao Po.

THE BAY REGATTA - REGISTRATION and OPENING PARTY VENUE 2020

Registration, skippers briefing and official opening for this year’s Bay Regatta will be held at Chandara Villas Resor (Formery known as Chandara Resort and Spa Resort), Ao Po.

Participating boats should anchor in the main channel in front of the Resort Floating Pontoon. A complementary Longtail Service will be provided for competitors between the pontoon and registered participating boats between 12.00 and 22.00 on the 5th February. (Any longtail services to non registered boats or transfer services outside these hours, will be chargeable on a pay you go basis.).

Official registration is 12.00 - 17.00.

The Skippers Briefing will be held in the adjoining meeting room at 17.30 followed by the official Opening Party, will be held at the Beach-front garden area, commencing at 18:00.

Raymarine announced as Co-Sponsor of the 23rd Bay Regatta 2020.

PHUKET, Thailand – Leading water sports event management company Regattas Asia – organisers of The Bay Regatta – confirm global marine electronics brand Raymarine, will return as a major sponsor of the 23rd Bay Regatta held 5th to 9th February 2020.

A unique sailing event that starts and finishes in Phuket and sails through the stunning limestone topography of Phang Nga and Krabi provinces, Raymarine are a Co-Sponsor and have secured the sponsorship rights for the prize-giving party at Ao Nang Villa Resort, Krabi – an iconic destination that returns to the 23rd edition, and will take place on Saturday 8th February.

Mick Kealy, Managing Director of local Raymarine distributor Octopus Electrical Service, noted that Raymarine has continued to take the opportunity to sponsor the regatta and give back to the local community.

“The Bay Regatta has gained its reputation as the ‘fun regatta’; known for marrying the sailors’ fun with the thrill of voyage and the majesty of the Phang Nga cliffs. Raymarine, as the first choice for the majority of privately owned pleasure boats around the world, feel that many parallels can be drawn between the ideologies of this regatta and their own, and that supporting this regatta is the perfect way to promote the values of both the company and the South East Asian sailing community as a whole.”

Ms. Kae Wattana, Managing Director of organisers Regattas Asia, commented “Raymarine is a major supplier of marine electronics and is likely used and enjoyed by most of the yachts racing in the regatta. Aligning with Raymarine, a recognized and respected international brand, adds credibility to the event and underscores the success of our unique regatta concept.”

“This year’s 23rd regatta is looking like it may be the best one yet,” added Ms Wattana.

The Bay Regatta is organised by Regattas Asia and will take place 5th to 9th February 2020.

For more information, visit www.bayregatta.com or www.facebook.com/bayregatta. 

Tide Timetables now available for download.

Baan Chang - Our New Presentation Venue on Koh Yao Noi.

Welcome to Baan Chang, this years new presentation party venue on Koh Yao Noi

www.facebook.com/baanchangkohyaonoi

Set in front of the beach and close to numerous bungalow resorts, Baan Chang Restaurant and Bar exudes chilled out vibes and provides scenic views of the mysterious islands towering at a distance. Serving inexpensive cocktails, cold beers and amazing local snacks, Baan Chang is an great casual hangout for swapping stories with your fellow travellers, people watching and indulging in some stunning sunset views.

The accommodation pages will be updated with a selection of resort options very soon… watch this space.

2020 Notice of Race Now Online

The 2020 Notice of Race for the 23rd Bay Regatta is now available online.

Click Here to Download the NOR

Changes for 2020 include a New Party Venue on Koh Yao Noi and a return to the popular Ao Nang Villas in Krabi.

Classes have been updated and a short handed Division has been introduced for Cruisers.

Multihulls will be divided into divisions based on design and crew.

Registration is held on Wednesday 5th February at Chandara Villas Resort, Ao Po with the final closing Party to he held at Kan Eang II in Ao Chalong.

Online Entry is available from 20th October 2020.

Dates for 2020 Regatta published.

This dates for the 23rd Bay Regatta have been set as the 5th-9th February 2020.

The successful Phuket-PhangNga-Krabi-Phuket route will basically remain the same, but we hope to have a new Opening venue and refreshed stop-over/party venues at Koh Yao Noi and in Krabi this year.

The Notice of Race and proposed route will be published on the 14th October 2020.

East Marine Emagine captures 22nd Bay Regatta

On the fourth and final day of the Bay Regatta, the Coca Cola Haad Thip Race, Principal Race Officer, Simon James continued the regatta’s two-start format as all the multihulls crossed the start line together followed by all the monohulls. Today’s race saw the participants start off of Krabi’s Railay Beach between the committee boat and Koh Yaman, then pass Koh Dam Hok and Koh Dam Kwan to starboard before hitting the gate at Hin Mu Sang Noi. The multis made it through the gate but the wind died before the other boats could get there, so finishing times was taken from the gate.

After all the boats crossed the finish, they headed back to Phuket, where they celebrated the final prize giving and dinner at Kan Eang 2 restaurant, overlooking Chalong Bay.

It was hoped that the final prize-giving would be a somewhat quieter affair as last night at the Phra Nang Inn the stage collapsed while the prize-giving was taking place when the extended crew from the Russian yacht Megazip jumped on stage. Luckily, the only casualties were a few bruised egos and some wet clothes as the temporary stage was constructed on the resort’s swimming pool, but it certainly was a prize-giving ceremony to remember as everyone went scrambling once the stage gave way.

The six-boat Racing Class saw Scott Bradley’s East Marine Emagine win for the second time in four years. Alexey Mashkin’s Megazip came second, having won the regatta the two previous years. Craig Nichols’ Aquarii was third with Gordon Ketelbey’s Ramrod in fourth followed by Andrew McDermott’s Jessandra II and Vitalii Plaksin’s Uminoko in last.

In the Cruising A class, Paul Merry's Night Train rode three first-place finishes to victory while Brandon Roscoe's Lola, which took first on day three, claimed second overall with 9 points. Hellmut Schutte's Aquavit 6 was third with 12 points followed by Kirill Stashevskly’s Winds of Change (15 pts) Andrew Bruechert’s Sand Grouper (21 pts) and Jack Christensen’s Linda (25 pts).

The six-boat Cruising B class was won by surprise, surprise, Niels Degenkolw’s Phoenix. Niels has won the Bay Regatta a number of times in various divisions over the years. This year, he won every race except for day two’s when the Gillows on Poco snuck by him. Poco did end up claiming second in the class while Vladislav Belosheikin’s Sail in Asia Pinocchio was third, Tristram Denyer’s Iseulta was fourth and Sergei Kataev’s Hope was fifth.

Mig Wehrle’s Aqua came in last but did have the regatta’s cutest entrant-Mig’s young son Lucas on board, along with Lucas’ grandmother so it really was a family affair.

Speaking on families, it’s always tremendous to see the father-daughter team of Kevin and Mia Gillow out on the water. As a child, Mia sailed around the world with her parents, and the family has always been quite close. But a few years back, Kevin suffered a stroke. He made a miraculous recovery and 18 months later was back sailing and winning the Bay Regatta on Poco with Mia.

In the Bareboat Class, Konstantin Nazarenko’s Kinnon almost made a clean sweep of it, but Venture, after finishing second on the first three days, claimed the top spot on the final day. Russell Waddy’s AllSail Tonicola, the only non-Russian boat in the class, was third and Denis Aksenov’s Uhuru was fourth overall in this division.

Fugazi was the star of the show winning regatta line honours in all four races – but when their handicap was applied on the final race it was only good for third overall in the multihull class, so they didn’t sweep their division though they did win it on days one-three. Kudos to owner/skipper Dan Fidock and his crew of Mick Coleman, Rob Meizer, Nick Gutry, Ciaran “Irish” Corrigan and Gaetan Verhegge as they flew their hull(s) masterfully throughout the event. Twin Sharks usually gives them a run for the money when handicap is applied but John Newnham’s tight-knit team of Alfie Rowson, Jason Corall (fly in from New York), Tam Keawwantha (flew in from Ireland), with John as skip, had to pull out early on the first day due to a ripped sail. They had blown out their back-up sail at the Royal International Regatta just a few weeks earlier and hadn’t had time to replace it. Jason did find a home with Phantom 5 for the regatta and Alfie and Tam sailed with Jessandra II.

George Eddings crew (John Claxon, Peter Taylor & Mark Pescott) on Blue Noze filled the gap left by Twin Sharks and sailed marvelously finishing only two points behind Fugazi in the final standings. Alan Carwardine’s Asia Catamarans Phantom 5 also turned in a valiant effort, coming third with 12 points. Alan sailed with many of his crew from Hurricane, since sold to a sailor based out of San Diego. Glywn Rowlands Twister 2 was fourth with 14 points and Ray Waldron’s Surf Patrol was fifth with 23 points. Ray’s was the only boat able to fix a damaged sail during the regatta, because after registering a DNF on day three, crewmate and sailmaker Ket Mangklaseranee was able to match things up and have them ready to go for day four.

Scott Galle’s Blade Runner IX had trouble in the regatta and ended with 2 DNFs on the first two days, ripping its sail near the end of the second day, forcing it out of the regatta. Gallant effort in tough winds for the small trimaran though.

Simon James did a tremendous job as PRO setting the courses, manning the starts and keeping things in order. Kae Wattana and her Regattas Asia team made everyone happy on shore, providing plenty of good food and drink and good entertainment. Vacation Village stepped up and provided Seraph as the committee boat Captain Brent McInnes did great work steering the photographer’s rib. Brendon Kealy helped out by providing his catamaran, Catapult for photography services on the last day. And Bob Mott was also a tremendous help, providing the mark boat and the Rainman waterproof bags for all the skippers. A big shot out to Simon’s team on the water—Susie, Hughie, Chandran, Jane, Cookie & Eddie—who as always, made sure all the starts and finishes were correctly posted and recorded.

Congratulations to all the winners and competitors on a great regatta

Full Results are online at http://www.bayregatta.com/2019results

Stunning topography greets sailors on Bay Regatta’s third day

Windy and wavy from the get-go, PRO Simon James staged two different starts (for the mono-and-multihulls) and set two different courses for the third day of the 2019 Bay Regatta. The Racing and Multihull class were off on the longer 24NM course, while the two Cruising classes and the Bareboats hit the 17NM course: all finished off of Krabi’s Ao Nang Beach. 

The six-boat Racing Class saw Megazip zip through the stunning karst topography finishing first in both elapsed and corrected time. Aquari was second and East Marine Emagine was third (though positions flipflopped on elapsed time) with Jessandra II, Uminoko, and Ramrod following in that order.

Brandon Roscoe's Lola took first place from Hong Kong, took Cruising A honors today despite finishing half-a-second behind Paul Merry's Night Train on elapsed time. Hellmut Schutte's Aquavit 6 was in third though Hellmut's and Sand Grouper, Winds of Change and Linda rounded out the six-boat class in that order.   

In the Cruising B class, Niels Degenkolw’s beat the Gillow’s Poco across the line by a half-an-hour them in this six-boat class while Vladislav Belosheikin Sail in Asia’s Pinocchio was third of the day followed byTristram Denyer’s Iseulta was fourth while Mig Wehlie’s Aqua, with baby in tow, did not start today and Sergei Kataev’s Hope did not finish. 

Taking line honours for the third straight day with a time of 02:06:43 (corrected time was 02:09:00) Fugazi romped home to another victory in the Multihull Class. Asia Catamarans Phantom was next up, closely followed by Blue Nose. Twister 2 was fourth and Ray Waldron’s Surf Patrol did not finish.   

The Bareboat Class saw Russians finish one, two, and four with Russell Waddy's AllSail Tonicola sneaking into third. Konstantin Nazarenko's Kinnock was first, Stanislav Pechenkin's Venture was second and Denis Aksenov Uhuru had a DNF.   

The Bay Regatta was founded by a photographer (John Everingham) and friends (Chris Schaefer and Andy Stephens). Everingham, a long-time Phuket King’s Cup Regatta committee member, was motivated in part by frustration at the annual struggle over setting that regatta’s courses. On the one hand, he wanted to shoot the fleet of sails contrasted against the dramatic scenery. The hard-core sailors, on the other hand, wanted their boats as far away from land as possible to avoid fickle winds. Dramatic photos would attract more sponsors, argued the photographer; but the sailors always won. So the stymied lensman rounded up some like-minded friends and established a regatta designed to sail among the dramatic limestone island towers and mainland forests off Phuket’s east coast. The problem was that the courses would go too deep into the Bay, where the wind didn’t blow. So. when the Ao Chalong Yacht Club (now the Phuket Yacht Club) gained control over the regatta a couple years back a compromise was worked out between beautiful scenery and good sailing courses.

The ACYC, and its volunteer board, however, felt it could not properly run the regatta properly, so five years ago it was handed over to “Mr. Regatta” himself, Simon James of Regattas Asia. Simon, who aside from being the PRO of the Regatta for many years, had also been one of its principle organizers along with his partner Kae Wattana, so they knew exactly what they were getting into. 

Of note. as Twin Sharks had to pull out of the regatta on the first day, a couple of its crew found new homes: Jason Corall with Phantom and Alfie Rowson with Jessandra II. 

A special shout-out to both Brent McInnes and Bob Mott; the former supplied the photography boat while the latter supplied the mark boat and Rainman waterproof bags for all the skippers.