By Scott M Murray - Sea Yachting Magazine.

The wind and sun held for the third day of the 27th Bay Regatta as PRO Simon James set all boats off on the 18-mile Course 5 with two starts, first for the multis and then for the monohulls. The course saw the sailors round the stunning islands of Koh Ya Man, Koh Dam Khwan, Koh Khom (South), and Koh Ya Wa Sam all to starboard before rounding Koh Man to starboard and finishing with the committee boat to starboard.

IRC Premier Monohulls and OMR Multihulls participated in a second race in constantly changing winds. With boats rounding the Tourism Association of Thailand branded mark, then rounding Koh Samet and Koh Ya Man, before finishing at the committee boat.

After four races, the three-boat IRC Premier Monohull has Aftershock, a Davidson 59, skippered by Steve McConaghy, in first. With a discard coming into action should they finish the final race, only one point separates Hans Rahmann’s Yasooda, a JV Custom 70, in second spot, and Craig Nicholls/James Bury’s Alright (formerly Emagine), a Sydney 40, in third. A lot of pride will be on the line tomorrow for who gets the overall title.

In the five-boat IRC Racing Class, only one point separates Andrey Novoderezhkin’s Madame Butterfly, a 3/4 Ton Modified, from Aliaksandre Racheuski’s Uminoko, a Farr One Ton. Niels Degenkolw’s X ¾ Ton Phoenix, which is used to winning these events, is ensconced in third place this time around, while Kirill Stashevskiy’s Platu Andaman Discovery- Som Tam Pu (formerly Scott Duncanson’s Somtam Express) is in fourth followed by former Sydney-Hobart winner Piccolo, skipped by Andre den Braven, in fifth spot.

The eight-boat IRC Cruising Class has Sergei Musikhin’s Wind of Change, a Beneteau Oceanis 43 leading Paul Merry’s Night Train, a Hanse 415, by three points going into the final day. Night Train could pull an upset on the final day though, while James Duke’s Kimikimi, a Dufour 455GL, and Aleksei Brunov’s Moonshine, an Oceanis 45, are tied with 12 points apiece and will battle it out for third place on the final day.

The four-boat Cruising Monohull class has already been wrapped up by Philippe Dallée’s sleek Swan II (a Swan 43 - 1969) who has won all three races in the class followed by Steven Wong’s Snap Dragon, a Peterson 46. Both Jack Christensen’s Linda, and Karan Kharav’s Sitka, have suffered a variety of last-minute issues preventing both of them from finishing the series.

The seven-boat OMR Multihull class saw Dan Fidock’s Parabellum, an Extreme 40, fly across the course and take line honours AGAIN!! Parabellum leads John Newnham’s race hardened crew on Twin Sharks, a Firefly 850 Sportsboat, by two points heading into the final day with David Lidell’s WOW, a Stealth, ensconced in third.

Grant Richardson’s Sea Mi Amore, a Catana 47 Ocean Class, leads the seven-boat Cruising Multihull. With all races to count, only a point separates Rick Fielding’s Mojo, a Fusion 40, in second and Bob McIntyre’s Allegro, a Stealth 13, in third, going into the final race.

The evening party was held at Vacation Village, Pra Nang Inn, where prizes were given out racing for day two by Asia Catamarans’ Zam Bevan and Octopus Electrical Services’ Mick Kealy. Day three prizes were handed out by Preecha Poolphokphol, owner of Vacation Village. The final day will be an exciting race home to Ao Chalong tomorrow with many spots still up for grabs and the final awards party is set for Kan Eang II.

A special shout-out to John Newnham and Dan Fidock for freeing up Matt McGrath and Twin Sharks/Parabellum’s supply boat to be the photography boat for the day, which captured many images of the stunning karst topography that Phang Nga Bay is so well-known for.