Monday, December 31, 2007

Whose going to which regatta?

AsianYachting New Year Jan News and Views here...

With the introduction of Chris Meads swish looking Corby 43 Full Metal Jacket at the Kings Cup last year and the arrival of Ben Copley's new Club Swan 42 Katsu, the racing class is rapidly expanding and taking on a new dimension by introducing shear out and out racing machines. It's anybodies guess just how much longer Frank Pong's 75ft R/P Jelik and Ray Roberts DK 46 Quantum Racing will remain at the top of the 2007-08 AY Grand Prix Championships. Aussie Peter Ahern returns in Langkawi with his Farr 40 YO!2 and the Royal Malaysian Navy are fielding the Farr 520 Zuhrah and the DK46 under RMN-JB. With mainland China's Adam Ng's Judel/Vrolijk 52 Microlab Moonlight Shadow and Vincent Chan's Titan 36 Matahari boosting the numbers, the decision to bring the dates forward to improve the standard of racing class entrants is clearly paying dividends.

Bill Bremner's TP52 Foxy Lady IV has arrived in Singapore for Christmas and the lengthy task of putting the keel on, re-rigging and other preparatory jobs before launching are underway in earnest. They are very happy and the crew are looking forward to putting her through her paces and getting used to their new racing stead.

Who is going to Singapore Straits Regatta in January (16-19th) or the Phang Nga Bay Regatta over Chinese New Year (Feb 7-10th). After claiming 3rd place overall and Class A victory, plus enduring another agonizing finish to the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race four days ago, will Ray Roberts be able to turn his crew around and front up in Asia so early in the New Year? The action then swings over to Hong Kong for the Rolex China Sea Race (21 March start) and the President's Cup (21 - 29 March) in the Philippines before moving across to the Gulf of Thailand for the Top of the Gulf Regatta (1st -5th May) and 2007-08 Season ending finale at Koh Samui Regatta (1st - 7th June dates now confirmed). So the question remains Who is going were? Please post your comments for all to see...

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Any tips on finding a crew spot for the Phang Nga Bay regatta this year. I will be in Phuket on the night of the 5th

Anonymous said...

Sure head for the Boat Haven and ask around. Signing is on 6th Feb racing from 7th finishing on the 10th. More info at: http://www.bayregatta.com or contact secretary Lies Sol by Tel: +66 1 539 6106 or E-mail: info@bayregatta.com Happy hunting. See ya there...