Jomtien March 10, 2023 – Seven crews lined up at the start of this highly competitive event. International crews from Australia, Malaysia and Russia joined four local crews to provide a top quality entry list and ensure another very competitive and exciting regatta at the Ocean Marina Jomtien.
Day one did not follow the weather forecast which kept the race officer busy until finally settling down with a steady 8 knots all day from the South West. Crews were given the usual practice race and were allowed one drop score for the day in order to get the team settled down into race mode without being penalized too much. Easy Tiger and Stingray had to work hard to keep the new YRAT crew and Team Viewpoint at bay. Rolf Heemskerk and his crew were enjoying a welcome return after three years lay off due to covid restrictions. Their bowman thought the foredeck was much smaller and rockier than he remembered it!
Day two brought much stronger winds that increased from an ideal 12 knots up to 20 knots later in the day. At this wind speed crews are tested to the full but Sergey, on board Nam Prix reveled in these conditions and came to the fore with three convincing wins from five and lifted himself into second on the leaderboard just behind Easy Tiger and equal on points with the young guns on team YRAT.
And so into the third and final day, which as always concludes with a double point medal race. The wind came in strong right from the start with 14 knots increasing to 19 as the day progressed. The number of races per day is always controlled only by the wind speed and length of the courses. No set number of races are ever declared in advance. This intentionally allows the race officer, and not the NORs, to determine when crews should return to shore, based on events of the day. On this day four races were run before 13.30 hours and so the Medal race was able to be started at 13.45 and finish at 14.30. And what a race it turned out to be.
Stingray got a great start and was 50 metres ahead after two minutes, with Easy Tiger in hot pursuit. And as always it is difficult to catch a lead boat in one design especially when it’s a one on one fight with match racing tactics coming in to play. So, Easy Tiger had to follow Stingray for one and a half laps until Stringray made two bad jibes allowing him to catch up. The finish was a classic with Easy Tiger getting the benefit of a big wave to increase his speed dramatically and catch Stingray at the line, only to be deemed second by a few centimetres.
And so another battle of the giants was fought out over 12 races in the Gulf of Thailand with all crews enjoying great fun on and off the water.
The second round will be held on May 5-6-7.
This report and results can be seen at www.yachtsinthailand.com in the Championship 2023/Report and results section. Thanks to Scott Finsten and Ocean marina for providing all the infrastructure necessary. Thanks to FLS logistics for providing awards and refreshments. Thanks to K Thannasak and his mark boat crew who did a great job in such big winds. Thanks to all those crew who travelled so far to take part.
Final reckoning:
027 Team Tiger (AUS) 1,1,2,2,1,3,3,3,2,1,1,4 (24)
117 Stingray (THA) 1,2,1,3,3,5,4,5,5,2,3,2 (36)
154 Heemskerk (MAS) 2,4,3,5,2,4,5,2,1,3,2,6 (39)
107 YRAT (THA) 3,3,5,4,5,2,2,4,4,4,4,8 (48)
118 Sergei (RUS) 3,5,4,1,4,1,1 8,8 5,4,8 (52)
124 FLS Logistics (THA) 5,4,6,6,6,6,8,6,6,5,8,16 (82)
122 Le Vent 2 (THA) 7,8,7,7,8,8,8,7,7,7,8,16 (98)
