8:07 PM Thu 27 Nov 2008 GMT
Neil Pryde's Welbourne 52 Hi Fi was on fire in the Raja Muda series and will start as the Grand Prix favourite for the 2008 Phuket King's Cup. The Cup will run from this coming Monday December 1st to next Saturday December 6th.
Hi Fi won the Raja Muda series from Frank Pong's Reichel-Pugh 75 Jelik, who beat Ray Robert's DK46 Quantum Racing on a count back.
Neil Pryde said his boat would have a big handicap difference to overcome against Quantum Racing, who is top quality competition.
'We can do it in straight-line distance racing, but in stop-start regatta conditions it is a lot harder.
'Our new rig is a huge improvement, and the boat has specifically been set up for acceleration and is working well. The rig is 20% lighter than before, and the boat is stiffer, so as long as we don't grind to a complete stop we have a good chance,' he said.
Australian Ray Roberts, the most successful campaigner on the Asian circuit for the last five years, knows that he and his team will have to work hard to win the series. However, their DK46 is a proven light weather performer and their tactician Stephen McConaghy, a dual 11 metre world champion, has a wonderful track record in the tricky wind conditions of the Asian circuit.
Quantum Racing won the Koh Samui regatta back in May but the competition will be tougher in Phuket.
Ray Roberts said the King's Cup is becoming harder to win, with stiff competition and long hours. Tactics will be crucial.
'There are going to be two TP52s there this year (Island Fling and Foxy Lady IV), and Neil Pryde's new rig into Hi Fi has her going very fast.
'It's going to be early nights and early mornings, and working very hard to get the tactics just right on the racecourse,' he said.
It's not just the 50 footers that Roberts has to worry about; the big boats will also present a challenge.
Frank Pong's 75 footer Jelik is the defending Kings Cup champion; she beat Quantum Racing in the final race of the 2007 series, beating her again in the Raja Muda this week.
Jelik has a new bowsprit and some new crew, including Song Xiaqun (China's Olympic Yngling helm). Xiaqun came eighth in Qingdao; a very respectable result.
The depth of the Jelik team was evident this week when Philippine skipper Louie Perfectua helmed in Pong's absence from the last races, coming second.
The two TP52's racing this year are Foxy Lady IV and Island Fling.
Andy Cocks and Bill Bremner's TP 52 Foxy Lady IV is currently sailing straight from Singapore.
The two owners looking forward to the series. Bremner did well in 2006 with his Sydney 40 Foxy Lady III and they have been racing his Cookson built TP52 (the former Alta Vita-Lightwave-T-Squared) since the Singapore Straits regatta in January.
Bremner commented today 'we've done about 35 races on the yacht this year (a very light year for us - we usually average 60+) and stuck with the existing IRC-optimization since purchase in Dec/07. Compared to the SYD40 this is much simpler yacht to sail but punishes brutally on speed if not trimmed to perfection or driven properly in the groove. Our average speeds have been consistently climbing throughout the year and we have had some flashes of brilliance.
'So we're really looking forward to the the line-up at King's Cup as we can get back to racing against similar length racing yachts/designs. We did a quick comparison the other day on IRC corrected time gaps and Island Fling gives us 21 seconds and hour and we give Hi-Fi 20 seconds. That is pretty tight for handicapped racing and should produce some spectacular moments on the water.'
Calling tactics on the boat will be North Sails Australia's Julian Plante. Plante is no stranger to the TP52; he does tactics on Bob Steel's TP52 Quest and they are preparing for the upcoming Rolex Sydney to Hobart race.
'We are all looking forward to the regatta, there is good competition and the tussles especially with Island Fling will be a lot of fun,' Plante said.
Over the last few months the Paul Winkleman's Hong Kong based TP52 Island Fling has been on song.
This week Steve 'Taff' Dodd from Island Fling talked about the boat's King's Cup prospects. He said that Island Fling's chances were the same as the next boats, and their win in the China Coast Regatta proved nothing as conditions at the China Coast Regatta resembled a moderate to strong air race.
'We were always confident that we would win the last regatta knowing that it would be at least a moderate wind condition. Island Fling takes a lot of beating in that kind of breeze.
'However, Kings Cup offers a different kind of historical breeze, from
moderate to light and very light.
'I know that Neil Pryde has optimized for 12 knots of breeze and lower. We have also optimized the boat for a much lower wind range in the last couple of weeks, so hopefully we can at least match his race performances if not better them towards the mid scale of wind range,' Dodd said.
We are looking forward to the racing. Let the best boat win!
Refering to the current dislocation at Bangkok's airports Kevin Whitcraft, President of the 2008 Phuket King's Cup Regatta Organizing Committee said this morning. 'There are no changes to the 22nd Phuket King's Cup Regatta. All is going ahead as scheduled. 'We advise all participants and guests to check with your travel agents/airlines direct for latest on flight schedules.
'We look forward to seeing all of you on the water.'
by Rob Kothe
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