PYC’s Yachting Festival - Back up to speed
Story by Alfie Rowson
The Phuket Yacht Club has embedded Nautical Mystic, its roving correspondent, on board one of the yachts racing in the Yachting Festival and he filed the following report based on today’s action.
Day four of the Phuket Yacht Club Yachting Festival took the fleet away from the windward-leeward format and onto two scenic island races around the islands off Phuket's south coast. After several days of light and unpredictable conditions, competitors were treated to another tactical challenge, with race two producing dramatic wind shifts of up to 180 degrees that kept crews constantly adapting their strategies.
The island courses provided spectacular racing, but the results were decided as much by tactics as by boat speed. On corrected time, the margins were incredibly close across all three classes, with just seconds separating boats after more than an hour of racing—a reminder that under handicap racing, every decision on the course counts.
Monohull A
In Monohull A, WindSikher continued its impressive form, taking victory in both island races to extend its overall lead. Alright followed with two second-place finishes, remaining within striking distance heading into the final day, while Aftershock maintained third overall.
Monohull B
The battle in Monohull B remains one of the closest in the regatta. Phoenix claimed another pair of race wins to strengthen its hold on first place, but the fight for the remaining podium places is wide open. Nijinsky and Jing Jing are now tied on 9 points, setting up an exciting showdown on the final day.
Racing Multihull
The Racing Multihull fleet again demonstrated just how competitive handicap racing can be. Twin Sharks scored another perfect day with two race wins, although the corrected-time margins were exceptionally tight. In the first island race, only 25 seconds separated Twin Sharks and Blue Noze after handicap correction, while in race two just 1 minute 23 seconds covered the top two boats. Twin Sharks now leads the fleet on 5 points, ahead of No Fear on 10 points and Blue Noze on 12 points.
Premier Sailing Event
With six races now completed for the Monohull A and Racing Multihull fleets, and five for Monohull B, the championship picture is becoming clearer, but there is still everything to sail for. While WindSikher, Phoenix and Twin Sharks all carry overall leads into the final day, the podium positions remain far from settled. If day four proved anything, it is that in Phuket's fickle conditions, fortunes can change in a single shift, and with one day remaining, no team can afford to relax.
This event started life as the Multihull Solutions Regatta and then became the Yacht Sales Co Regatta before being renamed the Phuket Yacht Club’s Yachting Festival this year. Regardless of what it is called, with the discontinuation of the Cape Panwa Hotel Phuket Raceweek, it is now, and will continue to be, the premier sailing event of the summer season in Southeast Asia.
Today's Results
