J/133 JING JING Having Fun!
(Phuket, Thailand)- The 24th Phuket King’s Cup didn't exactly start out
in postcard, Chamber of Commerce conditions. The practice day was a bit
soggy. But, the forecast for day one of the King’s Cup is for a
west-north-west breeze anywhere between six and 10 knots. As Tracey
Johnstone reported, "Overcast sky, with a hint of rain and no wind
greeted the sailors as they headed out onto the race course. Thankfully,
a light Northerly filled in enough for the race officers on both
courses to get all the classes away on Race 1. Some competitors were a
little to keen to get started, with IRC 1 having a general recall and
several other classes having multiple individual recalls. This comes
with the territory when competitors are pushing to the absolute limit.
With the wind direction flicking through forty degrees and fluctuating
in intensity, choosing the side of the course and sail selection, which
would yield the best results, became a tacticians nightmare. After
rounding the top mark the boats that went right were looking famous,
that is until the boats that gybe set the spinnaker and went left,
picked up the incoming breeze first and crossed in front of the early
leaders. The next time around the opposite occurred and as the fleet
played snakes and ladders, this is reflected in the final results. PRO
Jerry Rollin managed to complete three windward/leeward races for the
racing classes, in between intermittent rain showers and the cruising
classes completed there one scheduled race in area B to successfully get
the regatta underway. After surviving a general recall and then an
individual recall, Rick Pointon's Chinese crew on the J/133 JING JING
held on for third overall.
By
the second day, the King's Cup weather has returned to its traditional
light airs where knowing the local conditions, studying the tides and
keeping your head out of the boat were all important factors on the
first day. With a postponement flag flying on both courses the Phuket
King’s Cup fleet of 106 boats waited patiently this morning for a race
start. Soft breeze, an outgoing tide and heavy cloud made for a
difficult start. Then a rain squall passed over the land and moved out
to sea. There was hope some more breeze would come with it, but that
didn’t eventuate. In IRC1 the postponement flag was up briefly while
the start line was re-laid, then the 15 boat fleet were off. Three boats
were recalled. At the bottom mark first time around, Rick Pointon’s
J/133 JING JING executed well to finish in the top five. In the next
race, the wind was equally as shifty, but JING JING hung in for second!
In short, it was a day of costly tactical calls, protest flags and
changes in the leader board in the second day racing. The forecasted 10
plus knots and thunderstorms didn’t eventuate today. Instead the course
had low cloud, shifty breezes and at places, two knots of current. All
the makings of an interesting day of racing.
By
the third day, IRC1 Class had two races. First was a windward/leeward
and the second was a long race offshore around the cans. The long race
start was delayed for a short time as the race committee re-set the
start line in response to a slight wind shift. Rick's J/133 JING JING
was OCS at the start, but recovered well as the fleet headed south. A
costly tack to make the mark hurt some boats, including JING JING.
Currently, JING JING is in third place with 15 points-- perhaps a chat
with Buddha atop the mountain might provide divine inspiration (seen
here at right). Phuket Kings Cup Sailing Photo credits- Guy Nowel.
For more Phuket Kings Cup sailing information.
