J/41 SOUAY1 Tops Samui Regatta Racing Class!

(Samui, Thailand)- Recently, it was a “life-time” moment on the J/41 SOUAY1 in the Samui Regatta 2018 for Jean Rheault (owner) and his friends.  Here are Jean’s comments:

“The Samui Regatta (http://www.samuiregatta.com) is a major event in the China Sea, located in the Doldrums latitudes, with light winds and a few violent clouds and thunder showers in the mid-afternoons- typical of our climate here.

As a boat owner, I had the great happiness to have my J/41 SOUAY1 sailed singlehanded up to Thailand. I also felt very proud to invite guests for a ride on her after I installed a full teak deck with an integrated elegant and comfortable teak cockpit (all Burma teak, of course, of the best grade possible I could find!).

But now, my happiness was to invite offshore sailors to join my team and, hopefully, sail her fast and smart.

To keep weight low, the strategy was to have a limited crew for the Samui Regatta.  We had aboard:

• Ray Waldron, an Australian wave surfer, who also races his Etchells,
• Cedric Rimaud, a passionate French owner of three classic 6-meters, and
• Guido Wedekind, a German professional fighter, who lived for years on his 54 ft wooden sailboat.

The multiple tasks required for around-the-cans racing placed a very high demand for the small crew on our old 41 ft IOR One Tonner- designed by the famous J/Boat co-founder, Rodney Johnstone.

Nevertheless, I am sure you can imagine the satisfaction of everyone onboard our SOUAY1 after a week of sailing the regatta- winning six of seven races!  We even crossed ahead of several modern IRC designs in some of the races with light wind spots and tidal current.  The old J/41 is quite fast in that light air, flat-water conditions!  She is perfectly suited for those conditions here because we see a lot of it throughout the year (monsoon season, notwithstanding!).

We hope you enjoy some of the photos from our experiences sailing the famous J/41 here in our waters off Thailand and winning the famous Samui Regatta Cup.  Wonderful boat. Fantastic, fun crew!  Thank you all.”  Thanks for the contribution from proud J/41 owner- Jean Rheault.

J/Teams Lovin' China Cup IX Regatta

(Daya Bay, Shenzen, China)- The 9th Edition of the China Cup International Regatta took place in Hong Kong and Shenzhen (Guangdong Province), China from October 30th to November 2nd, 2015, under the auspices of the Water Sports Administration Center of the General Administration of Sport of China and Shenzhen Municipal Administration of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

As the largest international big boat sailing event in China and three-time winner of “Best Asian Regatta of the Year”, about 100 yachts sail this South China Sea each each year including a new fleet of a dozen J/80s competing intensively in a one-design class, crewed by leading Asian sailors. The four-day event had eight different classes of competition and eight races: the Hong Kong to Shenzhen passage race, inshore races and round the island races, with around 1,000 sailors from more than 30 different countries and regions enjoying the intoxicating experience.

The event is distinctly oriented towards social festivities and provides simply extraordinary entertainment and parties in the evenings.  You do NOT want to be imprisoned in a protest room into the late evening while all your friends are cutting loose and having a fantastic time in the five-star resort!  Relaxation and fun are the theme and the daily prize-giving awards ceremony simply puts most others to shame.

Mr. David Zhong, Deputy Secretary-General of China Cup International Regatta Organizing Committee said, “We want to make the races as competitive as possible by attracting the world’s top sailors to participate in one of the world’s most enjoyable sailing events. Furthermore, we hope to strengthen our ties with the international sailing community.”  To say the least, they’ve got the formula right, and there’s no question several J/Teams took home their fair share of silverware.  Here is Jim Johnstone’s (J/Boats China) report:

“J sailors had a nice showing in this years China Cup IX. With the J/109 WHISKEY JACK driven by Nick Southward and long time crew in IRC and a new J/80 fleet racing One-Design.  Teams came from China, Hong Kong, USA, United Kingdom and Holland to participate on the different J/'s sailing.  Thirteen J/80's registered with boats coming from Xiamen and Hong Kong as either private or charter boats.  SAILING IN performance sailing school also participated with two boats full of students- novice sailors lead by Martin Hingst and me.

As we all know, when you take out beginner racers it is much easier to sail when the breeze is light.  The China Cup this year was not particularly light, but not out of control either.  It was enough to challenge the novice sailors and help with their overall confidence.  We sailed most of the event in 15 to 20 knots of wind with moderate size waves.

This year, we decided that we needed to start enforcing the J/80 Class Rules a little more in China and we started this event with crew weigh-in's for the J/80 class only.  A notification was sent to all competitors before they arrived and teams still scrambled a little to figure out how to deal with being overweight!  Nothing new there, right!?  Being prepared includes checking what the crew weight is and making adjustments to get lighter crews- like this spinnaker trimmer.

We sailed 8 races over three days and there was a noticeable difference of experience between the top four J/80's and the rest of the fleet.  Henry Wong on the FOOTLOOSE team from Hong Kong, Liu Changlong from XIAMEN LIHAN Sailing Team and the two SAILING IN Teams were the boats everyone else had to beat.

The team that jumped out to an early lead was SAILING IN ONE lead by our team.  The noticeable difference in this team was that they played the shifts and tacked twice as much as the competitors in the class and were using very conservative spinnaker tactics on the sets and take downs- the stated goal was to minimize all errors!  Their tactics and strategy paid off for them, taking the overall victory with 7 firsts and 1 third.

Martin Hingst on SAILING IN TWO was sailing in the pack most of the time, but where Martin’s team excelled was in their ability as a crew to make large gains downwind.  They pulled off second place overall all 4 points ahead of 3rd.

3rd place was Liu Changlong, a former Olympic Chinese Finn Sailor and coach in Xiamen, skippering the XIAMEN LIHAN Sailing Team.  Liu was a force that was very consistent in his overall sailing.  He was always there and always pushing.  The FOOTLOOSE team was 4th position, driven by Henry Wong. This team and the other Hong Kong Teams also did a Special J/80 Passage Race from Hong Kong to Shenzhen, which was not counted in the One-Design overall scores, but they enjoy frequent one-design racing in Hong Kong with the 26 local Hong Kong boats.

Red Dragon, builders of the J/80 in Xiamen, also sailed with their own RED DRAGON Team, finishing 5th place in the event.  They were also on hand providing two new charter boats and helping with any questions any of the J/80 sailors had during the event.  Overall, it was great to see the Chinese J/80 Class come together for this event.  In the past, it was always difficult since moving boats around china is not like it is in the US where you can simply tow them down the road. You need to ship them, which adds to the cost and reduces the participation.  We are currently working on a new fleet for the Shenzhen area, so we are looking forward to the potential of a much larger fleet next year. Congratulation to WHISKEY JACK for their dominating performance in the IRC Class.”

According to Nick Southward, owner/skipper of the J/109 WHISKEY JACK, “the crew of Whiskey Jack was happy to be returning to the prestigious China Cup International Regatta. With the competition heating up, the team was ready to face all challenges and was ready to fearlessly plow through the seas in the hope of bettering last year’s performance and regaining their title from 2013. In keeping with the team motto, “teamwork makes the dream work and whiskey never hurts”, the team had another enjoyable and exciting China Cup!”  Indeed, they did!  They started out by winning their first race and, despite a DNF in the second race, laid down an amazing string of races (a 1-3-2-1-1-2) for a total score of 11.0 net pts!  The masses of silverware were theirs!  Imagine that, they absolutely HAD to be at the Awards cocktail party each night since top three prizes were given out each night for each race in each fleet! Eight awards in all- but who’s counting anyways?  Good on ya Nick and gang!  For more International China Cup IX sailing information

And, a very brief report about the AUDI China Coast Regatta.  In IRC 2 Class, WHISKEY JACK was 5th place while fellow stablemate, the J/111 MOJITO sailed by Simon Blore took 3rd place and won some of their own silver along the way!  Congrats to both teams!   For more Royal Hong Kong YC China Coast sailing information

J/41 Wins Pattaya TOG Regatta!

(Pattaya, Thailand)- Jean Rheault, the owner of the J/41 SOUAY 1 in Pattaya, Thailand recently sent us a report of their sailing experiences:

“The J-41 “SOUAY 1” team got inspired this year and managed to get a 1st at the Pattaya TOG Regatta in Thailand! Once a year, the Asian Grand Prix Circuit makes a stopover in Pattaya, the southeast part of Thailand, where the China Sea is at 30 C, with 6-12 Kts of wind 80% of the time, and daily squalls rolling the area with 20-30 kts to add spicy trills.

This year, a few remarkable top gun sailors joined the cockpit of the classic J-41; Phil Auger, one of the Kiwi Sport Boat National Warriors, who is opening a sail-loft in Langkawi, as well as Marco Belonje, who built his success in the One-design Asian sailing circuit.

These two leaders did great on the tactics and the sail-trimming, leading the entire team, and helped bring “SOUAY 1” on the top podium position at the TOG 2014, IRC3 Division!!

The great thing about yachting, is the inspiration that can catch not only sailors, but someone like “Tangmo”.  She is a painter and she was also very touched during a sunset sailing ride with the big red asym spinnaker flying on the J-41.  She later made an emotional painting of “SOUAY 1” and presented it to us at the yacht club.

It brings great happiness for me, to share with the J-Boat gang and sailing friends around the world, this satisfaction, to bring on their boats any type of people, who get inspired by these moments on the ocean, especially to a point they try to surpass themselves!  Fair winds, “Thai Sailor Jean”

J/70 Expands to Asia/ Pacific Rim

(Newport, Rhode Island) - J/Boats announced today that McConaghy Boats has been named the J/70 builder for the Asian and Pacific Rim markets.  This is following the recent news of the J/70 receiving International Class status from the International Sailing Federation (ISAF).  Nearly 500 boats are already sailing in 20+ countries within 20 months of launch.  McConaghy Boats joins J/Composites (France) and CCF Composites (USA) as part of the J/70 world building team.

“McConaghy Boats and the J/70 are a perfect fit,” said Jeff Johnstone, President of J/Boats.  “McConaghy is world renowned for building high performance custom racing yachts (such as the famous 7-time Rolex Sydney-Hobart winner WILD OATS XI), and they’re also highly regarded for producing one-designs to exacting tolerances.  We look forward to working with Mark Evans, Stephen Oliver and their team in Zhuhai to build on the momentum the J/70 is already generating in the Pacific Rim.”

“The rapid growth of the J/70 has been nothing short of phenomenal and we’re proud to become a building partner with J/Boats,” commented Mark Evans, Director of McConaghy Boats.  “The J/70 represents the next-generation of fun, easy-to-sail sportboats— a perfect match for the Asia/ Pacific Rim markets we’re supporting.”

New tooling arrives at McConaghy in late January and production is expected to begin this spring. The J/70 will be distributed in the Pacific Rim region by J/Boats Asia.  For more information, please contact Jim Johnstone of J/Boats Asia at jimjboats@gmail.com or J/Boats USA headquarters at info@jboats.com.
For more International J/70 sailboat information

JING JING King's Cup Update

(Kata Beach, Phuket, Thailand)- 2011 was the 25th anniversary of the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta. The event attracted the largest fleet in the competition’s history with 91 keelboats and over a thousand sailors from 33 countries across the globe. Conditions have been good for much of the week, and comments centered on the enjoyable racing and spectacular beach-side parties each evening.

While the regatta proved challenging for them against a fleet of relatively new IRC 40 footers, Rick Pointon's team on the J/130 JING JING from Hong Kong, China hung in the top ten and got in some great racing, even managing a fourth in one of them.  In the end, the more professional teams prevailed while the corinthian sailors had an enjoyable time in the spectacular sailing conditions-- a far cry from last year's storms, rain, wind, waves that saw some wreckage on the beaches in front of the gorgeous Kata Beach Club Resort. Rick is hoping a few more J Sailors join him for next year's event!   Sailing photo credits- Guy Nowell.   For more Phuket King's Cup Regatta sailing information.

JING JING Loving King's Cup

(Kata Beach, Phuket, Thailand)- The 25th Anniversary edition of the Phuket King's Cup Regatta is underway and the huge fleet has so far been blessed with remarkably nice weather conditions despite prognostications to the contrary.  Despite grim weather forecasts early in the week, a light North Easterly flow has arrived each morning and lasted into the afternoon for the first two days.  Such idyllic conditions allowed the race committee to choose the 27 mile passage race to the SE of Phuket for the Racing classes, 10-12 kt winds was enough for the yachts to stem the strong out going tide and by short tacking along the islands make their way to the turning marks. Although the wind faded on the run back the assistance from the current carried the yachts in the direction of the finish.  The third day of racing set sail in the best weather conditions of the week so far, with winds up to 16 knots providing some exciting sailing for many boats.

While the first two days have proved challenging for them, Rick Pointon's team on the J/130 JING JING from Hong Kong, China are hanging in the top ten so far with a few days left of racing in their IRC Class 1.  Like last year, things can change pretty fast in this competitive fleet.  Here's to hoping JING JING gets some breaks and makes a good run at the top five overall!   Sailing photo credits- Guy Nowell.   For more Phuket King's Cup Regatta sailing information.

J/130 JING JING Plans King's Cup Redux

(Kata Beach, Phuket, Thailand)- A record fleet is expected for the 25th Anniversary edition of the Phuket King's Cup Regatta.  From December 3rd to 10th, over 1,000 sailors will descend upon the gorgeous, crescent shaped Kata Beach for more fun and games in Asia's largest regatta.  More than 35 nationalities will partake, noting an especially strong increase in the number of sailors from China taking part in the sailing and festivities.

Famed for being Asia's largest big boat regatta, the Phuket King's Cup Regatta was founded in 1987 with a mixed fleet of dinghies, boards and keelboats. Over the years, the Regatta has grown in size and stature to become the jewel in the crown of the Asia yachting circuit, welcoming the best-of-the-best from around Asia and beyond to compete annually in Phuket.

As they have in past years, hoping to be amongst the top three of the IRC Class 2 leader-board will again be Rick Pointon's team on the J/130 JING JING from Hong Kong, China.  Last year, Rick's team was dueling for the lead of IRC Class 2 for most of the event, but finished third overall.  Rick's crew is hoping to build on their experiences and have another go at the top of the podium!  For more Phuket King's Cup Regatta sailing information.

J/41 SOUAY1 Loves Samui Regatta

Just 5 Days Sailing, 7 Nights Partying
(Samui, Thailand)- The brochure is apparently quite accurate.  5 days,  7 nights of bacchanalian fun and merriment.  "Come and enjoy the final regatta of the Asian Yachting Grand Prix in Koh Samui.  Go out on a spectator boat, party with the sailors, enjoy the super car rally, play golf, watch the swimwear fashion show and enjoy the gorgeous island of Koh Samui. Bring your friends, bring your family, but just don't miss this fantastic event!"  Yes, that's what the brochure says.  Believe it, a "must sail" event on anyone's "bucket list".

Starting at the end of May, for one week each year the normally tranquil waters around Koh Samui comes alive with top level yacht racing. Thirty yachts descended on the tropical resort island, deep in the South China Sea to contest the Sawadee.com Regatta and the season ending AYGP Championship. Better known as a high end tourist destination and neighboring Ko Pangan for its full moon parties, the regatta organizers are also engaged the local community by promoting a Supercar Rally, Fashion shows, Property Exhibition and transforming the event into a Luxury Lifestyle week. Sailors celebrated the 10th running of the regatta, a mixture of passage and buoy racing in conjunction with a variety of great parties held at some of the classiest resorts on the Island.

Sailing in the event were two well-known J's that sail and race in the region.  One is Jean Rheault's beautifully re-conditioned J/41 One-tonner SOUAY1 sailing IRC 2 and the other is Rick Poulson's snazzy J/130 JING-JING sailing IRC 1.  

On the first day of racing, the fleet was greeted with 10 knots from the South.  The fleet sailed briskly away on windward/leeward courses. Although as the overcast sky lifted the breeze started to fade as Race 1 was coming to a conclusion and the 12 o'clock WindGURU bewitching hour was fast approaching. As the wind became unstable and started to clock around there was a lengthy two hour wait before the race committee could get Race 2 underway. All skippers were keen to get going and the crowded starting line in Division 1 & 2 would determine the tactics on the upwind leg.

In IRC 1, Rick Poulson's J/130 JING JING helmed by Steve McConaghy missed out eclipsing their top competitor by twenty seconds, so had to settle for second.  For IRC 2/Cruising class, Jean Rheault's J/41 One Tonner SOUAY 1 traded second and third places to be tied on points for the top of the podium.

For the second day of racing, the heavy overcast sky prevented the morning breeze from pushing through, so PRO Ross Chisholm sent the mark boats in all directions in search of wind. Eventually a patch was found to the East of the Ko Samui and Ko Pangan passage and the 'Follow Me' instruction came crackling over the radio. Thirty minutes after the prescribed start time the starting sequence began with the Racing Class away in 7-8 knots of Westerly breeze.  Several boats were caught off guard and desperately tried under spinnaker to get to the start line. Shortly after starting the breeze faded and the skippers had to contend with a strong Northerly flowing current after rounding the top mark. Another announcement that all courses will be shortened at the bottom mark, bought some relief but the minefield still had to be delicately crossed. Tactical decisions to gybe down current towards the wind line or stay in the light stuff and stem the tide. Initially it looked good down tide but as time wore on, their hopes washed away in the current.

The start line bungle and shifty conditions turned the IRC 1 result sheet up side down with JING JING having a "slow day".  However, in the IRC 2/Cruising class Jean Rheault's J/41 One Tonner SOUAY 1 claimed the daily double in the light conditions.  After further canvassing the wind situation and setting up the course in a new wind line, just as the starting sequence was about to get underway the wind died out and changed direction, so that PRO Ross Chisholm had no alternative other than cancel racing for the day. Despite the committee's persistence the wind did not want to play the game.

Happy days greeted the fleet again for the third day of racing.  It was time to rejoice, the South Westerly tradewind returned and PRO Ross Chisholm was game enough to run two windward/leeward races followed by a passage race to the South of Ko Samui. This may have been a result of last nights torrential downpour that turned the roads in Chaweng into rivers. As the yachts reached the southern turning mark the gathering gray clouds may have put an end to the bright sunshine and fair sailing conditions but added 30 knot breezes and blinding rain into the equation.

In IRC 1, Poulson's JING JING was just off the pace again.  And, a repeat occurred in IRC 2,  Jean's SOUAY 1 traded first and second places to run away with the top podium places from the rest of the competitors in the overall stakes.

For the fourth day of racing, post a massive party lay-day situation (fashion show pictured at right), it was going to take some time for crews to rehabilitate and remember how to sail their boats all over again! Consolidating the results was on the mind of all the skippers today. Getting clear air off the start line and quickly up the first windward beat has produced consistent podium places for the top boats in each class. Being mid fleet at the top mark means playing catch up for the rest of the race. Racing got away on time in fresh 12-14 knot SW trade wind which held in for the first race but faded and clocked around to seaward before racing could be resumed. Once again, PRO Ross Chisholm patiently waited for the wind to settle before firing off two more races for the Racing and IRC 1 classes.

In the IRC 2/Cruising class Jean SOUAY 1 claimed line honours but not far enough in front to make a difference and settled on second place and second overall.

The final day came down to one passage race shootout, down South to the Mat Sum mark and back for the Racing and IRC 1 classes. The IRC 2 class set off in 10 knots of breeze on a slightly shorter passage race to finish off the event. Only seconds separated the leaders as they went tack for tack, picking the wind shifts on the long windward beat. As the breeze faded the boats began to struggle into the current. Luckily the breeze returned in time for all classes to round the mark and set off downwind. As there was no sign of the sea breeze, PRO Ross Chisholm called it a day at the Hin Ang Wang gate for all classes.  In the end, Jean Rheault's J/41 One Tonner SOUAY 1 won the last race but in the overall stakes took second!  And, Rick Poulson's J/130 JING JING took fourth overall in their class.  Needless to say, all the crews enjoyed the Fashion Show, the Super Car Show, the Awards and the extraordinary hospitality all around!  How many of you are going to join them next year?   For more Samui Regatta Sailing information    Samui Regatta Sailing Facebook Group    Sailing photo credits- Annie Sophie

  

J/41 SOUAY I Cruising Thailand

* Speaking of offshore racing and cruising experiences in far-flung islands and harbors across the Pacific, ever hear of renowned French offshore sailor/cruiser Jean Rheault?  Jean is yet another J/41 aficionado, sharing a love for the beautiful, rakishly ended IOR J/41 along with other notable sailors you may know like Ken Read of PUMA and Scot Tempesta of Sailing Anarchy infamy.  Jean has loved the J/41 for years, sailing it across the Pacific and continues to do so today sailing in the fabulous waters off Malaysian and Indonesia and Thailand.  He bought his first J-41 in 1997, MERRIMAC, which he lost on the Sable Island sand bank on a trip from Newport, RI across the Atlantic to the Azores Islands (note- it was the same MERRIMAC sailed by Bob and Stu Johnstone in the 1985 Admiral's Cup trials in Newport).  Jean then bought his current J/41, now called SOUAY I, in Newport Beach CA when it was named SEQUOIA.  He then single-handed the J/41 across the Pacific to Thailand where it got a brand new teak deck with a bimini salon cockpit and a V-berth.

After sailing in December in the Kings Cup (Phuket, Thailand), winning Modern Classic Class BTW, Jean says, "I am sailing solo from Phuket-Thailand to Pattaya-Thailand, via Singapore.  I bring SOUAY I in the Indian Ocean to do the area regattas. Now I am sailing back to China Sea, there are 2 regattas this spring-- Top Of The Gulf in Pattaya and the Samui Regatta."  After that, SOUAY I heads back to Ocean Marina near Pattaya are south of Bangkok.  Jean encourages any J lovers to visit him in Thailand, SOUAY is available for day and event charters- he says "the wind is 10 to 12 knots 80% of the time, weather is 28C to 32C all year long and the ocean is at 30C. It's simply spectacular sailing.  Plus, SOUAY I charms everyone who's seen and sailed her with her beauty and her grace-- everyone loves her- from Olympic sailors who appreciate the J-Boat helm sensation, to very famous TV and Movie Stars in Thailand, they lay back in the big cockpit bed under the bimini, relax and drink a glass of cool white wine, and then they want to stay for a  life-time..... not joking!"  No worries there Jean, we believe you based on these beautiful and amazing pictures of your experiences with many new-found sailing friends!   

Kings Cup Phuket

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.