17-mile Pursuit Race highlights Race Day 4 of the 21st Samui Regatta

Race Day 4 of the 21st Samui Regatta took place south of Samui Island, featuring and exciting Pursuit Race and 2 races for IRC Open Class.

Simon James, Race Director, said “After a night of thunderstorms and rain, the sailors woke to a windlass sea, but after a brief AP Ashore, while the race committee checked the area, racing got underway on schedule with a 17-mile pursuit race. The smallest boat on the fleet, Garth Riley's Adams 10 from Australia lead the starts at 10:05 followed by the rest of the fleet at allocated times with the bigger boats starting more than 45 minutes later.”

With winds building between 10 and 18 knots, the larger boats hunted down the early starters with Marcel Leidts' Ker 46 Zannekin from Hongkong just catching Terry Fosters' A35 Iolanthe from Australia on the finish line, closely followed by Hongkong’s Freefire, and Tenacious and Aftershock from Australia. The Race was also scored under IRC using the individual start times, with Sam Chan's TP52 Freefire coming out in front of Zannekin and Iolanthe. 

“With all boats crossing the finish line very close together the race management team quickly reset the course into a 1.5 mile windward/leeward race. As the storm clouds built and winds increased to 25 knots, it was an exciting spectacle with Iolanthe coming in 1st on corrected time, closely followed by Zannekin, Freefire, Tenacious and Aftershock,” said Simon.

Australian Terry Foster, skipper of A35 Iolanthe 3, representing Thailand’s Ocean Marina Yacht Club, said, “This year is the second time we joined the Samui Regatta. We have been very impressed with the regatta arrangement, fun racing and hospitality of Koh Samui.Today was the best racing of the regatta. First race was a pursuit passage race whereby the RO (Simon James) used a predictive IRC algorithm to calculate the start times of the various yachts with the intention of predicting a cracking and close finish…and that was exactly how it played out with Zannekin eclipsing Iolanthe just as the finishing line was crossed. The 10 to 15 knots breeze was the best of the series and Simon kept the fleet on the course to do a quick two laps of windward/leeward racing in a building breeze peaking at 25 knots. The sailors showed excellent seamanship skills to get their boats around the course clocking boat speeds up to 18 knots. All crews have said that it was the best day of sailing for the series!”

The Samui Regatta, a prestigious event in the international sailing calendar, runs from May 25 to June 1, 2024. All the keelboats compete in picturesque setting of Chaweng Beach, off from the Host Venue and regatta center at Nora Beach Resort and Spa. Daily prize giving parties have been arranged for socializing during the five days competition. 

The Samui Regatta Organizing Committee, in collaboration with the Yacht Racing Association of Thailand under the Royal Patronage, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), the Tourism Association of Koh Samui, the Surat Thani Province, and Regatta Asia, orchestrates this renowned event. 

The 21st Samui Regatta 2024 is proudly supported by an array of sponsors essential to its success. Co-sponsors include The Nora Hotel Group, Chaweng Regent Beach Resort, Bangkok Airways, Bangkok Hospital Samui, Haad Thip PCL, Frank Pong & Team Jelik, Singha, Samui VertiColor, Chaweng Gardens Beach Resort, and SUNNE. Media partners include VivaldiPR, Thailand Marine Guide, and Sea Yachting Magazine.