Now in its fourth fantastic year the SEA Properties Multihull Challenge in conjunction with the Ao Chalong Yacht Club, is taking place from 15th-17th July.
This event is Asia’s biggest multihull regatta offering superb racing conditions in a unique event that has expanded an impressive 30% year on year since it began in 2008. This year’s race will see an exciting array of 25-30 yachts on the start line daily, the introduction of two new classes plus the national championship competition for the Corsair Cup.
The tropical waters surrounding Phuket are particularly appropriate for racing multihull yachts and with the number of catamarans and trimarans located throughout Asia on the up; more and more sailors are joining in this thrilling event to take advantage of the opportunity to race a multihull. Plus by popular demand, the organisers of the SEA Properties Multihull Challenge are also introducing two new racing divisions for 2011, a Cruising Class and a Classic Class. The event continues to be the biggest Firefly yachting race in Asia with a full fleet anticipated in a highly competitive class, whilst over 12 yachts are expected in the Ocean Multihull Class.
What marks this regatta as unique are Phuket’s changeable July winds leading to an inconsistency in race results. Countless memorable moments have been made in previous years where a race has taken place on a windy morning followed by a huge drop in winds throughout the afternoon, resulting in different boats staking their place race by race. This variety of the weather conditions makes for an ‘all to count’ or no mistakes race, everything counts in this regatta and yachties can’t afford to have a bad day as it will be tallied.
As regattas go, the SEA Properties Multihull Challenge is considerably low effort in that everything takes place from Ao Chalong Yacht Club located on the south of Phuket Island. You’ll be hard pushed to find a setting as visually stunning as this in which to sail, so it’s no surprise that the organisers have a brilliant selection of sponsors on board to add to the action on and off the water. Principal sponsors include Corsair Marine, Derani Yachts and Sea Bees, whilst the Ao Chalong Yacht Club, Andaman Cabriolet and Image Sponsor form the lineup of co-sponsors promising some special prizes.
Corsair Marine, Derani Yachts and Sea Bees each sponsor a post-race party at Ao Chalong Yacht Club, with a total of four parties taking place over the three days racing. Parties include a free bar and free food served from 6:30pm–8:30pm, with prize giving taking place early Sunday evening. In addition sponsors Corsair Marine will be running their national championship where winners will take home the prestigious Corsair Cup. The addition of the cup has brought with it a host of new entrants from the top of the Gulf.
Director of Racing Peter Dyer is looking forward to welcoming crew from across the globe in what promises to be another spectacular year “The SEA Properties Multihull Challenge is very appealing for so many reasons. Firstly the waters off Phuket are absolutely perfect for this type of racing, secondly everything is happening from Ao Chalong Yacht Club requiring minimum effort on part of the crew plus the entrance fee per boat is very reasonable at only 7,000 THB. The regatta itself is packed full of surprising moment due to the unpredictable July weather making it a pretty open race, although yachts to watch this year are Andaman Cabriolet’s ‘Sidewinder’, Corsair Marine’s ‘Miss Saigon’ and of course ‘Voodoo Child’ in the Firefly class. If you’ve never raced in a Multihull but always wanted to have a go, then why not come over and join in.”
Sailors visiting Phuket are also being offered great room rates at the new Palm Garden Resort located in Chalong. Visit www.sea-bees.com and follow the link for Palm Garden or call +66 76 280 650.
Registration takes place on Thursday 14th July with briefing taking place at 9am on Friday 15th July. This is followed by a programme of five races – two taking place on Friday, two more on Saturday and one on Sunday. To find out more, please contact Peter Dyer at race@sea-property.com or on +66 81 892 3111 or visit www.acyc-phuket.com for more detail

The third SEA Property International Phuket Multihull Championship will take place July 16, 17 and 18 in the Chalong Bay area. This increasingly popular event is expected to attract over 20 entries this year and is a perfect feeder event for Six Senses Phuket Raceweek.

The event is sponsored by SEA Property and organised and hosted by the Ao Chalong Yacht Club and comprises 3 days of racing with 4 parties. Registration is on the Thursday evening with a briefing on the Friday at 9am at ACYC prior to the first scheduled warning signal at 11am. This is followed by a program of five races to be held on the Friday (2), Saturday (2) and Sunday (1) with evening parties at the Yacht Club sponsored by Sea Bees, Corsair Marine and Derani Yachts. Our logistics sponsors also include Andaman Cabriolet, Latitude 8 and our media partner IMAGE Asia with Elite Wine promising some special prizes.

One of the reasons for the popularity of this event is that in the absence of monohull boats, many sailors get the opportunity to experience exhilarating racing on multihull boats for the first time.

South East Asia is an area where multihulls work particularly well and we are delighted to have on board 3 of the multihull manufacturers from the region. Latitude 8 with the Fireflys and the Whitehavens, Corsair Marine represented by perhaps as many as 6 or 7 boats and the Andaman Cabriolet, a new design built by Composite Catamarans, are all expected to compete.

We anticipate that the full fleet of Firefly 850 one design class (9 boats) and the ocean multihull class is expected to exceed 12 boats. Cruising multihulls will be included in this year’s event with primarily offwind courses. This unrated class will be given handicaps by the multihull designer and rating expert Mark Pescott.

Prize giving on the Sunday will be around 5pm giving everybody time to prepare for Monday.

There will be longtail access to the boats in the bay and dinghies may be stored at the club.

There will be a full breakfast menu at the club and a lunch pack will be available if ordered on time!

Please note that the first warning signals are as follows: Friday 11am, Saturday 12 noon, Sunday (1 race only) 12.30pm. These are dictated by tidal considerations.

July proved to be a month to savour for SEA Property International as the company celebrated the twin successes of launching South East Asia’s first ever all Multihull Regatta, followed by a nail biting first place finish in the Firefly 850 class at the ever competitive Evason Phuket Raceweek.

The SEA Property Multihull Championship, 11-13 July

A brand new regatta took to the waters for the very first time in Phuket this July. The SEA Property Multihull Championship attracted a competitive field of 11 boats for an exciting two days of racing. Competitors were favoured with clear skies and gentle wind conditions as they set off from Chalong bay on the islands south east coast for a hotly contested opening days racing, which was dominated by Phuket locals Henry Kaye aboard Mamba in the Firefly 850 class and Bob Brindley on X-Cat Riot in the Multihulls.

Crews spent the Saturday evening unwinding and soaking up the atmosphere in the comfortable surroundings of the Ratri Jazztaurant in Kata before getting back to the serious business of racing on the Sunday. Many of the boats competing in the event have previously tasted success in other well known regattas throughout Asia but after a 2^nd day of short course and island racing it was ultimately the opening days leading team Mamba who emerged victorious in the Firefly 850’s, with Neil Ayre and his team snatching overall victory aboard Shanghai Baby in the Multihulls. The winning teams accepted their trophies at the closing ceremony and after race party at Jimmy’s Lighthouse restaurant on the Chalong Bay waterfront.

The regatta brings something unique to Phuket as the very first of its kind in South East Asia to be dedicated solely to the Multihull (Catamaran or Trimaran) Class. Indeed the majority of the boats racing in the Firefly 850 class are the creation of respected local boat builder Mark Horwood and designer Mark Pescott, of the Latitude 8 boatyard, a Phuket based boat building company which has been responsible for the launch of more than 30 vessels in the past few years. Mark Pescott himself competed in the Firefly Class on Twin Sharks, a boat of his own design and commented “overall the racing was excellent and well organized as were the Saturday and Sunday night presentations. We have a large local fleet of multihulls here in Phuket and it offers a great opportunity for monohull sailors to experience a new type of racing”.

The event was organised in conjunction with the Ao Chalonag Yacht Club. Mick Kealy, the clubs president is enthusiastic for the races future, commenting “the regatta will definitely be a fixture on our calendar next year”. Mick went on to say “By having a dedicated multihull regatta we are achieving several important points. Firstly we make it specialized so the local and international media pick up on it as it is the only of its kind in Asia. Secondly during the off peak season it can be hard to get experienced crew to fill the boats, with the multihull regatta almost half of the sailors racing normally race on keel boats so by having them available we were able to get more boats on the water and increase the overall strength of competition and spectacle out on the water”.

Commenting on SEA Property International’s sponsorship of the event, company MD Norbert Witthinrich expressed his enthusiasm, saying “we were delighted to have the opportunity to sponsor Phuket’s first ever Multihull Regatta. Sailing is one of the most recognised and prestigious sports in South East Asia and remains a focal point of interest in Phuket. Events such as this raise the profile of Phuket and this can only be good for local businesses and the development of the island on the whole”. He went on to explain “The Kings Cup and Evason Phuket Raceweek already generate a huge amount of excitement, competition and media coverage and we are very hopeful that we can build on the success and positive feedback from this year’s race debut to build an even bigger, better event to raise the profile of the multihull class and set the standard for multihull racing throughout Asia in the future”.

Local yachtsman Peter Dyer, a key figure in the organisation of the regatta and owner and skipper of the SEA Property boat, which finished 4^th in the Firefly 850 class added, “the level of competition and quality of sailing over the two days was fantastic and I was thrilled with the response from all the sailors involved. Our expectation is to at least double the number of entries next year as the event acts as a perfect feeder to the Evason Raceweek and we believe that with this year’s success we can attract new boats from further afield and increase the level of competition and enjoyment for the spectators still further”.

Evason Raceweek, 23-27 July

SEA Property, skippered by Peter Dyer gained revenge upon close rival Mamba, victors in the Multihull Championship a week earlier after 8 fiercely contested races to claim the much coveted first place on the podium in the Firefly 850 Class at the Evason Raceweek. Mamba finished a close 2^nd, with fellow Phuket local Roger Kingdom 3^rd on Moto Inzi.

In the top rated IRC 1 class, Australian based skipper Peter Ahern devastated the field with a perfect 8 from 8 race wins on his yacht Yo!2, while victory in the IRC 2 class was taken by Niels Degenkolw on his Phuket-based yacht Phoenix. SEA Properties own Madam Butterfly finished a credible 2^nd in this category.

The popularity of Raceweek continues to grow at an incredible rate, with entries for 2008 up 40% on the previous year. Following another excellent week of racing, the regatta is fast turning into the yachting spectacle of the ‘low’ season across South East Asia.

2008 Phuket Kings Cup Regatta, 29 November – 6 December 2008

Be sure not to miss the thrills and spills of Asia’s number one yachting spectacle, The Phuket Kings Cup. Established in 1987, to celebrate the birthday of His Majesty the King of Thailand, the regatta has become the single largest event of its kind across Asia. This year’s festivities begin with registration on Saturday 29^th November, with 5 days of racing commencing on Monday 1^st December.

A brand new racing regatta makes its Phuket debut in July with the launch of the SEA Property Multihull Championship at Ao Chalong. Two races are scheduled to take place each day on the 12^th and 13^th of July with registration, a full race briefing and opening party to be held on the 11^th at the Ao Chalong Yacht Club (ACYC) clubhouse between 6 and 9pm. Both island and inshore courses will feature dependent on weather conditions. A full book of courses and sailing instructions will be issued to all competitors on registration.

The event is set to be keenly contested with many of the top yachts and crews from across the region expected to compete. Racing will be divided into 2 classes: Firefly 850 One Design Class and Ocean Multihull Class.

Trophies will be presented for both days racing to the overall placings in both divisions with a party for all competitors and guests to be held at Ratri Jazztaurant in Kata at 7pm on the evening of Saturday the 12^th. A barbeque and final prize giving ceremony will take place at Jimmy’s Lighthouse in Chalong at 6pm on Sunday the 13^th July.

The deadline for entries is 9pm on July 11^th, so it is not too late to take the plunge and be a part of the very first SEA Property Multihull Championship.

Registration forms are available from the SEA Property International office in Rawai or the Ao Chalong Yacht Club. For further information contact either: Peter Dyer on 081 271 0018 or Mick Keely on 081 396 0785. Email enquiries to pr@sea-property-international.com

For the 2nd straight year, the SEA Property International sponsored Madam Butterfly raced home to 1st place in the IRC 2 Class of the 2007 Kings Cup. An experienced crew, lead by skipper Peter Dyer and tactician and former Olympic squad coach Adam Bowers returned to Phuket to re-claim the trophy in fine style.

Managing Director Norbert Witthinrich commented; “SEA Property International are delighted to continue our sponsorship of Madam Butterfly and support of Asia’s premier racing regatta. As a business we can identify with what it takes to be number one and I am pleased that the prestigious Kings Cup event has once again resulted in a 1st place finish for us”