Whitcraft and his crew too good

Natthaphong in showdown with Olympic champ

Skipper Kevin Whitcraft and his experienced crew aboard Wan Marang won both races yesterday to surge to the top of the IRC Zero Class on the second day of the 26th Phuket King's Cup Regatta off Kata Beach.

Regatta president Whitcraft leapfrogged Mohamad Razali Mansor's Royal Malaysian Navy (Utarid) who had led after the first three races on the opening day.

In ideal winds of 10-14 knots yesterday, Whitcraft led the six-yacht fleet in the IRC Zero Class with an aggregate nine points. Frank Pong's Jelik was in second with 13 points, tied with Mansor's Royal Malaysian Navy.

"We claimed two firsts today. We sailed very well at the start, thanks to the good winds," said Whitcraft.

"Fortunately, I have the same teamwork and the same crew on board. That made it very easy to work together. As we have a multi-national crew, I speak English to them, but when in a panic, I speak Thai since the majority are Thais."

In the IRC One Class, Bill Bremner, skippering Foxy Lady 6, won the fifth race and maintained the lead with 10 points overall. Ichi Ban, helmed by Australian David Fuller, finished second in both races yesterday to trail in second spot in the class. Steve Manning skippered the Singapore's Walawala 2 to third after collecting an overall 15 points.

Australian Matt Allen on Ichi Ban continued his winning streak in the IRC2 Class to bag five points after four races. Former national sailor Wiwat Poonpat, skippering Royal Thai Navy 1, was disqualified in the fourth race yesterday, but remained in second spot in the class after collecting an aggregate 14 points, while Briton Peter Dyer aboard Kata Rocks met a similar fate in the fourth race. He had 15 points after four races to trail in third place overall.

The Thai-registered Voodoo, with Hans Rahmann at the helm, captured both races yesterday to stay unchallenged with seven points in the Firefly 850 Sports Class.

Trailing in second and third places are Dyer Straits's Peter Dyer and Advanced Racing Team from China, disqualified in the fifth race yesterday, after collecting 12 and 18 points respectively.

It was a tight contest in the Multihull Class where Thai-registered Mojo (Peter Wilcox) dropped to third in the fourth race yesterday, but came back stronger to cross the finish line first in the next race.

As a result, Wilcox still leads the Class with eight points, leaving close rival, Aussie Andrew Stransky on Fantasia, in second place just one point behind. Mark Thornborrow, skippering Sweet Charlot, trails in third with a distant 15 points.

Tuay Lek's Scott Duncanson collected eight points to lead all challengers after four races in the Platu One Design Class, followed by Japanese Junichai Ishikawa aboard The Beaver and Makiko Matsuishi, skippering IPPAI, with 10 and 12 points respectively.

After three races in the Premier Class, Briton Richard Dobbs aboard Titania of Cowes is in pole position with five points. Thai Ithinai Yingsiri, helming Pine-Pacific, and the Hong Kong-registered Xena's Peter Forsythe and Jing Lee are in second and third places with seven and nine points respectively.

Three Thai-registered boats - Sansiri (Patinyakorn Buranrom), Astraeus (William Sax) and Gokova Sailing (Kirill Stashevskiy) - head the Cruising Class after three races. Patinyakorn and Sax each have eight points, with Stashevskiy on nine.

In the Bareboat Charter Class, Russian Kirill Sakhattzev, skippering Sail Plane, has four points from three races, while Peter Wood aboard the Thai-registered Windstar is top with two points from both races contested so far. In the men's windsurfing, Hong Kong's Chun Leung Michael Cheng leads all 16 challengers with six points from six races. Thai Natthaphong Phonoppharat is second with nine points.

The women's windsurfing saw Olympic champion Marina Alabau Neira from Spain and Hong Kong's Chan Hei Man battling for the title locked on seven points after six races. Today is the final day of windsurfing.

Today, Thai Navy 2 will lead all 170 boats in a spectacular sail past in honour of His Majesty the King on his 85th birthday.

Latest stories in this category

• Heat won't be a problem, says Bubba


• Thai golf fans will finally get to meet one of the..


• Boonchu all set to blaze another trail


• Whitcraft and his crew too good

We Recommend

• Cathay Pacific fires flight attendant in Paetongtarn case


• The flight attendant who allegedly threatened to..


• Vegan diet's role in triumph over cancer


• Democrats to pursue 'rice scam'

Comments conditions

Users are solely responsible for their comments.We reserve the right to remove any comment and revoke posting rights for any reason withou prior notice.

Source: http://www.news.thethailandlinks.com/2012/12/05/whitcraft-and-his-crew-too-good/