Return of Phuket boat racing
The islands of Phuket’s southeast coast will be dotted with more than 40 boats during the Cape Panwa Hotel Phuket Raceweek, which will kick off on Tuesday and run until Sunday.
Organised by Meida Business Services in collaboration with the Phuket Yacht Club and the Yacht Racing Association of Thailand, the 15th edition of the award-winning regatta is comprised of four days of world-class yacht racing in six or more classes and four nights of beachside parties.
It will bring more than 450 sailors and family members from 25 countries to compete, with an impressive line-up of 40-footers, including Ramrod (Farr 40), Loco (Club Swan 42), East Marine Emagine (Sydney 40), Aquari (Sydney 40), Prime Factor (Farr 40) and Megazip (Cookson 12).
They will be joined by a good cross-section of boats and crews in the IRC Racing II and Cruising Monohull classes, while the four multihull classes will see at least 17 boats.
Also heading into this year’s sporting event will be three all-female crews, plus female sailors racing on boats across the fleet. The two Farr 1140s, Farrgo Express and Krabi Boat Lagoon Pinocchio, are both chartered, and each is being raced by an all-female crew from Australia, while Astraeus will be raced by a Phuket-based all-female team.
As the season-opener for the prestigious 2018/19 AsianYachting Grand Prix — a circuit of 13 top-tier sailing events throughout Asia — the Cape Panwa Hotel Phuket Raceweek has gained a reputation for providing competitive world-class racing and an unrivalled beachfront social scene.