‘Tropical Island Regatta’ 
 
Koh Samui, Thailand. 31 May, 2010 – The 2010 Sawadee.com Regatta began today 
in glorious conditions, with blue skies overhead and clear blue waters below, as the 
racing  fleet  headed  out  to  sea  for  this  tropical  island  regatta  off  the  shores  of 
Chaweng Beach, located on the eastern coastline of Koh Samui, Thailand. 
 
2009 Sawadee.com Regatta Racing Class Winner, Neil Pryde and the crew of Hi Fi, 
have returned  to defend  their  title – and will be expecting  fierce competition  in  their 
division from Ray Roberts of Evolution Racing, Frank Pong of Jelik II (Boracay) and 
Nick Burns/Fred Kinmouth of EFG Bank Mandrake.  
 
The  regatta will  see  five  classes  battling  it  out  over  the week-long  event: Racing, 
IRC-1, Premier, Bareboat/Cruising and Multihulls.  
 
On Day 1, after a short delay while the start boat headed for a wind line that looked 
promising, all classes got away in 5 to 7 knots of wind. PRO Ross Chisholm elected 
to  send  the Premier Cruisers, Bareboat/Cruising  and Multihull Classes  on Coastal 
Course  1,  up  to  Koh  Phangan.  The Racing  and  IRC Classes  stayed  close  by  for 
short windward/leeward courses.  
 
The much-anticipated clash between Ray Roberts TP52 Evolution Racing and Neil 
Pryde's Welbourn 52 Hi Fi came alive again today, with both fully intent on not giving 
an  inch  to  each  other.  Frank  Pong's  76ft  Jelik  II  (Boracay)  is  prepared  to  get  in 
amongst  the  mix  and  the  Nick  Burns/Fred  Kinmonth  co-owned  Mills  51  EFG 
Mandrake are definitely not here  just  to make up  the numbers. Two close but clear 
starts saw the racers either heading for the coast or staying further offshore. Not only 
was  the adverse current stronger offshore, but  the patchy nature of  the breeze had 
tacticians  constantly  scratching  their heads. So much  so  that during Race 1, Hi Fi 
and Evolution Racing changed places on nearly every  leg of  the  race and much  to 
everyone's  surprise  in  Race  2  all  three  50  footers  led  Frank  Pong's  76ft  Jelik  II 
around  the  first mark and both Pryde and Roberts crossed  the  finish  line  in  front of 
Pong. After a good opening round jostle, Neil Pryde's Hi Fi came out on top in both races  with  Ray  Roberts  Evolution  Racing  in  second  and  the  co-owned  Nick 
Burns/Fred Kinmonth EFG Mandrake in third. 
In  the  IRC Class, a battle of big proportions developed between Ben Copley's Club 
Swan NY 42OD Katsu and David Ross' Kerr 32 Kukukerchu. Race 1 was shortened 
at the top mark on the second rounding, which saw Katsu take out the daily double in 
front of Kukukerchu. However  the  roles were  reversed  in Race 2 with Kukukerchu 
taking out  the handicap honours which has  them  tied on overall points after Day 1. 
Brad Kirk's Farr 42 Dynamite did the best of the rest by posting two third places and 
making the Thai based foreign crew members very happy in their home waters. 
The early leaders in the Premier Cruisers sailed into some light patches on the long 
run  home. At  the  end  of  the  day  it was  the  smallest  in  the  class, Gary Baguley's 
Holman & Pye 52 El Coyote,  that  took handicap honours  from Peter Forsythe and 
Jing Lee's X55 Xena  that sailed solidly  to claim  line honours. Jon Wardill's Cassidy 
55 Australian Maid was one of the yachts that sailed down the middle of the course 
to settle on third place. 
The interesting mix of entries in the Bareboat/Cruising class on the coastal race saw 
John Stall's Atkins 34 Lanta Concept take out the daily double in front of the Sunsail 
boats. Nigel Hopkins Oyster Lightwave 48 Celere jumped up into second place after 
handicaps  have  been  applied.  Scott  Finisten's  Oceanis  461  Andrew  Short  - 
Constanza slipped  into  third place -  the  first  time  in  two years at  this event  that  this 
boat has lost a race.  
In  the Multihull  class Kirati Assakul's  (Nim) Crowther  42 Sonic  is  up  against  three 
locally built bi-plane rigged catamarans and despite all of their best laid plans, Sonic 
managed  to  come  out  on  top  on  the  coastal  race. Kunta's  (Samui Ocean Sports} 
Radical Bay Team Zazen is one of the first bi-plane rigged boats to be built on Koh 
Samui and scored second place in front of the new designs from the home of the bi-
plane rigs. Kim Thomas' Storm maybe a Tornado look alike but had to settle on third 
place today.  
Peter Churchouse, Skipper of Moonblue 2, summed up this tropical island regatta at 
yesterday’s  opening  Press Conference  by  saying,  “We  love  the  sailing  here  –  it’s 
great  fun and offers us  the opportunity  to come  together at a great destination with 
friends and family from around the world – great sailing, great food, great parties and 
great camaraderie – what more can you ask for?”  
 
Callum  Laing,  Chairman  of  the  Sawadee.com  Regatta,  commented,  “The 
Sawadee.com Regatta 2010 is off to a great start with Neil Pryde and his crew on Hi 
Fi  setting  the  pace  for  the  week  ahead.  The  on-the-water  action  has  been 
spectacular and we’re all set for a great week of racing”. 
 
Adding to the action at this year’s regatta are two entries from the Royal Thai Navy. 
‘Naval  Academy  1’  &  ‘Naval  Academy  2’  –  both  Farr  MRX  design  boats  are 
competing  in  the  IRC-1 Division. Crewed by Naval cadets between 20-22 years of 
age, the regatta experience not only helps develop their competitive sailing skills, but 
also provides them with valuable life and social skills. The cadets, who are based at 
the Sattahip Royal Thai Naval Base South of Bangkok, have  trained extensively  for 
the  regatta  over  the  past  two  weeks  and  clearly  enjoy  this  sailing  development opportunity. Lt Commander Atthasit Wongpaibool directs the cadet programme, “The 
last time the Royal Thai Navy competed in Samui, we came first in our division. We’ll 
be pushing hard for a similar result in 2010”. 
 
The  Regatta  continues  through  to  Saturday  5th
  June,  with  a  daily  spectator  boat 
following the racing fleet. 
 
Ends/ 
 
For additional Sawadee.com Media Updates, please see: 
www.samuiregatta.com 
 
High-resolution images from the Sawadee.com Regatta 2010, Samui, are 
available at: 
www.flickr.com/photos/sawadee-com-regatta-2009-samui  
 
Excerpts in this press release are re-produced with thanks to ‘Asian 
Yachting’ (http://asianyachting.com) 
 
Media Contacts: 
Citrus Public Relations: 
Ian Grundy 
ian.grundy@citrus-pr.com 
Tel: +65 67364119 
 
Rachel Raeburn 
rachel.raeburn@citrus-pr.com 
Tel: +65 67364119 
 
About the Sawadee.com Regatta 2010, Samui 
The Sawadee.com Regatta 2010, Samui, is an annual event that takes place on the  
beautiful  Thai  island  of  Koh  Samui.  Now  in  its  ninth  year,  this  ‘Tropical  Island 
Regatta’ has become one of the main events on the Asian sailing circuit and attracts 
an international fleet. 
 
New events such as the Sawadee.com Regatta Open, a golf tournament held at the 
Santiburi  Samui Country Club  and  Asia’s  Biggest  Bootcamp,  a  three-day  nutrition 
and fitness workshop; will be held in conjunction with the regatta this year.   
 
Web Sawadee PLC is the title sponsor with Centara Grand and Singa as co-partners.  
 
Event partners are Hertz Rent-a-Car, Prana Resorts & Spa, B1 Villa & Spa, Beach 
Republic,  Travel  +  Leisure,  Samui  Villa  &  Home,  Dhevatara,  Kandaburi  Resort  & 
Spa, Anantara Lawana, Mont Clair, The Wall Street Journal, Virgin Radio Thailand 
and Renaissance Koh Samui Resort & Spa. 

For further details see www.samuiregatta.com 

Source: http://www.samuiregatta.com