Day One
Phuket’s Multihull Solutions Regatta got off to a great start as PRO Simon James, back from a hiatus in the Welsh hinterlands, was able to fit in three races for all classes on day one between squalls and pounding rain.
Fourteen boats were entered in the regatta, but at the start of the regatta the crew on The Sting woke up, took one look at the weather and went back to bed. Charles Robinson’s Star Trek was dealing with problems in another galaxy and then warming up for the first race, Richard Delaney’s Pulse Red broke its rudder, so there were 11 boats raring to go for the 10:30 start time on the first day. Tide tables being what they are it was imperative that PRO James get the boats off early so that the crews could be back at the host Phuket Yacht Club by mid-afternoon when the tide receded.
The skies really opened up near the end of the third race and everyone received a thorough soaking but spirits were high. This was the fifth regatta the Club has staged since the onset of COVID, and for many it is just such a relief and respite to be out doing something and competing against the backdrop of all the restrictions brought on by the pandemic.
This is the eighth regatta where Multihull Solutions has been the title sponsor since they started their sponsorship of the event back in 2014. The winners of the previous regattas are as follows:
2020 – Fugazi; 2019 – Phantom; 2018 – Fugazi; 2017 – Thor; 2016 – Hurricane; 2015 – Hurricane; 2014 - Java
Paul Stamp has now taken over as the Southeast Asian Manager for Multihull Solutions and was graciously on hand to officially start the regatta, Andrew deBruin has moved back to the company’s new office in Brisbane where he will oversee the company’s operations in Asia.
It was great to see PYC Commodore Scott Duncanson on the water again as he was steering Fugazi in this regatta. Scott has done a wonderful promoting and organizing the club’s junior sailing program.
Fourteen boats were entered in the regatta, but at the start of the regatta the crew on The Sting woke up, took one look at the weather and went back to bed. Charles Robinson’s Star Trek was dealing with problems in another galaxy and then warming up for the first race, Richard Delaney’s Pulse Red broke its rudder, so there were 11 boats raring to go for the 10:30 start time on the first day. Tide tables being what they are it was imperative that PRO James get the boats off early so that the crews could be back at the host Phuket Yacht Club by mid-afternoon when the tide receded.
The skies really opened up near the end of the third race and everyone received a thorough soaking but spirits were high. This was the fifth regatta the Club has staged since the onset of COVID, and for many it is just such a relief and respite to be out doing something and competing against the backdrop of all the restrictions brought on by the pandemic.
This is the eighth regatta where Multihull Solutions has been the title sponsor since they started their sponsorship of the event back in 2014. The winners of the previous regattas are as follows:
2020 – Fugazi; 2019 – Phantom; 2018 – Fugazi; 2017 – Thor; 2016 – Hurricane; 2015 – Hurricane; 2014 - Java
Paul Stamp has now taken over as the Southeast Asian Manager for Multihull Solutions and was graciously on hand to officially start the regatta, Andrew deBruin has moved back to the company’s new office in Brisbane where he will oversee the company’s operations in Asia.
It was great to see PYC Commodore Scott Duncanson on the water again as he was steering Fugazi in this regatta. Scott has done a wonderful promoting and organizing the club’s junior sailing program.
Dan Fidock’s Fugazi took top honours in the multihull racing OMR class on day one with two firsts and a third. Team Philippines on Voodoo was second as they made history being the first all Filipino-crew to compete in the MSR and winning the second race. They did a superb job on the water, even if they did lose one of their crew overboard near the end of the first race (quickly recovered and pulled back on board). Warwick Downes’ Bonza, flying its hull as only it can, was third followed by John Newnham’s Twin Sharks with Glywn Rowlands Twister 2 rounding out the class. Rowlands had Alan Carwardine and Roger Diggelmann on board as crew; the fellas who built the boat. Twin Sharks and Voodoo continued their epic Firefly sailing joust throughout all three races.
Multihull Cruising (PHC class) was down to three boats (The Sting, Star Trek & Pulse Red) so the remaining three vessels duked it out for win, place and show with Rick Fielding’s Pulse Yellow taking the top prize as it won all three races. Simon Boyd’s Pulse Grey took second spot in all three races and the legend himself Paul “Flatty” Baker took third in every race. The Pulses also score points in a separate class devoted just to them, the Pulse 600 Division Class.
The three-boat Racing Monohull class saw the skilled Dane Niels Degenkolw win two races on Phoenix to win the class. Jessandra II, the predominately female team was second and Martyn Henman’s Second Nature was out there but hampered by bad weather as it has two DNFs and one FPA.
Multihull Cruising (PHC class) was down to three boats (The Sting, Star Trek & Pulse Red) so the remaining three vessels duked it out for win, place and show with Rick Fielding’s Pulse Yellow taking the top prize as it won all three races. Simon Boyd’s Pulse Grey took second spot in all three races and the legend himself Paul “Flatty” Baker took third in every race. The Pulses also score points in a separate class devoted just to them, the Pulse 600 Division Class.
The three-boat Racing Monohull class saw the skilled Dane Niels Degenkolw win two races on Phoenix to win the class. Jessandra II, the predominately female team was second and Martyn Henman’s Second Nature was out there but hampered by bad weather as it has two DNFs and one FPA.
Day Two
Sixteen months of COVID restrictions will leave anyone itching for some action, so participants in the MSR’21 didn’t mind a delayed start till PRO Simon James could find some wind and send them off through rain-soaked Chalong Bay.
With the weather gods acting up again though one race was all PRO James could muster, and it had to be shortened midway through with most of the competitors having a hard time making it through lap one.
Still everyone was happen to be out there and happy to be competing.
Pulse Red was back on the course today racing against the three other Pulses. The Sting was MIA again but Star Trek returned from its intergalactic rendezvous to give the Pulses some company, as 13 boats were on the water.
With its second-place finish today, Dan Fidock’s Fugazi has a two-point edge in Multihull Racing (OMR) heading into the final day in its quest to be only the second repeat regatta winner, Hurricane being the first. Warwick Downes’ Bonza , Team Philippines Voodoo, John Newnham’s Twin Sharks, and Glywn Rowlands Twister 2 followed in that order today.
Multihull Cruising (PHC class) saw Rick Fielding’s Pulse Yellow take top spot with Simon Boyd’s Pulse Grey in second, Charles Robinson’s Star Trek in third and Paul “Flatty” Baker’s Pulse Blue in fourth.
In the Pulse 600 division after two days racing Pulse Grey sits in first, followed by Pulse Yellow, Pulse Blue and Pulse Red. A big shout-out to Java Watersports’ John Coffin for being able to enter four boats in the regatta.
The three-boat Racing Monohull class saw the crafty Dane Niels Degenkolw lead Phoenix to victory again with Jessandra II coming in second. Rough weather has not been kind to the thirds entrant in the class as Martyn Henman’s Second Nature earned another FPA when it had to retire.
This is the first time a monohull class has participated in the Multihull Solutions Regatta, but it makes sense as title sponsor now had a sister company, the Yacht Sales Company (TYSCo), which deals in keelboats.
With the weather gods acting up again though one race was all PRO James could muster, and it had to be shortened midway through with most of the competitors having a hard time making it through lap one.
Still everyone was happen to be out there and happy to be competing.
Pulse Red was back on the course today racing against the three other Pulses. The Sting was MIA again but Star Trek returned from its intergalactic rendezvous to give the Pulses some company, as 13 boats were on the water.
With its second-place finish today, Dan Fidock’s Fugazi has a two-point edge in Multihull Racing (OMR) heading into the final day in its quest to be only the second repeat regatta winner, Hurricane being the first. Warwick Downes’ Bonza , Team Philippines Voodoo, John Newnham’s Twin Sharks, and Glywn Rowlands Twister 2 followed in that order today.
Multihull Cruising (PHC class) saw Rick Fielding’s Pulse Yellow take top spot with Simon Boyd’s Pulse Grey in second, Charles Robinson’s Star Trek in third and Paul “Flatty” Baker’s Pulse Blue in fourth.
In the Pulse 600 division after two days racing Pulse Grey sits in first, followed by Pulse Yellow, Pulse Blue and Pulse Red. A big shout-out to Java Watersports’ John Coffin for being able to enter four boats in the regatta.
The three-boat Racing Monohull class saw the crafty Dane Niels Degenkolw lead Phoenix to victory again with Jessandra II coming in second. Rough weather has not been kind to the thirds entrant in the class as Martyn Henman’s Second Nature earned another FPA when it had to retire.
This is the first time a monohull class has participated in the Multihull Solutions Regatta, but it makes sense as title sponsor now had a sister company, the Yacht Sales Company (TYSCo), which deals in keelboats.
Day Three
Warwick Downes’ Bonza won the 2021 Multihull Solutions Regatta for the second time in four years, although in 2018 the trimaran was called Fugazi. Ironically, this year it edged out Dan Fidock’s new Fugazi (two less points) to capture the prestigious OMR Multihull Class and win the championship.
Competitors suffered through a veritable cornucopia of climate change in the three short days experiencing everything from soft rain to hard pounding rain; no wind to heavy gusts; calm water to large swells; and sunny blue skies versus overcast grey cloud cover.
Due to lack of wind, PRO Simon James had the boats on the water for three hours and twenty minutes before spotting a bit of breeze and getting the sailors underway at 1:50 needing to get a race underway before his 2:30 start deadline. Unfortunately, the wind, which had been so strong the previous two days, didn’t keep and the race had to be shortened with the racing multihulls getting in one lap of the two-lap race and the other two classes just making it to the top mark for a half-lap race.
Some of the competitors were somewhat distraught having stayed up late to see England lose to Italy on penalty kicks in the UEFA Euro Cup final.
Bonza took first place in the light wind, followed by John Newnham’s Twin Sharks and Dan Fidock’s Fugazi. Team Philippines Voodoo, and Glywn Rowlands Twister 2 followed in that order. Staging the race and that order of finish allowed Bonza to capture the regatta as its lowest finish could be dropped if five races were held. Overall, the final standings in the class were Bonza, Fugazi, Voodoo, Twin Sharks and Twister 2.
Voodoo’s all Filipino crew (Jojo Tayong-helm; Alik Narag-bowman; Jun Ortiz-main trimmer; Melvin Delos Santos-jib/spin trimmer; & Jamar Cabauatan-mast man) sailed without either Hans Rahman or Ian Coulson for the first time and edged out long-time friendly rival Twin Sharks in the regatta. The charismatic crew drew the admiration of fellow competitors with the way they handled their man overboard on day one to their celebration at the final party.
The six-boat Multihull Cruising (PHC class) saw Rick Fielding’s Pulse Yellow (Mick “Octopus” Kealy & Rick “Mojo” Fielding) take top spot with Pulse Grey (Simon Boyd & Roger Cox & Steve Gorton) in second, Pulse Blue (Paul “Flatty” Baker & Mathias Bernsletter) in third and Charles Robinson’s Star Trek in fourth. Pulse Red (Rick Delaney, Apple Vimonchandr & Gregory Morozov) had a tough regatta as it couldn’t even reach the start line on the final morning, let alone the finish line, and as a result of its broken rudder on day one could only get in one race during the regatta. Bill Kane and his crew on The Sting registered but decided to sit out the regatta due to the rough weather.
Pulse Yellow captured the four-boat Pulse 600 division followed by Pulse Grey, Pulse Blue and Pulse Red in that order.
The three-boat Racing Monohull class saw Niels Degenkolw do what he does best – win as Phoenix captured three of the five races in the division. Andrew McDermott’s Jessandra II, and its predominately female crew, gave them a good run for the money though coming in second, winning two races. The rough weather made it very hard for Martyn Henman’s Second Nature, the other boat in the class, to compete and keep up. The standings were the same for the three-boat class when performance handicap (PHS) was factored in.
The buffet dinner and awards presentation were held at the Phuket Yacht Club with James Haste once again doing a wonderful job as Master of Ceremonies. Bt5,5000 was raised for Disabled Sailing Thailand when Alan Carwardine graciously bought a bottle of Kraken at auction.
A big shout-out to PRO Simon James and his crew on the committee boat (Eddie and Susie) and Chandran and David for laying marks and recording times as competitors passed them on the course.
And thank you to the multi-talented Mick Coleman for ably manning and guiding the start boat, a NEEL 51graciously supplied by Paul Stamp and the team at Multihull Solutions.
Kudos to Anthony Gates for supplying the photography rib and for helping any boat in distress. On day one, he towed Pulse Red back to anchor when its rudder broke as well as Bonza when its motor failed to start (good on ya, Gatesy!!).
And congratulations to the Phuket Yacht Club and Commodore Scott Duncanson for staging a great regatta, giving people a little fun and excitement out on the water in these dark and troublesome times. And thank you to Paul Stamp, Andrew de Bruin and all the super folks at Multihull Solutions for sponsoring the regatta.
Competitors suffered through a veritable cornucopia of climate change in the three short days experiencing everything from soft rain to hard pounding rain; no wind to heavy gusts; calm water to large swells; and sunny blue skies versus overcast grey cloud cover.
Due to lack of wind, PRO Simon James had the boats on the water for three hours and twenty minutes before spotting a bit of breeze and getting the sailors underway at 1:50 needing to get a race underway before his 2:30 start deadline. Unfortunately, the wind, which had been so strong the previous two days, didn’t keep and the race had to be shortened with the racing multihulls getting in one lap of the two-lap race and the other two classes just making it to the top mark for a half-lap race.
Some of the competitors were somewhat distraught having stayed up late to see England lose to Italy on penalty kicks in the UEFA Euro Cup final.
Bonza took first place in the light wind, followed by John Newnham’s Twin Sharks and Dan Fidock’s Fugazi. Team Philippines Voodoo, and Glywn Rowlands Twister 2 followed in that order. Staging the race and that order of finish allowed Bonza to capture the regatta as its lowest finish could be dropped if five races were held. Overall, the final standings in the class were Bonza, Fugazi, Voodoo, Twin Sharks and Twister 2.
Voodoo’s all Filipino crew (Jojo Tayong-helm; Alik Narag-bowman; Jun Ortiz-main trimmer; Melvin Delos Santos-jib/spin trimmer; & Jamar Cabauatan-mast man) sailed without either Hans Rahman or Ian Coulson for the first time and edged out long-time friendly rival Twin Sharks in the regatta. The charismatic crew drew the admiration of fellow competitors with the way they handled their man overboard on day one to their celebration at the final party.
The six-boat Multihull Cruising (PHC class) saw Rick Fielding’s Pulse Yellow (Mick “Octopus” Kealy & Rick “Mojo” Fielding) take top spot with Pulse Grey (Simon Boyd & Roger Cox & Steve Gorton) in second, Pulse Blue (Paul “Flatty” Baker & Mathias Bernsletter) in third and Charles Robinson’s Star Trek in fourth. Pulse Red (Rick Delaney, Apple Vimonchandr & Gregory Morozov) had a tough regatta as it couldn’t even reach the start line on the final morning, let alone the finish line, and as a result of its broken rudder on day one could only get in one race during the regatta. Bill Kane and his crew on The Sting registered but decided to sit out the regatta due to the rough weather.
Pulse Yellow captured the four-boat Pulse 600 division followed by Pulse Grey, Pulse Blue and Pulse Red in that order.
The three-boat Racing Monohull class saw Niels Degenkolw do what he does best – win as Phoenix captured three of the five races in the division. Andrew McDermott’s Jessandra II, and its predominately female crew, gave them a good run for the money though coming in second, winning two races. The rough weather made it very hard for Martyn Henman’s Second Nature, the other boat in the class, to compete and keep up. The standings were the same for the three-boat class when performance handicap (PHS) was factored in.
The buffet dinner and awards presentation were held at the Phuket Yacht Club with James Haste once again doing a wonderful job as Master of Ceremonies. Bt5,5000 was raised for Disabled Sailing Thailand when Alan Carwardine graciously bought a bottle of Kraken at auction.
A big shout-out to PRO Simon James and his crew on the committee boat (Eddie and Susie) and Chandran and David for laying marks and recording times as competitors passed them on the course.
And thank you to the multi-talented Mick Coleman for ably manning and guiding the start boat, a NEEL 51graciously supplied by Paul Stamp and the team at Multihull Solutions.
Kudos to Anthony Gates for supplying the photography rib and for helping any boat in distress. On day one, he towed Pulse Red back to anchor when its rudder broke as well as Bonza when its motor failed to start (good on ya, Gatesy!!).
And congratulations to the Phuket Yacht Club and Commodore Scott Duncanson for staging a great regatta, giving people a little fun and excitement out on the water in these dark and troublesome times. And thank you to Paul Stamp, Andrew de Bruin and all the super folks at Multihull Solutions for sponsoring the regatta.