Contenders close in on perfect day for sailors
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Phuket turned on the lights and sailors enjoyed perfect tropical conditions
The 33-strong fleet lined up in IRC Racing. Thai entries Wan Marang (Kevin Whitcraft) and Katsu (Ben Copley) battled each other around the course but lost out on handicap to Chinese-entry Jing Jing which scored wins in both races yesterday, leaving them on a total of five points.
The Thai-built Phuket 8 Surf Patrol (Ray Waldron) scored a first in Sportsboats Race 1 but was beaten by Brace! Brace!! Brace!!! (Paul Murphy) in Race 2. Surf Patrol takes a one point lead into the final day.
Moya Hin (Peter Jones) scored line honours in Race 1 of IRC Racing II but lost out to Ruby Tuesday (John Vause) which leads the class series by a single point. Thai-entry Remington (Jim Ellis) scored its first win to take them into second overall in IRC Cruising, one point behind Sail in Asia (Mike Downard).
After a poor start in Race 1 by series leader Voodoo (Hans Rahmann), it found its way through the fleet and scored two firsts, securing the Firefly One-Design class title a day early. DaVinci (Mark Pescott) was beaten over the line in Race 1 but won on corrected time, and went on to win the final race of the day and now has an unassailable lead in the Racing Multihull class.
Despite McBob The Boat (Joe Gruba) finishing ahead by almost one hour in the Classic class, it lost out on handicap to Idiom (Mark Myking). Sirius (Simon Morris) and McBob The Boat are tied at the top going into the final day.
Racing finishes today off Cape Panwa Hotel.
