The experience of a lifetime, says Parinyakorn

“The toughest was the first day. All five of us were on deck, sailing at high speed, and we had no time to sleep or eat, as we were focused solely on the race. We did very well in the early stages. It has been challenging, the toughest ever challenge for myself. I had a fantastic experience. Indeed, it’s been the experience of a lifetime. Also, it was amazing to sail in the open sea for 12 days without returning to the shore,” said Parinyakorn, 29, during his visit to The Nation.

“The most important thing is that you have to make sure you have sufficient food and water because you have to travel in the sea for more than 10 days. At the same time, you can’t carry every meal you want in the yacht because if it’s too heavy, your yacht can’t sail well. This is a competition race, not a pleasure or adventure trip.

“One vital factor is that you should make yourself fit physically and mentally. You have to stay on board all the time and follow the strong winds and big waves; the yacht rocks as if it would capsize. Also, you could suffer from seasickness or get fever. You have to get well as soon as possible. In the sea, you can do nothing, but stand against any obstacle you might face. 

“We sailed against 59 leading yachts from around the world and the 12 days I co-skippered the Sansiri were wonderful. I enjoyed sailing in such a long race. There were five crew members in the boat and I, the only Thai, had to speak in English with the others. However, it was no problem for me. If I have a chance to join the trip again, I won’t miss it for sure,” the Phutket sailor added.

Also co-skippered by Michael Spies and three crew, Patinyakorn said the Tripp 40, designed by highly respected American naval architect Bill Tripp, finished third in Division 7 in the 2013 Transpace. Sansiri crossed the finish line at 00:39:13 local Hawaii time on July 21, covering 12 days, 14 hours and 30 minutes.

A race from Point Fermin in Los Angeles to Diamond Head, east of Honolulu, the Transpac is among the world’s great ocean races, and biennially attracts the world’s most talented offshore sailors and offshore sailing adventurers.

Sansiri entered under the banner of Patinyakorn’s home yacht club, the Ao Chalong Yacht Club in Phuket, and set sail from Los Angeles on July 8.

Sansiri faced many challenges during the race, including losing the use of their communications equipment early on as they took onboard a lot of water due to rain and strong breeze, and like many other boats had to contend with debris in the water. That did not deter them, as the crew battled to the very end, aiming for the podium.

“Over the last few days, the winds died and we lost time. We sailed well, our tactics were sound and pulling on everyone’s experience, we finished third in our division, and we are all very happy with that,” added Patinyakorn. “I have been impressed with the professionalism of Michael and the crew, and it has been an honour racing with them all. I am proud to be the first Thai competing in this legendary race and a third place against some of the best sailors in the world is something Thailand can be very proud of.”

The Transpacific Yacht Race, better known as the Transpac, is the longest of the two oldest ocean races in the world. The race started in Southern California and is a classic ocean race, sailed offshore over a distance of 2,225 nautical miles (around 4,100km).