Australians Take the Honours at 2010 Top of the Gulf Regatta
Evolution Racing win IRC Racing 1. The Ferret win the Platu Coronation Cup.

Platu_day 4 04 May 2010, PATTAYA – Good winds and ideal sailing conditions greeted the sailors for the final day of races at the 2010 Top of the Gulf Regatta. Two races were held for IRC Racing 2, Sports Boats, Ocean Multihulls and Platus today, with one race for IRC Cruising. For IRC Racing 1 they had to re-sail the second race from Day 1, in addition to the scheduled two races of today – two windward-leewards followed by a longer race was PRO Jerry Rollin's game plan.

A late charge was needed by Ichi Ban (Matt Allen) to try to knock Evolution Racing (Ray Roberts) off his perch. Race 1 of the day saw a clear start by the fleet and line honours for Evolution Racing but the win on corrected time was for Ichi Ban. Katsu (Ben Copley) took third. The same course for Race 2 and this time the startline was unexpectedly leisurely with Evolution Racing taking the pin-end and Ichi Ban keeping their distance at the opposite end. Evolution Racing again led the fleet around the course and again fell to second place on corrected time behind Ichi Ban, with Tantrum (Robert van Paridon) in third. The late charged by Ichi Ban was underway.

Going into the final race, which was a re-sail from the first day, and over a longer course, tension was high and the fight was on. Would the distance favour the TP52 (Evolution Racing) or would it give more time to the Beneteau 44.7 (Ichi Ban) to creep back on corrected time?

A little over 1hour 10mins after the start, Evolution Racing took line honours and first on corrected time to seal the series. Less than two minutes behind on corrected time was Ichi Ban, followed by Katsu in third. The second place for Ichi Ban put an end to their late challenge and what was so nearly a big upset. Maybe a TP52 and a Beneteau 44.7 can race in the same class under IRC afterall?

TOG_Day 5 IRC Racing 1 series standings: Evolution Racing (8 points), Ichi Ban (9 points) and Tantrum (20 points), skippered by Robert van Paridon in third.

The win for Australian Ray Roberts (Evolution Racing) means he will be crowned Asian Yachting Grand Prix champion with one more event to go.

In IRC Racing 2, Royal Thai Navy 1 (Damrong Sirisakorn) continued their winning ways with two more bullets today, with El Coyote (Gary Baguley) taking two seconds and Magic Roundabout (David Bell) third in Race 1 and Le Vent (Pote Suyasinto) third in Race 2. Royal Thai Navy 1 (6 points) were out-and-out series winners having won every race, with a strong late finish from El Coyote (15 points) taking second place overall from Dynamite (19 points) (Brad Kirk) in third.

A longer course was sailed for the IRC Cruising class today, their last race in the series. The conditions favoured Reef Knot (Tim McMahon) who took a win by a little under two minutes on corrected time from Melissa (Tetsuo Ongino). Souay 1 (Jean Rheault) continued their consistency with a third place finish. Overall series results see Melissa (10 points) take first from Reef Knot (13 points) who took second place on countback from Kirafiki (Peter Herning) (13 points) in third.

The Sports Boats class went true to form with two more wins today for Porn Star (Kipsan Beck). Final series results have Porn Star (6 points) with a clean sweep from Vino (Ray Waldron) (12 points) in second.

The Ocean Multihulls saw Thor (Henry Kaye) take two more bullets today from Sonic (Kirati Assakul) who took two second places. Freee Wheeler (David Race) took third in Race 1 while Blade Runner V (Bob Garner) took third in Race 2. Final series results see Thor (11 points) take the crown ahead of Blade Runner V (19.5 points) and Sonic (20 points) in third.

After a DSQ for The Fox (Rolf Heemskerk) in the sixth race of the Platu series yesterday, The Ferret (Scott Duncanson) shot to the top to take a one point lead going into today's final races. Two races where scheduled and sailed. Race 1 saw individual recalls for The Ferret, and two other Platus, while The Fox got off to a good start at the pin-end. The Ferret returned to the start and then took off to the opposite side of the course (right side) in a gamble to make-up ground. The gamble paid off and The Ferret finished second behind The Fox with Nataya (SMU 1) in third.

The Fox and The Ferret went into the last race of the series on equal points. All was to play for as The Fox hit traffic on the startline and struggled to find clean air. The Ferret went ahead and lead the fleet to the first gate. The racecourse became a drag strip as The Fox chased The Ferret around until The Ferret crossed the line first, ahead of The Fox in second and Naiad (Wiwat Poonpat) in third.

Skippered by former youth Champion Australian Scott Duncanson, The Ferret (18 points) was crowned the 2010 Platu Coronation Cup champion, from The Fox (19 points) in second and Naiad (27 points) in third.

Prize-givings for all classes followed an elegant sit-down dinner on the lawn at the Ocean Marina Yacht Club.

The 2010 Top of the Gulf Regatta with 246 boats, was deemed a resounding success by all 600+ participants. Headquartered at Ocean Marina Yacht Club and now in it's sixth year, the Top of the Gulf Regatta is the only multi-class regatta of its kind in Thailand.

 

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