Norman Church goes to the 14th the King O
ffi cially known as King Rama IX, better known as His Majesty Bhumibol Adulyadej, to his people as Nai Luang and to his family and close friends as Lek, the popular inaugurator of the King’s Cup is the longest serving head of state in the world, having come to the throne of Thailand on 9th
June 1946, the same year, incidentally, that Rex Harrison and
Irene Dunne opened in the fi lm, Anna and the King, the story of his ancester Rama IV, known to his friends, who were not as thick on the ground, as Mongkut. The Phuket King’s Cup Regatta was inaugurated in 1987 to commemorate the 60th birthday of the American born and Swiss educated King. The regatta is run under the patronage of HM the King and this year all the winners received their trophies from Privy Councillor Admiral M.L. Usni Pramoj, personal representative of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who is in failing health, at the Royal Awards ceremony. Asia’s most prestigious yachting event returned to Phuket for the 24th time in 2010 and the 108 boats that entered were evidence that the ‘global recession’ is, in fact, a North Atlantic recession. The fl eet featured entrants from all over the world with Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Japan, China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Denmark, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Thailand, Turkey, Switzerland, Russia, England, Holland, Spain and Canada all represented. The inaugural Phuket Dinghy Series preceded the Regatta proper and offered some aspiring young sailors a taste of King’s Cup action. The wind increased during the course of the regatta itself, making for some increasingly exciting conditions which culminated in the cancellation of the fi nal day’s racing and some exciting fi lm of crews in the boiling water desperately attempting to prevent their boats from voyaging inland. Fortunately for the organisers, by that stage the results of the ten classes in the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta Series had already been settled, with Australian Ray Roberts’ Evolution Racing taking the Racing category from Neil Pryde’s HiFi,
Above: IRC I Start Line Photo: Guy Nowell
Above: Last Day racing cancelled Photo: Guy Nowell
cywinter 2011 63
King’s Cup Regatta
Below: Dancing the night away at the Chang Beer party Photo: Duncan Worthinghton
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