King's Cup: "you only have to sneeze twice and you've lost five places"...

Walawala 2 chases KukuKERchu, in IRC 1. Both are Jason Ker designs
Guy Nowell photo.

The lads at Ker's will be happy with the results in IRC 1.  Two newly-launched Ker-designed boats, the Sydney Yachts GTS 43 Walawala 2, owned by Steve Manning of Singapore and the Singapore-based Ker 40 KukuKERchu, owned by David Ross now based in Dubai, took out 2nd and 3rd respectively.  Also happy the folks at Mills who are doing well in Asia, who took out first place with the Japanese entry the Summit 40 Karasu, with a team of Olympic sailors.

Earlier, "the custom IRC 40 Mandrake 2 owned by Nick Burns and Fred Kinmonth swept to a resounding win at the 2011 Raja Muda Selangor Regatta."  More here.
As Nick Burns said of the King's Cup: “This is definitely the best 40-foot fleet in Asia. It’s very competitive and you only have to sneeze twice and you have lost five places.”

Karasu Summit 40, Mills design, winner IRC 1

Meantime: back in Premier, a couple of piccies of the winner Titania of Cowes, the Swan 68.  There don't seem to be any by Guy Nowell, the official photographer, of our Xena, (sniff...).

Swan 68', Titania readies for spinnaker hoist. Guy Nowell photo

Note big overlapping jib.  Guy Nowell photo

Titania's owner, Richard Dobbs, is based in Seoul with McKinsey's, so I'm guessing he's going to be back next year.  I'd earlier thought he was UK based and that the boat -- given its name 'of Cowes' -- might be on the way back to the UK after it's 2010 race in the Sydney-Hobart, but, erm.. no such luck!... They're tough to beat.  Of the other Swans, Chao Ren, the Swan 82, is based near us in Shantou, and may well be back; but we can beat them on a good day.  And Silandra V, the Swan 76, appears to be based in the South Pacific, so may or may not be back, but in any case we can beat them too, and did this time.

Baby Tonga, the Farr-designed First 53.5, sailed by Pete Sorenson, will definitely be back.  They'll be competing to win the KC again, and also to retain the "TongZena" Cup.  They're tough competitors.  We do well against them in Islands courses; harder to beat them around the cans.

New Boats at next KC?

Neil Pryde, multiple winner at KC, with Hi Fi his Custom Wellbourne 52, took out 2nd this time in IRC 0, behind the TP52 Team Premier, and is now talking of getting a new TP52 to modify for the Cup.  Hi Fi is now too heavy, he says.

We also hear that Suwan Poopoksakul the owner of Lawana, the X-512 which used to be owned by our crew-mate Rick Strompf, is going to buy a new X-55, same as our Xena, so we can look forward to some match racing with them next year...

TTFN.  Keep in touch.