Asian Yachting Grand Prix Championship: we're sitting first on countback...

Thanks to MC Danger for the heads up:

Above is a screenshot.  Website here.

We're sitting first on countback, equal on points with Nick and Fred's EFG Mandrake, with one less regatta sailed..... Makes you think, dunnit?  Maybe we should do a few more of those remaining ones....

King's Cup, catch-up photos... a day on the water.

07:00 on the beach each morning: Noel, Biggus, Iris, Strompfie, Digger,
Oscar, Jing, Forse, Bicky, MC Danger, Bucket, Grunter, G, TC

Single file to the Longtail

On way to racetrack: MC, Bicky, Biggus, TC

Grunter has just checked rudder and keel for junk

On Wednesday, we do sail past of Thai Navy vessels
to pay our respects to King's birthday.

Stromfie and MC

Oscar, Biggus, Noel, Bucket, Digger

On way to racecourse, Strompfie, MC Danger, Jing

Digger makes his beer sacrifice to the wind and sea gods...

"Grunter the pirate", says Bucket

Start in light airs: Pine, Tonga, Titania

"Legs 11"

G hands J1 jib at spinnaker hoist.  (Guy Nowell photo)....

.... and Grunter trims it downwind in light airs

Light airs Race 6: Bicky and Biggus.  Forse at helm.
Pine and Titania behind us.

Race 6: we're still in front of Titania and Pine here.
We won this race.

On the way back to the beach.  Check out the headgear on this dude!

"Noice" says Bucket.  Jing, Bicky and Grunter

Forse collects first prize for Race 6

G at the piano, with Jing and TC chillin'.... Crew dinner,
The Boathouse, Kata Beach...

... and again... a pensive TC... G @ piano, Bicky, Bucket, Jing.. (my iPhone)

And so to bed... Sunset South Kata Beach. 

Thanks to Bucket, Catherine, Biggus and Guy Nowell for the photos.

More photos from the King's Cup website here.  Scroll down and do search for "Xena".

Pine Needles Us: King's Cup Day Five

"Sunset on our dreams?" (oh dear...).  Jude, aka "Bucket" photo
of Kata beach last night, south end looking to the regatta boats.

Well, we didn't quite make it...

Last day and two races, one a windward/leeward and one an islands course.  Fine winds of 10-knot-ish..

The short story: we got a third and a second, while Pine Pacific scored two firsts, to beat us into second place by three points.  They sailed well and deserved the win: full marks to them.

General consensus: best King's Cup ever for us, with close racing and exciting duels with the other X-55 in the race, Pine Pacific, and even catching Titania sometimes...

After an arvo in the pool by the beach at the Kata resort with Bicky, Jing, Bucket and TC, I'm here waiting to go to meet the King's Representative to pick up our third place prize.

Jing, Strompfy, Bucket, Bicky.  Kata Resort pool

Results

King's Cup: Day Four

Xena chases Pine Pacific, last downwind leg.  Both under A1s.
We caught them and beat them in this race,
and also beat Titania, a first for us...   
[Guy Nowell photo]

A quick update – more atmosphere and context later….

In order to have a chance at second we needed a first today, and more: we needed Titania, the current front runner, to come second, and Pine Pacific to come third.  A tall ask, given that we’d never beaten Titania and were struggling to beat Pine.

But that’s exactly what happened. [more later on the race itself... quite a tussle...]

So now we lie in second place, equal on points with Pine Pacific, leading them on countback.
The situation then is this: for the two X-yachts, Pine Pacific and Xena, it’s three wins apiece, both sitting on 14 points, with us in second place on countback, Pine in third.  For us to keep second place overall for the regatta, we have to win tomorrow.  
If they win, they get second; if we win, we get second.  
So it’s all to play for tomorrow….

Just back from the prize giving, after an exceptionally pleasand afternoon drinks on Titania, courtesy owner Richard Dobbs, and feeling a big shagged, so off to bed. 

If I can, I’ll add some more and some photos later…

TTFN, says Eeeyore...

*******************************

Later: Rundown of the race yesterday.  In very light and fluky winds, they set us off on course 17, a windward/leeward course, of two sausages.   After a good start to windward of the others, we folded over and worked our way up the beat, constant work needed to keep the boat moving in super light conditions.  At the top mark, we were just a few boat lengths behind Pine, with Titania in the unusual position of following we  two X-yacths, 50 tonnes being hard to move in breezes that were knots counted on one hand. 

After the top rounding up with kites, and we chased Pine on starboard tack with Titania on our starboard quarter.  Slowly catching Pine, when they gybed over to port, we decide to gybe inside them, but not all our folk heard the gybe call, so we had to go back to starboard, re-prepare for gybe, then gybe, all of which put us now about 70-odd yards behind Pine, now both on port.  Some other-class boats coming up the course on starboard gave our tactician, TC, a chance: let them separate us from Pine, so that they could not follow us on a gybe back to starboard, which we did: we caught some fair wind, while Pine and Titania stayed in a hole.  Result: to the bottom mark a few hundred yards in front of both!

By this time, over an hour gone, and I thought they’d shorten the course at the bottom mark, but no, they kept us going, so now for the work back up to the top mark, during which the Race Officer announced the shortening of the course at the top mark. 

Work to the top mark a bit suspenseful, as one never knew with these breezes, but we worked the shifts well, and finished just behind a quick finishing Titania over the water and well in front of Pine.

Result: 1. Xena, 2. Titania, 3. Pine Pacific.

Overall for the Regatta: Titania, Xena, PP

All down to today for we X-yachts.... stay tuned...

Match racing between X-55's Day three....

Xena with blue spinnaker, Pine Pacific in white.
All photos courtesy Guy Nowell, from the Regatta website.

King's Cup: Day Three, and layday karting

Xena and Pine Pacific, the two X-55s in Asia.  Race Two, Day Three.
We won this one by 26 seconds.  Photo: courtesy Richard Dobbs
on Titania of Cowes (a Swan 68)

Well, it's come down to a match race for us, between the two X-55s in the Premier division: Xena and Pine Pacific.  Titania, the Swan 68 is gone, with basically a lock on first, for the second year running: a combination of their great sailing, and boat speed, particularly on a reach in 10+ knots.

The record so far between us and Pine is three wins to them and two to us.  So Pine and Xena are battling for second, with them two points in front of us at the moment, with 2 or maybe 3 races to go.

Yesterday, close and exciting racing: two different geometric courses for the day.  The second, and longer one was us match-racing Pine all the way round, them in front at time, us at, others, till we able to take advantage of a mistake by Pine after the top mark, nudge past them and finish 26 seconds in front, corrected time, at the end of nearly two hours.
Fine day's sailing, with fresh breeze all day.
We'll need to be on top of our game, and also get a touch of luck, to prevail in the next few days.
And now for some Bucket (aka "Jude") piccies from lay-day go-karting, today, at the local circuit in Phuket:

Jude says: "it's all a lie.. G was first, but I was last!"

Magnus (on Walalawa), Bicky, G, MC, ?, TC, Bucket, Biggus

Bucket and Jing, with "those shoes", post
crew dinner.

King's Cup: Day Two

An Islands course of 24 nautical miles in fine breeze of 15+ knots.  A cracking sail, but not quite the result we would have liked.... Titania walked away and Pine Pacific -- who we beat handily in race two yesterday -- snuck in front of us and stayed there.  No excuses, no major mistakes; just the way it was.....Result: third for the day and lying third overall....

So, a day for some piccies, courtesy Judy (aka "Bucket")...

Under the magnificent banyan at the Rastafarian Ska Bar, Kata beach, Phuket
Digger, Strompfy, G, TC,  Iris, Jing, Forse, Bucket, Biggus, Grunter

"It's lonely at the front".... G contemplates
the meaning of life on the bow...

"Serious business".... I take a break on the rail while
Bicky drives.  (not sure others there, can't quite see..)

"Biggus at work",  checking finish line

King's Cup practice day: a day for practising surfing...

Surfing action on Kata beach

Down on the beach at 09:00 for practice and practice race, to find the results of last night's storm, big swells and a fine day for surfers.  We sat at the south end at the Starbar, watching the swells and surfers out having fun.  No day for the Longtails to take us out and a bit of a challenge for our dinghy.... Practice race cancelled at 10:00.
Still, we managed to get out around noon in our dinghy, half of us, to try out the new sails: Bicky, G, Strompfy, TC, Noel, Oscar and me.
The new 3Di Main and 3DL J1 jib looking fine and a testament to the Norths' boys, who managed to build it, in the US and NZ, and deliver it, to Langkawi and thence here to Phuket, ready to go, in just a few weeks. Brill!
Not much breeze out there, 5-6 knots, and swells.  Like nothing we've seen before in Thailand, in five times of coming, and for others in many more years of coming.  Talk of global warming....
We've a depleted fleet this year, only half of last year's, but all the main competitors are here and give us the job ahead: Titania of Cowes, Baby Tonga and the new X-55, our sister boat, Pine Pacific will all make it a real competition.
Off to the Skippers' briefing....
Day fine now.  Hopefully less of a swell in the morning, means the Longtail boats can come to shore to take us out and we have some fine racing tomorrow.

Crew Lists coming together...

... nicely..

China Coast Regatta: 12-14 October

Hainan Race: 18-20 October

King's Cup: 1-8 December

Nothing to do with these races, just a cool photo you get if you Google
"China Coast Regatta" and leads to this cool site

G in Sweden... and maybe Phuket...

25knots at the start line. G on  Katusha (21), RC44 Sweden Cup.

G, our regular Bow on Xena in the King's Cup says he's hoping to be with us again, just subject to working out some work issues.  So I've got him down as a definite "maybe".
Also sends along the above photo, about which he says...  "also attached a little photo from our latest regatta in Sweden.  Was pretty breezy on the last day, this was us trying to start in 25knots and a very choppy sea! Went well though we finished up second."
Another phote of G on Katusha....  too much hard work!....

G works on his 6-pack up front.... more photos

Digger in default mode

Digger (2nd fm right) with his Plate for 2nd in the Heineken Regatta

Digger sends news that he'll join us again for King's Cup and sends along a photo of himself... as usual amongst the babes.  Above, picking up Second in the Heineken Regatta.  Way to go, Digger!  See you in Phuket!

Xena racing update

We won't do the Raja Muda regatta, as it's a big logistic challenge and no guarantee of a Premier Division.
We're still committed to the King's Cup in Phuket, so that's a definite.
We may also do the China Coast Regatta, with the Hong Kong to Hainan Race on 18th October.
That's a Cat 1 race of about 360 miles, an overnighter.  If we do that, then Xena will stay in Hainan for a bit before delivery to Phuket.
The marina at Sanya in Hainan is great.  See piccies here.
A BTW: there's an update on the Tipsy Frenz sinking on the post immediately below.