Inaugurated in 1987 to celebrate the 60th birthday of His Majesty the King of Thailand, the event has been held every year since and normally take place during the first week of December. And for this year, the race will begin on the Monday 1 December to Saturday 6 December 2008 from 5 racing days and 1 reserve day.

Sails billow up from emerald waters against a dramatic backdrop of limestone karsts. Schooners of regal proportion glide pass islands with pristine white-sanded beaches and crystal clear shallows. And that’s what makes this King’s Cup Regatta in Phuket the most popular of the Asian yachting races, with this year poised to attract over 100 sailing participants and thousands more spectators.

Nothing could prevent you to join the King’s Cup Regatta 2008 when the entry fee is only 17,600 Baht (8,800 Baht for Sports Boats and Ocean Rovers), but this payment together with the Entry Form must be received by 1 November 2008. Otherwise, the entry fee will increase to 25,000 Baht (12,500 Baht for Sports Boats and Ocean Rovers) for late entries. So, do not waste any more times, the temperate weather, friendly atmosphere and parties are all certainly waiting for you to enjoy now.

This event is part of the Asian Regatta Calendar, and with 5 Days of racing, the amazing sailors and other returning and new participants have had quite an amazing and worthy competition. The decision to move the date of the event to coincide with the end of Thailand’s Phuket King’s Cup and the beginning of Singapore Straits Regatta has enabled the organizers to get more entries from participants, as Langkawi in an island enroute from Phuket to Singapore.

This year’s installment brings forth 36 participating boats from over 14 countries to compete in different racing classes, namely IRC, Racing, Sportsboat, Racing Multihull (Firefly), Premier Multihull, and Club Cruising.

The climax of this event is the price-giving ceremony on Friday, January 11th, where the winning teams were awarded prizes in their respective racing classes. Top three teams with the lowest accumulated points in their class win the coveted prizes – one of which is the prestigious Prime Minister’s Challenge Trophy.

In the previous chapter of the Royal Langkawi International Regatta, winner of the Prime Minister’s Challenge Trophy, team Quantum Racing, had successfully defended their hold on the prestigious title from the year 2006. This team comprised of worthy sailors and is skippered by Ray Roberts.

This year, they did it again. Hail to Quantum Racing, for winning 2008’s Prime Minister’s Challenge Trophy! Hong Kong’s Jelik team, skippered by Frank Pong was disappointed with the 5 points lag behind Quantum Racing. In other challenges, Sofa So Good from the UK managed to score the coveted Royal Langkawi Yacht Club Commodore’s Challenge Cup. Phoenix team from Japan was honored with the LADA-IRC Class Challenge Trophy. The Langkawi Sports Class Trophy was awarded to Raimond Land from Australia. Lastly, Motor Inzi from the UK was named the Malaysia Multihull Challenge Cup champion.

All in all, it was an incredible event, and everyone should look forward to another amazing Royal Langkawi International Regatta at next year’s installment.

The following is the final result, as tallied at the end of the final day’s race. The top three teams for each of the racing classes are:

Racing – Australia’s Quantum Racing (skippered by Ray Roberts) finished first with 11 points, while team Jelik from Hong Kong (skippered by Frank Pong) is at second at 5 points behind. Team Hi Fi from Hong Kong (skippered by Neil Pryde) came in third with an accumulated 20 points.

IRC – Team Phoenix from Japan (skippered by Neils Degenkolw) won first prize with 12 points, while with 2 points behind, Singapore’s LunchCutter II (skippered by Keith Dunn) placed second. Malaysia’s Mata Hari team (skippered by Vincent Chan) brought in third at 15 points.

Sportsboat – Team Raimon Land from Hong Kong (skippered by Scott Duncanson) made first place with 9 points. Navy 1 from Malaysia (skippered by Mohd Razali B Mansor) placed second at 17 points, while third place with 17 points welcomed France’s Longtze-Premier (skippered by Pierre Mas).

Sportsboat (Under 25) – Team Thai International from Malaysia (skippered by Teiki Ballian) gathered 13 points to make first place, while Malaysia’s MYA-KFC team (skippered by Rizal Mahadi b Sazili) placed second with 16 points. With 17 points cumulated, Singapore’s Singapore Management University (skippered by Benjamin Mui) placed third.

Racing Multihull (Firefly) – UK’s Moto Inzi team (skippered by Roger Kingdon) brought in first place with 10 points. With 6 points behind the leader, Germany’s Twin Shark (skippered by Bill Phelps) placed second. UK’s Mamba team (skippered by Henry Kaye) brought in third place at 21 points.

Premier Multihull – Austalia’s Xcatriot (skippered by Bob Brindley) won first place with 7 points, while Germany’s Twin Magic (skippered by Bernd Nordemann) beat Image Asia Ceberus from UK (skippered by Grenville Fordham) by a mere 2 points at 16 points to make second place.

Club Cruising – Singapore’s Sofa So Good (skippered by John Ramsden) accumulated an impressive 8 points to win the Club Cruising class, while France’s Eloise team (skippered by Gilles Labbadi) placed second at 15 points. Third place at 19 points belongs to Australia’s My Toy team (skippered by Henning Lenz).

Look forward to another grander sea adventure at Royal Langkawi International Regatta 2009 (http://www.langkawiregatta.com/). Visit our website to know more about previous events, and to participate in next year’s race. We look forward to seeing you next year!