Big fleet ready for Hua Hin Regatta

[SAILING] More than 200 sailors will set sail in this year's Hua Hin Regatta, which will be contested off the Hua Hin Naval Yacht Club tomorrow.

A total of 99 boats in the Super Mod class - a boat designed by His Majesty the King - will also be in action.

The three-day regatta is being held to commemorate not only His Majesty the King's great success at the South East Asian Peninsular (SEAP) Games on December 16, 1966, where he won the gold medal in the OK Dinghy event, but also to celebrate the diamond jubilee of his accession to the throne.

The Yacht Racing Association of Thailand (YRAT) have put the Super Mod - a 14-feet, 11 inch dinghy designed and patented in the UK by His Majesty - on the list of boats taking part in the regatta.

On the first two days of the regatta sailors will contest the Thailand Open Sailing Championships and the Super Mod Vega Rudder Race, while the 25 nautical mile long-distance Vega Rudder Race for will be held the following day.

The Thailand Open will consist of the small Optimist class dinghies for children and the bigger Platu boats, while the long-distance contest features Lasers, 420s, 470s, Fireballs and catamarans.

Sailors from Australia, Burma, China, Germany, New Zealand, Singapore and the United States are expected to return for the annual regatta, while skippers and crews from England, Hong Kong and Japan have already entered.

"This year's event is very special because we [YRAT] have added the Super Mod class as part of the celebrations for His Majesty the King," said Rear Admiral Apiwat Srivardhana, the secretary-general of YRAT.

Somporn Suphop

The Nation