World's most picturesque race

Thailand's Puravarna Phang Nga Bay Regatta is now the second largest in Asia

Puravarna Phang Nga Bay Regatta now Asia’s 2nd biggest sailing event. A record number of boats have entered this year’s event, one of the world’s most picturesque sailing events.

Now in its 10th year, the regatta is sailed around some of southern Thailand’s most beautiful islands and the four days of racing takes the fleet to Phuket, Phang Nga and Krabi provinces over 16-20 February . The annual Phang Nga Bay Regatta is now Asia's second biggest sailing event after the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta, and the good news for the organisers is that a new naming sponsor has come forward. Puravarna, an ambitious, high-end villa and resort development in Nai Harn Bay, Phuket, has signed on as the major sponsor of this colourful, lifestyle regatta. The event is now called the Puravarna Phang Nga Bay Regatta.

The regatta became Asia’s second biggest sailing event in 2006 when 46 yachts sailed the four-day course spanning three provinces of southern Thailand. The organisers were taken by surprise when the regatta grew so quickly, expanding from an average of 30 boats in previous years. The organisers had earlier planned to limit the event to about 30 boats, for unlike other big sailing events which are run from one place, the Puravarna Phang Nga Bay Regatta moves to a new anchorage each day, making it much more difficult to manage. Last year the volunteer committee managed 46 boats and 300 plus crews around the islands of the Andaman Sea, and the regatta’s reputation for fun and casual sailing in beautiful and spectacular scenery continues to spread rapidly. By the end of January - more than two weeks before this year’s sailing - some 49 yachts had already registered for this year’s regatta, which will be sailed from February 16-20.

The reputation of this regatta continues to pull in more and more boats - so many that the organisers tried - unsuccessfully - to cap this year’s fleet at 45. Worrying about getting too many entries is an unusual problem. National regattas in nearby countries such as Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines struggle to get 25 to 30 yachts together to form a respectable fleet. This year’s record fleet is a testimony to the huge potential of sailing along Thailand’s amazing Andaman coast.

This year’s regatta begins on February 16 with the Raimon Land opening party at the Chandara Resort, Ao Po. The next morning five classes will sail around mountainous pillars of rock protruding from the calm seas of Phang Nga Bay - perhaps the most stunning backdrop for any regatta in the world. The event was initiated in 1997 specifically to bring sailing right into the midst of this spectacular marine scenery. The older, more famous Phuket King’s Cup Regatta - by far Asia’s biggest regatta - had become more serious, with participants eyeing trophies, reputations and serious sailing in expensive, high-tech boats. They shied away from islands, preferring to race around buoys out in the open ocean.

This fleet will begin in Phuket, then head out into Phang Nga Bay. This year the first over-night stop is at Koh Yao Noi, with the evening party held in The Paradise Resort. The second day’s racing, the SEA Yachting Around The Islands Race, should really test the crews’ skills, winding in and out of a group of beautiful islands off Krabi. The evening party will be held in Krabi Resort. The third day sees the boats head downwind to Phi Phi island, where four adjacent resorts on Phi Phi Don’s northern tip have joined to welcome the hundreds of sailors with a beach party. The final day, the Puravarna Sea Race, takes the fleet back to Phuket where it will finish in southern-most Nai Harn Bay, right off the Puravarna Phuket Yacht Club Hotel. Puravarna has planned a huge final party, a combination regatta finale and Chinese New Year bash for which they have chartered a special plane to fly in stars, models and press from Bangkok. The famed Bed Supper Club of Sukhumvit Rd in Bangkok has been engaged to organise a huge beach party with DJ music, dance, shows, fireworks and a fancy dinner banquet, creating one of the most memorable party events on Phuket’s calendar.

With this huge party planned for the regatta finale, this year’s Puravarna Phang Nga Bay Regatta promises to surpass even its own reputation as Asia’s most fun sailing event. The Puravarna Phang Nga Bay Regatta will be sailed in the waters of Phuket, Phang Nga and Krabi from 16-20 February 2007. This is the 10th year. The event's title sponsor is Puravarna - a high-end villa and resort development company - and major sponsors include Raimon Land PLC, QBE Insurance, Yacht Supply, Artasia Press and the Ao Chalong Yacht Club. Many other Phuket businesses continue to provide invaluable support for the regatta.