I had been keeping in touch with the crew from ‘Grizzly Adams’ an Australian boat I met in Bali who were heading up to Kings Cup in Thailand. I had written them an email to say I might make it for the last few days based on our time schedule and received a very tempting email back saying that they could use extra crew – I was more than welcome and that it was the best regatta in SE Asia. Hmmmmm – I was convinced. Alfred and Steffie had offered me time off to head up and do the Kings Cup previously so on our last morning in Langkawi I shot an email off to Aaron letting him know I was on my way, packed my backpack and headed off the boat - destination Thailand!
I made the one oclock ferry from Langkawi to Satun in Thailand where I got sold a dodgy bus ticket through to Krabi where I had planned to spend the night. By the time we got to Krabi however it was already 8:30pm and I had been on the bus for over five hours so I decided why lose two days travelling and just continued onto Phuket. I arrived at 11 and tumbled into a very cheap guesthouse bed for the night.
I woke up early as I was still on Malaysian time and bailed knowing that I had a few things to do before I met the crew at midday – including letting Mum and Dad know what I was doing! Then it was on with the pack and into a tuk tuk for the drive down to a southern beach called Ao Chalong. It was great to see the Grizzly crew again – John (skipper), Aaron (John’s son), John No 2 and Scottie (Aaron’s mate from Cairns) – they were so welcoming! We dumped our bags in their rented unit and jumped on board Grizzly for a sail around to Kata Beach where the Cup was based.
Grizzly Adams is a very zippy little Adams 11.9 sporting a groovy weight lifting Grizzly Bear logo on the front. Kata beach was absolutely packed with boats when we rocked up ranging from 8m sports boats to 90ft maxi racing yachts. 104 boats in total sailed in the regatta. That night Aaron, Scottie and I found some accommodation in Kata for the week so we could be close to the boat and the festivities. Aaron and I bunked in together thanks to the wonderful invention of the trundle bed.... mmmm comfortable! As a crew in the regatta we received a crew pass for the all inclusive fee of A$130.00 which gave us entrance to the 6 regatta week parties. All food and alcohol are provided at the parties which are sponsored and held at different resorts down at Phuket’s southern beaches.
The first day was a practice race and only about half the fleet participated still it was a lot of fun to get Grizzly going and we settled on a few positions. I was in the ‘pit’ with the headsail trimming and releasing as well as being much needed weight on the gunnels as Grizzly had a tendency to bear up and threaten to tip if a gust came through. The first night party was a good indication of things to come with beautiful catered food, free drinks and a big band playing.
There is only one bad thing about the Kings Cup – they expect you to be bright eyed and bushy tailed on the beach at 7 oclock in the morning ready to catch a longtail (Phuket outboard boat) out to the yacht to start racing that is AFTER they ply you with free alcohol the night before! Still our first day went well with a long race over 20nm. On the downwind leg we pulled out our spinnaker which had a picture of a naked lady twirling a beach ball on it. A few of the other boats were taking shots as we sailed past but there was very little wind. We crossed the finish line 2nd behind a big 54ft Jeanneau who also beat us on handicap. A nanna nap was in order (that became a daily routine) before we got picked up to go to a nearby beach resort for some more partying. It was here that I caught up with some more boys that I had met in Singapore off a racing boat called ‘Strewth.’ It was awesome to see them all again.
The next day was an around the buoys race and we came 3rd on handicap and 2nd over the line which was not bad considering we blew our naked lady spinnaker as a gust came through! The party that night was held in Patong (Phuket’s nightclub district) in a big new shopping centre and come complete with requisite lady boys dancing for entertainment. I had a night off the alcohol that night which made a pleasant change and retired to bed early. Our 3rd day of racing was awesome. Scottie was away with food poisoning unfortunately so Aaron and I got into a routine where I released, he trimmed and I acted as his grinder. Then on the downwind leg the boys designated me tiller for an hour showing me all the ins and outs of downwind spinnaker sailing (I managed not to blow this one up) which was absolutely fantastic. We knew as we crossed the finish line that it had been a good race and we were right – we came 1st!!! It was the King’s birthday so the party that night was a candlelit affair at Karon beach. The next day was a layday so it was one of the best parties yet as we all knew we could sleep in. The Strewth boys, Benny and I hit the Change beer hard. Chang is a local Thailand beer which is 6.4% alcohol – at a minimum – it has been know to record 10% in some random testing.
It was great to have a sleep in the next morning and Aaron, Scottie and I headed to a local sushi restaurant and then had a quiet night at the Ska Bar at the corner of Kata Beach. The Ska Bar was the unofficial reggae bar of the cup where sailors caught up before and after races and parties. On Thursday the racing was back on but it wasn’t our day and after a few breakages we came 2nd on handicap which ruined our chances of stealing our class’s cup away from the Jeanneau. That night one of the premier maxis MoonBlue had their own cocktail party and as a surrogate Strewth crew I scored an invite. The cocktails were absolutely LETHAL and I moved on to beer but obviously not quick enough. We moved onto the Ska bar afterwards where I promptly attempted to sink the dinghy by running to the front as another boat went past... oh dear. Consequently I struggled on our last race day but I soon woke up when we got out there and Phuket blessed us with strong winds. Awooohoo – it was ON! It was a really short race around the buoys unfortunately but everyone still had a blast and we were back to the beach early which allowed plenty of time for a big Nanna Nap before the last hurrah!
We came 2nd overall in our class which was pretty good and spirits were included in the alcohol list which was bound to get everyone happy. The food and band were fantastic and by this stage you knew a lot of people so it was a brilliant atmosphere. A nearby beachfront restaurant hosted an afterparty with dance music and strobe lights etc but about 4 my internal ‘sensibiliser’ kicked in and I did a walk away knowing I was better to just head home!
The next day Alex from Strewth and I had organised a rental car so it was up early again. We raced around in our little red Toyota for the rest of the day doing breakfast, a seashell museum, the big Buddha and a quiet dinner back at the Ska Bar. Most of the crews were heading off the next day so it was a good chance to say goodbye.
At this point I had done some thinking. I had an absolutely fantastic time at the Kings Cup and it was a completely different atmosphere to be around people my own age and enjoy the backpacking scene. I had also fallen in love with Asia’s people, sights, sounds and food. I made the decision to leave Verena and continue backpacking under my own steam which would give me more time in Asia and a chance to see the world in a different way. 7 months on board had been a fantastic experience and through Alfred and Steffie I had had the opportunity to see some things many people never get to see in a lifetime but it was time to move on – even though I would miss dearly my little charges!
