From the third to the seventh of February, the 13th Phang Nga Bay Regatta will be the scene for the region’s yachting community, as participants battle it out against the spectacular backdrop of Phang Nga Bay.

With four days of racing and five days of partying within the three provinces of Phuket, Phang-Nga and Krabi, the regatta surely is one of the most scenic events on the Asian racing calendar, and always lives up to its reputation as the FUN Regatta!

More than 60 yachts are expected to enter, with boats and crews joining from around the world. They’ll compete for honours in six classes: Racing, Cruising A, Cruising B, Bareboat Charter, Firefly 850 and Multihull.

This hugely popular event is unlike other regattas in that it follows a course with a different stop-over each night. The 2010 competition starts with registration and the opening party at the Absolute Chandara Resort and Spa at Ao Po in the north of Phuket, sponsored by the Absolute Resort Group. On the first race day the boats set out from Ao Po and head north to the top of Phang-Nga Bay, past the famous ramparts of Koh Phansak, the Koh Hong group of islands and James Bond Island. They will end the day at one of the area’s famous beachside restaurants. The second day will see the fleet running south to one of the many secluded islands of the bay and another stunning party venue. The next day the race heads west to Krabi, for a beach party at the famous Sheraton Krabi hotel. On the final day the boats will head home to Phuket through the open waters of Phang-Nga Bay, for the closing party in Chalong Bay.

The Regatta is organised by the PNBR 2010 organising committee under the auspices of the Ao Chalong Yacht Club, and the courses which the fleet sail every day are set by local Phuket sailing personalities, Andy Dowden and Simon James. Thai government sponsorship is bestowed courtesy of the Tourist Authority of Thailand and the Sports Association of Thailand.

The regatta committee welcomes back the grand lady of the ocean, the majestic ‘Silolona’ as its main committee boat and she is joined by the imposing ‘Diva Andaman’ and ‘H/V Vega’ with ‘Moonbeam’ and Lee Marine’s ‘Merry Fisher’ in support. Other regular supporters that are welcomed back include QBE insurance, Electrical Marine, Quantum Sails, Oriental Events, Phuket International Hospital, Capital TV, 91.5 FM ‘Phuket Island Radio, SEA Yachting and Phuket Gazette.

In a year that has been particularly hard on event sponsorship, the organising committee are also very grateful to new sponsors who have joined the regatta this year. These include Nikita’s Bar, Emerald Villa, PIMEX, Elite Yachting Thailamd and Sea-ex.com and Media partners Myphuketinfo.com, Asian Yachting, Thai Tatler, AP Boating, Yachtstyle Asia, The Nation and PGTV. The Phang-Nga Bay Regatta offers some challenging racing in breathtaking locations, and is the perfect opportunity for some great competition and FUN!

Contact details
Phang Nga Bay Regatta
Tel: +66 (0)81 862 6428
Email: info@bay-regatta.com
Website: www.bay-regatta.com