Held from 21 to 25 July at the Evason Phuket & Six Senses Spa on Phuket’s southeast coast, Raceweek is the first regatta in the 2010/2011 Asian Yachting Grand Prix Championship (AYGP).

“Yachts thinking of taking part shouldn’t be put off by thinking this is all about top racing yachts,” said Grenville Fordham, MD of organizers and rights owners Image Asia Events Co., Ltd. “We attract a strong fleet of cruising yachts too, both monohull and multihull, and they all have a great time during Raceweek, no matter how much or little experience they have,” he added.

Regatta registration is now open via the regatta website with fabulous value ‘earlybird’ discounts on entry fees for boats and crew. A first this year is the chance to win the value of entry fees for boat and full crew courtesy of Global Investments (Far East) – but you only qualify if you beat the earlybird deadline.

Another first this year is the unique souvenir Raceweek apparel from sponsors Gybe that’s available online via the regatta registration page.

The organsisers were excited to announce recently that both Title Sponsor Six Senses Resorts & Spas and Co-sponsor Jaguar Cars had announced their renewed commitment for the 2010 event. “There’s no question that both Six Senses’ and Jaguar’s continued support is down to the success of last year’s event for each of them,” said Fordham.

With the exception of 2009, Raceweek has seen the number of entries grow each year and the organisers anticipate a record fleet for the 2010 event. “In 2008 we welcomed 43 yachts from all over the region; last year we suffered a ‘global meltdown blip’, and were down to 33 yachts – but the standard of the fleet was much more competitive than in previous years,” said Fordham, adding that he anticipates the opportunity to put some early points on the slate in the AYGP will be an incentive for more of the regional racing yachts to make their way up to Phuket in July.

Another development that will have those ‘in the know’ keeping a lookout is the return of last year’s surprise Multihull Winner, the brand new Phuket-built Andaman Cabriolet Niña on her first outing. Nina also took first place in this year’s Royal Langkawi Regatta. For Raceweek 2010 she will be accompanied by two ‘sisters’, the second Andaman Cabriolet Da Vinci and designer Alan Carwadine’s own 42 foot derivation with the same hull shape, both still undergoing final preparations in the boatyard. According to a source inside Cabriolet builders Composite Catamarans, they hope to take all three podium positions in this year’s Multihull Class. Watch this space!

“Top regional racers, Neil Pryde and Ray Roberts raced here last year for the first time and both were warm in their praise of our event – particularly the quality of the racing – while Asian racing veteran Peter Ahern has been coming back for several years,” said Fordham. “We hope to attract more of the AGYP competitors this year – and, of course, hope to see Peter, Neil and Ray in the fleet again,” he added.

Back on the sponsorship front, Jaguar Overseas Operations Director, Mick Razza, said, “In our inaugural year as Co-sponsor in 2009 we saw a remarkable rise in sales off the back of our experiential marketing at Six Senses Phuket Raceweek. We deal with marketing strategies worldwide and with Paul Poole (South East Asia) Co., Ltd. we saw a first class 360° campaign that rivals the best platforms we have used in the past. We look forward with anticipation for another great week’s regatta in Phuket this year!”

SSPRW 2010 is the platform for Jaguar’s regional launch of the stunning, all-new Jaguar XJ range – with VIP guests invited from throughout Southeast Asia to experience both the regatta and the new XJ, with exciting test drives designed to put the cars through their paces set up around the island.

Already confirmed to join Six Senses and Jaguar in the sponsorship lineup are (returning) Tourism Authority of Thailand, Siam Winery, Andaman Cabriolet, Asia-Pacific Boating, MyPhuketInfo.com, Phuket Gazette, Prestige Magazine, SEA Yachting and (first time) Global Investments (Far East), Urbane Nomads, Gybe, YACHTstyle, AngloInfo and Mövenpick. As discussions come to fruition over the coming weeks, many more of last year’s sponsors and partners are expected to return in 2010.

“The continuation of Jaguar as a Co-sponsor in 2010 sends out a very positive sign of the importance of strategic alliances with Asia’s top sporting events,” said Paul Poole, Managing Director of Paul Poole (South East Asia) Co., Ltd., whose company has been appointed by Jaguar to manage and maximise Jaguar’s Co-sponsorship of the event and their supporting experiential marketing activity.

Asked if the regatta is more about the sponsors than the sailors, Fordham responded, “At certain stages in our planning, sponsorship marketing is the key to a successful event. But nobody should doubt that our main focus as regatta organizers is to run several days of superb yacht racing in Phuket in July.” Adding that he does not believe widening the scope of Raceweek to include peripheral activities is what the sailors or the sponsors want, he said, “Our job is to focus on giving them both a great regatta and to let the world know about it. We think that’s enough,” he said.

As Paul Poole says of his success in marketing Raceweek sponsorship, “None of this [sponsorship] would be possible without a great infrastructure and edge of your seat racing.”

For more information on the regatta and to view the SSPRW 2009
TV programme:
Website: www.phuketraceweek.com
Email: raceweek@image-asia.com
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyU8gxaWQ44

For more information on sponsorship opportunities:
Website: www.paulpoole.co.th/phuketraceweek
Email: paul@paulpoole.co.th, aruwan@paulpoole.co.th (Thai speaking)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxFIBbPbbeI