China Briefing yacht crew demasting the main sail for examination by the King's Cup committee

PHUKET, Thailand, Nov. 27 – China Briefing is racing this weekend and next week in the prestigious King’s Cup Regatta, held every first week of December in Phuket. It is the first time the company has entered a yacht in the competition.

Publisher Chris Devonshire-Ellis, who maintains a 32 foot Jeanneau yacht with a racing hull at the Yacht Haven in Northeast Phuket, will be skippering the yacht during the week which will have a crew of six including America’s Cup participant Rob Williams, the owner of Yachtpro in Thailand. This year’s series of races will take place off Kata Beach on the southwest of the island.

The King’s Cup is named in honor of the King of Thailand and was first raced in 1987 to commemorate the king’s then 60 birthday. Since then it has emerged as Asia’s primary racing regatta with events spread out over five days. The Jeanneau 32, a French-built craft used especially for racing events, was named European Racing Yacht of 2008 by Sailing Magazine.

The yacht will be carrying the China Briefing logo on the mainsail and has been entered into the bareboat charter division. China Briefing readers who may be at the event are welcome to introduce themselves to Chris and the China Briefing team.

This year’s King’s Cup has over 110 yacht entrants, with about 2,000 individuals as crew participating. The regatta will be featured on ESPN, Fox, Sky and Star Sports and has an advertising value of over US$5.3 million.

“Its a grueling regatta as the sun gets very hot at midday and that heat and glare are doubled through ocean reflection and there is no shade,” said Chris Devonshire-Ellis. As races last about six to seven hours each day, the crew will be packing plenty of water and sunscreen. “We’re here to have fun as well as compete. Our crew has flown in from China, New Zealand and the United Kingdom for this and if we maintain discipline, we expect to do reasonably well.”