Press Release from Topper Sail Phuket
We are arranging to give seven children from the Phuket Sunshine Village Foundation the opportunity to compete in the Thailand Optimist Nationals at the Top of the Gulf Regatta 2010 in Pattaya next month.
The Phuket Sunshine Village Foundation was founded in 2004 after the Tsunami hit Phuket and provides a safe and secure home for children who are either orphaned or who are no longer able to live with their natural parents.
The Top of the Gulf Regatta is one of the most prestigious events on the South East Asian sailing calendar and attracts top class sailors from all around the world. It runs from 30th April to Tuesday 4th May and would be an incredible experience for these children.
The children have been sailing for just over a year on most Sundays and have been joining in with the club racing at Phuket Yacht Club under the supervision of Katy and Paul from Topper Sail Phuket. They will also be joined by two other club members meaning there will be a total of nine junior entries from Phuket.
To prepare the children for the Nationals we are arranging for them to join the Advanced Optimist Course run by the Junior Sailing Squadron ( JSST) at Sattahip Naval Base, Chonburi from the 17th – 25th April. This will give them a great opportunity to improve their sailing skills and racing knowledge and the chance to practice with a larger fleet. Arrangements are also being made for them to stay on for further practice before competing in the Nationals.
Staff at Topper Sail Phuket have been donating their time to teach these children to sail and arrange races for them every month and Phuket Yacht Club have allowed the children to use its facilities for these races at no additional cost. However the cost of sending the children to the training camp and the regatta itself is estimated at approximately 100,000 Baht to cover accommodation, food, course fees, boat charter, entry fees and transportation.
Travel arrangements have not been confirmed and therefore we are looking at various options including the possibility of any sponsored flights from Phuket to Bangkok and/or Bangkok to Phuket.
Katy Gooch of Topper Sail Phuket says, ‘These children love to sail and have improved so much since they started learning with us and it would be fantastic for them to have the opportunity to go and compete in the nationals. Sailing helps to instill self-reliance and quick thinking and I have seen first hand how it has helped these children develop both on and off the water.’
Anyone interested in sponsorship opportunities should contact Katy Gooch at: 0852159185 / toppersailphuket@gmail.com
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
KING’S CUP RETURNS TO ITS ROOTS
Dinghy racing will be making a return to the
Phuket King’s Cup Regatta this year 2009. The King’s Cup originally started with dinghies and it will be getting back to its roots with a weekend of dinghy racing prior to the start of the Phuket King’s Cup Yacht Racing Regatta
The racing will take place on Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th November with the prizegiving scheduled to take place at the opening party on the Sunday night. There will be nine Lasers, six Tasar and four Topper Topazes with a total of 29 sailors racing in the waters off Kata Beach.
Amongst the competitors will be six children from the Phuket Sunshine Village Home who will get the opportunity of a lifetime to compete in the prestigious Phuket King’s Cup Regatta. They have been sailing for just over a year on most Sundays and have been joining in with the club racing at the Phuket Yacht Club under the supervision of Katy and Paul from Topper Sail Phuket.
The children will be racing in four Topper Topazes that have kindly been provided by Topper Sail Phuket and will be joining two other Thai/Swedish sailors also from the PYC.
Katy Gooch,tells us that the toppers mission is to encourage dinghy sailing and dinghy racing to help develop sailing on Phuket and to encourage the sport of sailing to help widen participation in the local community and further encourage Thai participation.
Out of the 29 sailors already entered into the PKCR Dinghy Racing Regatta eighteen of the sailors are Thai.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Phuket Yacht Club & Topper Sail Phuket
Phuket Yacht Club & Topper Sail Phuket
Phuket Sunshine Village rides the Optimist Wave
The Yacht Racing Association of Thailand has joined forces with Phuket Yacht Clubs Head Coach Jaray Tipsuk to open the world of sailing to more of Phukets disadvantaged children.
After a short course in Optimist sailing as a young boy, Khun Jaray went on to the Optimist Worlds in Yugoslavia when he was 15 years old. Since then, he has had an exciting and fruitful career as a sailor; having been selected to represent Thailand in the ASEAN Games, he went on to win a gold and two silvers, as well as becoming a Super Mod Championship winner and winner of the Kings Cup three times as skipper of Octopussy. He has also coached the Thai national Optimist team for three years, taking them to three world championships.
Sundays race held particular importance to the club, however, which saw the event as a celebration of the support from the Yacht Racing Association of Thailand (YRAT) who has given Head PYC Coach Jaray Tipsuk 10 Racing Optimist dinghies on loan to use in their junior training program.
PYC Commodore Katy Gooch tells us,The boats are fantastic you really saw the difference today when the children were racing. The boats are identical, so it all came down to the skills they have learned. They were racing together as one fleet and it was really exciting a great experience for the children, and us!
Phuket Yacht Club (PYC) kicked off another 3 month series sponsored by Topper Sail Phuket
dinghy racing at the club in Ao Yon last Sunday with adult dinghy racing for single-handed, 2-man crewed and multihull dinghies, as well as Optimist racing for juniors. The dinghy racing has become a regular event at the club, eager to introduce more people to sailing and increase awareness of Phukets Sunshine Village
Eight children were out racing in the new Optimists, including four of the children from Phuket's Sunshine Village who attended the free beginners sailing course at PYC last October. The course was organized by PYC and led by Coach Jaray Tipsuk who shares the clubs passion in bringing more Thai children into the sport.First place in the Optimist race last Sunday was won by 13
year old Akkapoj Kenkeaw, nickname Tik, who picked up two 1sts and an unlucky 3rd after crossing the line early and having to restart. Tik has been a regular sailor at the club since he was invited from the Phuket Sunshine Village to join the beginners sailing course last October and is very happy with the new boats; The new boats are better because they are lighter and therefore faster, he explains. I like sailing very much it's better than watching TV or playing computer games and soon, more friends will come from Phuket Sunshine Village so it will be even more fun..
All at PYC agree that Tik and his friends show great promise and enthusiasm for the sport. We were hoping to get all the children up to the Nationals in Pattaya this coming week, but we just couldn't manage it this time around, Kate tells us. We have also been invited to Samui for the reciprocal Island Trophy Regatta, the inaugural of which was held here in Phuket last year, but again, we just don't have the funding or the manpower at present to give the children this opportunity. Hopefully, as the club grows and more people join us for dinghy racing and lessons and we find sponsorship for the new Optimist boats, the opportunity for these children to really succeed in sailing will be realized.
The next beginners sailing course for youths organized by Khun Jaray Tipsuk and Supported by PYC and sponsored by Topper Sail Phuket will start in the first week of May. The free course is primarily targeted at disadvantaged Thai children and five more youths from Phuket's Sunshine Village will join the weekly classes, learning the necessary skills which will enable them to join the monthly Optimist races at the club.
The Optimist boats are available for sponsorship for ฿10,000 per year and the money will go towards the free sailing courses for disadvantaged youths and Optimist maintenance. We are also looking for volunteers and crew for the monthly dinghy racing, adds Kate, to join the fun and gain valuable sailing skills.
For more information, contact Katy Gooch (Commodore Sail)
Email phuketyachtclub@gmail.com or Tel: 085 2159185
Optimist sponsors
Image asia
Topper sail Phuket.com
Composite Catamarans Co., Ltd
Andaman Marine Consultants
Saim Surveyors
Cassi Potger
Kiddies Home
Phuket Sunshine Village rides the Optimist Wave
The Yacht Racing Association of Thailand has joined forces with Phuket Yacht Clubs Head Coach Jaray Tipsuk to open the world of sailing to more of Phukets disadvantaged children.
After a short course in Optimist sailing as a young boy, Khun Jaray went on to the Optimist Worlds in Yugoslavia when he was 15 years old. Since then, he has had an exciting and fruitful career as a sailor; having been selected to represent Thailand in the ASEAN Games, he went on to win a gold and two silvers, as well as becoming a Super Mod Championship winner and winner of the Kings Cup three times as skipper of Octopussy. He has also coached the Thai national Optimist team for three years, taking them to three world championships.
Sundays race held particular importance to the club, however, which saw the event as a celebration of the support from the Yacht Racing Association of Thailand (YRAT) who has given Head PYC Coach Jaray Tipsuk 10 Racing Optimist dinghies on loan to use in their junior training program.
PYC Commodore Katy Gooch tells us,The boats are fantastic you really saw the difference today when the children were racing. The boats are identical, so it all came down to the skills they have learned. They were racing together as one fleet and it was really exciting a great experience for the children, and us!
Phuket Yacht Club (PYC) kicked off another 3 month series sponsored by Topper Sail Phuket
dinghy racing at the club in Ao Yon last Sunday with adult dinghy racing for single-handed, 2-man crewed and multihull dinghies, as well as Optimist racing for juniors. The dinghy racing has become a regular event at the club, eager to introduce more people to sailing and increase awareness of Phukets Sunshine Village
Eight children were out racing in the new Optimists, including four of the children from Phuket's Sunshine Village who attended the free beginners sailing course at PYC last October. The course was organized by PYC and led by Coach Jaray Tipsuk who shares the clubs passion in bringing more Thai children into the sport.First place in the Optimist race last Sunday was won by 13
year old Akkapoj Kenkeaw, nickname Tik, who picked up two 1sts and an unlucky 3rd after crossing the line early and having to restart. Tik has been a regular sailor at the club since he was invited from the Phuket Sunshine Village to join the beginners sailing course last October and is very happy with the new boats; The new boats are better because they are lighter and therefore faster, he explains. I like sailing very much it's better than watching TV or playing computer games and soon, more friends will come from Phuket Sunshine Village so it will be even more fun..All at PYC agree that Tik and his friends show great promise and enthusiasm for the sport. We were hoping to get all the children up to the Nationals in Pattaya this coming week, but we just couldn't manage it this time around, Kate tells us. We have also been invited to Samui for the reciprocal Island Trophy Regatta, the inaugural of which was held here in Phuket last year, but again, we just don't have the funding or the manpower at present to give the children this opportunity. Hopefully, as the club grows and more people join us for dinghy racing and lessons and we find sponsorship for the new Optimist boats, the opportunity for these children to really succeed in sailing will be realized.
The next beginners sailing course for youths organized by Khun Jaray Tipsuk and Supported by PYC and sponsored by Topper Sail Phuket will start in the first week of May. The free course is primarily targeted at disadvantaged Thai children and five more youths from Phuket's Sunshine Village will join the weekly classes, learning the necessary skills which will enable them to join the monthly Optimist races at the club.
The Optimist boats are available for sponsorship for ฿10,000 per year and the money will go towards the free sailing courses for disadvantaged youths and Optimist maintenance. We are also looking for volunteers and crew for the monthly dinghy racing, adds Kate, to join the fun and gain valuable sailing skills.
For more information, contact Katy Gooch (Commodore Sail)
Email phuketyachtclub@gmail.com or Tel: 085 2159185
Optimist sponsors
Image asia
Topper sail Phuket.com
Composite Catamarans Co., Ltd
Andaman Marine Consultants
Saim Surveyors
Cassi Potger
Kiddies Home
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