The winner of the regatta in Phuket is a native of Kyrgyzstan.
The crew of the catamaran, with Kyrgyzstan's Konstantin Kalmykov as the tactical helmsman, took first place in the Open Multihull Class division. The regatta took place near the island of Phuket.
At the beginning of the competition, a storm began on the island, and the crew of Star Fruit had to demonstrate all their skills to cope with wind gusts that often reached speeds of 30 knots. However, in the very first race, the experienced tactician from Kyrgyzstan, Konstantin Kalmykov, and skipper Roman Shirokov declared their claim to leadership. The sailors accomplished their task with a solid "five".
As Kalmykov recounted, on the first racing day, Star Fruit achieved a maximum speed of 12.6 knots, and then the crew set their own record, accelerating the catamaran to 13.7 knots.
However, due to strong winds on the second racing day, the team lost their gennaker sail, but nevertheless did not withdraw from the race. Moreover, the sailors of Star Fruit Phuket became one of the two crews that completed all five races from start to finish.
As a result, with three victories, the team of Russians under the management of Shirokov and Kalmykov took the top spot on the podium in their division. The second place in the open division went to Thai skipper Tu Songyod.
As the chief judge of the Kyrgyz Sailing Federation, Vadim Fetisov, noted, he was not surprised that the team, led by Captain Shirokov and helmsman Kalmykov, won.
"Kostya used to sail with his father on Issyk-Kul when he was just a boy. Once they got caught in a storm together, and it turned out that the most resilient member of the team was the 12-year-old sailor Kostya. It seemed like he had no fear at all. Even now, watching the race video: he hasn't changed, he's become even bolder, which is important in yachting, his leadership qualities are off the charts. For us, this is further confirmation that strong sailors can be cultivated on Issyk-Kul, who can bring glory to Kyrgyzstan. In a way, Kostya is the discovery of this season. We are very happy for him," Fetisov shared with "VB".
Source: "VB"
