Although the conditions at the Ocean Marina Yacht Club were not as good as the previous day, with the breeze slightly dropping in speed, most of the sailors appeared happy rather than upset as the wind constantly blew in the same direction, in contrast to the shift they faced before, which made it easier to navigate.

A big drop in wind speed did not mean the level of excitement decreased. Instead, it looked much more interesting as the event built up to an exciting climax today, with the winners difficult to predict.

The hunt for the Optimist National Championship Cup appears to be a three-horse race. Although young Navee Thamsoontorn, on THA 4R, managed to cling to the lead after putting in another consistent display which saw him finish inside the top three in all four races, the 15-year-old knows he cannot afford to make a slip-up as Nattawut Paenyaem and Mohamad Nazrin of Malaysia remain in sight.

In the Platu division, the race for the Coronation Cup took what could be a crucial turn after The Ferret from Australia, skippered by Scott Duncanson, who led the fleet in the first two days, crossed home in a disappointing fifth place in the day's only race, letting Vivat Poonpat, at the helm of Naiad, in to level with him on penalty points at 15 after the Thai finished in third.

British boat La Samudra skippered by David Lindahl remained in control of the Racing class after finishing first for the fourth consecutive time, which enabled him to extend the lead to six points over David Pollard on Foreign Exchange II.

Kirati Assakul, on board Sonic, also held on to the leadership in the Multi-hulls category, despite finishing in second place in the only race.

A well-known captain Radab Kanjanavanit on Cedar Swan appeared to be out of contention following a retirement, which saw him slip to third place in the standings, seven points off the pace.

In the Super Mod division, the small-sized boat designed by His Majesty the King for Thai waters, Kittipong Khambang, on board THA 6, underlined his supremacy with consistent sailing, which put him in a commanding lead, eight points adrift of Piyapong Chantara.

Kitinan Sanguansak

The Nation

Pattaya