A 'CHEERY' START ON 'CHARRO'......

It dawned on me this morning, (ha ha), that one interesting aspect of reporting and getting amongst the fleet is the opportunity I get to 'test drive' various boats that I've not had the chance to sail before and give you the report - perfect! So, if you think I do a reasonable job, let BMW know and maybe they will let me 'test drive' some 'sporty number' around the island to let you have a land based report as well as an on-the-water analysis! - Superb!

Talking of 'sporty numbers' I was due for a 'spicy start' to the regatta on 'Somtam (Spicy Thai Salad) Express', Scott Duncanson's Phuket 8, but he's now invited me for a 'blast' on layday. Watching the boat being pulled gently backwards, she was almost willing herself out of the water as she moved sideways and bobbed up and down like a thoroughbred excitedly awaiting the race.

So, which boat? Being previously impressed with the Presscott catamarans, I'd always wanted to try one of these Latitude 8 cats and, in the end, was given the opportunity to join Charro, Tim Milners multi-winning open-cockpit version of the pedigree multihull. So, in the end I did get my 'spicy start' - 'Charro' is Mexican for cowboy, however Tim is no 'cowboy' with his impressive history of wins over the years. He won all the multihull races at Pang Nga Bay in 2004 and took a break this year, I guess to give the others a chance!

We had two races today and I'm delighted to report that we got 2nd on the 2nd race - Hurrah... and well done to Skipper Tim and my fellow crew members. On the first race we three crew were not briefed before the 'Spinnaker' mark and had a terrible few minutes where we continued on while fumbling around with the bag, sheets, head, tack and clew. Although we did have a 'clue' on how to rig the kite, Tim admits he did not give the order or offer enough time to prepare. I can't help thinking that this may have been some kind of test for us, or it could have been Tim's relaxed approach which actually contributed to a thoroughly enjoyable sail. Either way it was a frustrating few minutes where we lost ground to the other Cats as they rounded the mark and continued with the leg, while we headed for The Andamans!

The wind lightened to a flutter later and we rounded the last mark after Chameleon. All the others drifted over much later.

I was particularly surprised at how easy it was to handle and crew this gentle cat. I look forward to sailing her again and thanks to Tim and the crew for inviting me back.

I must mention the first party. I'd bumped into Frankie some days before who explained to me how he was going to mix the sound and organise the lighting for the show. For those interested here's some technical info. He used 35 of the 40 available tracks, mainly for the drums. Particularly impressive was the lighting. Usually they provide 36 of the computer-operated revolving lights, but limited it to 24 on this show. They draw 8 AMPs each on 1200 watts and each one cost 50,000 RM, that's half a million Baht or 10,000 Euro! If you're interested, they can hire them to you for considerably less.

What a great band! There were 13 various ethnic musicians performing for us last night: Malay, Chinese, Indian, Filipino and one Euro-Asian. I've heard some top chefs comment that 'fusion' in food for them doesn't really work. I discovered last night that it works very well in music. Well done to BMW for a great concept and a wonderfully enjoyable evening which seemed to end all too soon.

Lastly, just to check that you're reading your Eagle newsletter, a little competition: the first person to show me the repeated paragraph in the first edition of The Eagle gets an extra 5 beer tokens on me. You have to show me in which one of the 4 articles the repeat appears. Ask any volunteer to point me out.

More tomorrow, Gary