 |
 |
|||||||||
| All About Samui - Information Overview - T.A.T. information - Location, Climate, Weather - People, Statistics - Religion - Culture |
Sports & Leisure |
What to See - Sightseeing tours - Web & Beach cams - Temples - Big Buddha - Waterfalls - Magic Garden - Safari Tour - Klong Tour Surat - Sawadee Shrine - Fruits of Samui |
||||||||
Neighbor Islands |
||||||||||
Watersports on Koh Samui Sailing Thanks largely to the success of the third annual Samui Regatta, sailing in Samui is becoming increasingly popular. The island has excellent weather conditions for sailing — a good all-year-round breeze that is a solid northeasterly between December and April, and a more challenging strong westerly with the occasional violent gust between May and November. Craft available for a day on the ocean waves include yachts, catamarans and more modest windsurf boards. Kayaking You can glide across the water’s surface near Samui’s shores or around the cave-riddled islands of Ang Thong National Marine Park. Sea kayaks are very stable and easy to use. A number of hotels in Chaweng rent kayaks, and several kayaking companies can arrange a full day tour complete with guides and kayaks in the marine park. In addition to the Great Underwater Cleanup Event, hundreds of Dive In activities will take place throughout the world, including underwater cleanups in the Cayman Islands, reef surveys in Cambodia, diver awareness classes in Australia and educational activities for kids in Bali. This marks the sixth year of Dive In To Earth Day, which was launched by the Coral Reef Alliance (CORAL) in 2000 to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Earth Day (held annually on April 22). Dive In has been a huge success from the very beginning. In the past five years, Dive In organizers have held 1156 marine conservation events in 89 countries and territories around the world, removing trash, educating children, supporting coral reef protected areas and much more. CORAL, a non-profit coral reef conservation organization, is once again coordinating the event with the help of Project AWARE Foundation, West Marine, Air Pacific, Earth Day Network and International Coral Reef Action Network (ICRAN). For more information about the Great Underwater Cleanup, check out info@easydivers-thailand.com , visit the Dive In To Earth Day website at: www.coral.org/divein or contact us personally on 077 413 373 or 077 231 190 The Gulf Of Thailand In MayNow the wind has changed to south-west direction, which brings calm seas - and weather conditions to Koh Samui. Chaweng and Lamai Beach will be shallow and as warm as a bathtub – ideal conditions for swimming and snorkeling. The diving conditions are usually excellent at this time – there might be up to 30 m visibility, no waves and mild currents – so go ahead and get wet!! International yachting returns to Samui The fifth Koh Samui Regatta takes place from the 22nd to the 28th May with the yachts again arriving from all corners of South East Asia and beyond. The largest contingent of premier racing class boats is expected to arrive  from Hong Kong and includes Frank Pong’s 75 ft. “Jelik”, which in its previous life as “Pyewacket” still holds the record crossing for the trans-pacific race from California to Hawaii. Also from Hong Kong and expected to give reigning Samui champion “Ffree Fire” a run for her money are the hot rods “Mandrake” and “Drum Stick”.
Cruiser Racer division will see the likes of Moon Blue 2 again pushing Marcel Liedts “Hocux Pocux 2” all the way, while Racing Class 2 will see the local favourites from the Thai Naval Academy face some serious opposition from Down-Under with a crack crew headed by famous Australian yachtsman George Snow, who took line honours in the 97 Sydney-Hobart with his maxi yacht “Brindabella”. Sports Boats class will see another face off between the Phuket Sports 8’s and increasingly hot competition from Pattaya, headed by the new, locally built Buzz 8. Although Jonathan Mahony from Singapore will be looking to retain this class trophy on his boat “Happy Endings”. Meanwhile an ever-increasing multi-hull class will see the Samui built catamaran “Coco Blues” vying to add a Samui regatta trophy to her recent overall win at the Phuket Kings Cup. But her new sister yacht, the recently launched “China House”, skippered by 2nd KSR sports boat winner Mark Jewell from Singapore, might just steal the limelight. Overall, around 30 yachts are expected and the racing will again be a mixture of two days ‘round the cans’ in Chaweng Bay on Tuesday and Saturday whilst the other three days will consist of coastal passage races taking in courses to the south of Lamai, around Koh Rap, and along the north shore across to Koh Pha Ngan and returning to Chaweng Bay. The starts and finishes can be readily viewed from the shores and headlands of Samui, but perhaps the best way to view the racing up close is to charter one of the many craft available for day charter and head out to the start / finish line or a rounding mark. See below for a list of spectator boats for charter.The Samui Regatta is not just about the sailing, it’s also about the parties and the legendary island cuisine and hospitality, with many of the local restaurants and resorts joining in as sponsors and competing with each other to throw the best regatta party. New additions to the social calendar this year include a Regatta Tavern close to the beach at race HQ inside the Central Samui Beach Resort. This will be open to all participants, spectators, and anyone interested in sailing. racing action as the sun slides down. Opening hours for the Regatta Tavern will be 13.00 to 18.00 hrs Monday – Weds, and also Friday & Saturday. Wednesday night will see the inaugural Regatta Festival to be staged at the Bo Phut Fisherman’s Village with live bands, food stalls and much more. This event will also be open to the public, truly making this year’s regatta an event for the island. And don’t forget the Closing Awards Ceremony – Gala Dinner at the Central Samui Beach Resort on Saturday Contact the Regatta office for more details and pricing. For more information be sure to visit the regatta web site www.samuiregatta.com Koh Samui Regatta Office; tel. 077 430404 or Peter on 09-726-5728 Spectator boats available for charter: |
||||||||||