With the wind in his face and salt spray in his hair, Patinyakorn Buranrom has co-skippered his yacht to make Thai sporting history. Now the 29-year-old is back on land and sitting pretty after clinching third place with his team in the world-famous Transpac 2013 _ the longest of the two oldest ocean races in the world. He's become the first Thai to win the coveted position.
Sailor Patinyakorn Buranrom and crew ride the waves of the Pacific, relishing every moment of one of the most gruelling ocean races in history.
The sportsman with a ready smile co-captained the Tripp 40 sailing yacht christened Sansiri _ a debut Thai entry in the prestigious race _ together with expert race navigator Michael Spies and a crew of three. The podium finish result has indeed given Thai water sports much to celebrate.
In an interview with Life, the cheerful sailor came across as both down-to-earth and a young man passionate about becoming a positive role model for teenagers.
Coming to grips with his new-found fame has been pretty overwhelming for a person who prefers to shun the limelight.
Despite the fact that he has been sailing for just five years, and is originally from the Northeast, Patinyakorn has shown that where there is a will there is a way to reach the most lofty of goals.
"It was a great race by all accounts, and I am over the Moon with our podium-finish victory," said the Maha Sarakham-born talent, who is an engineer by profession. "I have to commend Michael Spies and the rest of the crew for a job well done. We weathered a number of storms together, literally, but it was great fun. When you are in the ocean anything can happen, so I am truly grateful we all came back alive."
Patinyakorn, who goes by the nickname Ging, competed in the Division 7 category for modern racing yachts ranging between 40-49ft. In comparison to other competitors, he said Sansiri could be considered rather slow in keeping up with the rest of the more sophisticated yachts that they were pitted against.
He credits smart tactics and the team's combined wealth of experience for getting them off to a great start, leading from early in the race. The close contest saw the Thai contingent take 12 days, 14 hours and 30 minutes to complete the Los Angeles to Honolulu route.
Biennially, the sporting event attracts the world's most daring offshore sailors and adventurers to compete in a race considered one of the most torturous, and often fatal, urging a number of participants to update their will and bid farewell to their loved ones should they fail to return home.
Even after radioing for help, it can take days for help to arrive.
Being a co-skipper of the yacht Sansiri has matured Patinyakorn as a sailor.
For Patinyakorn, the toughest day of the race was the first _ the entire crew was on deck sailing at high speed and there was little time to sleep or eat. Contending with Mother Nature's wrath is a scary experience for the most prepared athlete, he said, and so it does not come as a surprise that he breathed a sigh of relief as they inched closer to shore.
"Sansiri faced a heap of challenges during the entire race," said Patinyakorn, who became a sailing sensation after he moved to Phuket and took up the sport seriously. "For one, we lost the use of our communications equipment because of the water that came in from the heavy rains and strong breeze that brought in the ocean water, not to mention the debris.
"We used to sit huddled together during times when the waves and wind made us feel that our boat was about to capsize. We did not get disheartened throughout the tumultuous times because we felt it could have been worse.
"While we took shifts to give each of us a break, it was usually a round-the-clock experience because we had to be on standby if the weather changed for the worse. When the winds died, we had began to feel rather disorientated.
"There was also one day that I fell after adjusting the sails at the crack of dawn, simply because I did not have a wink of sleep the entire night. Luckily, I fell inside the boat, otherwise, if I had fallen overboard that would have been the end of me. This was probably the only time that I questioned what I was doing, risking my life in the middle of the ocean."
Patinyakorn says there were happy moments on board as well, which put a smile on his face whenever he reminisces.
''I was once on night shift, and all of a sudden, a giant squid literally fell into my lap. I was so hungry _ do not forget when you are racing long-distance, the best food you get often resembles porridge _ so I decided to eat the wiggling creature right there and then. It tasted very much like sushi.
''There were also times that we saw flying fish in huge numbers around our boat. It was truly a sight to behold. You really do appreciate marine life so much more when you surrounded by such a huge body of water.''
Patinyakorn, who owns his own yacht (Sansiri Ooh La La), said that he picked up valuable experience of what it means to be a good sailor from his teammates, most of whom have been sailing for decades.
They do not just use tactics, he said, but sail with passion and even if you blindfold them, they can easily find their way around the yacht.
Patinyakorn, who said his third placing on the world stage has made it possible for foreigners to know more about Thailand, is hopeful that more national athletes would pursue sailing as a career after seeing his success.
Before he was introduced to the sport, the Northeasterner worked as a representative for an ice-cream company in Phuket, but nothing was as fulfilling as being out at sea, he said. While pursuing a career is not a viable choice for everyone, another option would be to become a captain on a luxury boat. He said sailors with experience can generate an income from 100,000 baht to, in some cases, 1 million baht, depending on how costly the boat is. Driving a speed boat alone can fetch 15,000 baht.
Sharing his thoughts on the importance of choosing to work in a profession one is passionate about, Patinyakorn said: ''I am an engineer by profession, but sailing makes me immensely happy because, it not only generates an income, but also offers the freedom for me to be my own boss.
''I have never been good at working in a routine job. I need the flexibility to live a life that will make me happy from the moment I wake up thinking about where to sail next. I hope to one day build my own boat, and even sail the globe if an opportunity arises.''
The youngest of three brothers, Patinyakorn said his first time on a boat was a life-altering experience. When he got the hang of sailing, he found that it took common sense to be good at it.
He says his role model is none other than His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who is also a great fan of sailing. A long-lasting impression of the sport took root when at the age of 10 he saw old television footage of HM the King building his own boat as a young sailor. Having never been to the beach, he also fantasised about stepping foot on a real boat. Little did he know back then that his dream would one day take him into Thai sporting history.
Pooling the expertise of each team player enabled Patinyakorn to make history.
