FREE to surf and sail . . . Royal Thai Navy 1 breaks away from the shoreline at a Phuket beach graveyard for yachts, where it had been swept by a severe storm.

Other Phuket King's Cup Regatta racers will not be so fortunate. Several high-priced yachts are still locked on the beach, unable to move.

A savage squall swept a dozen expensive vessels ashore in the early hours of Saturday morning, preventing a day of Phuket racing for the first time in the long history of Asia's premiere sailing event.

Owners could only look on at the five yachts still locked in water and sand on Phuket's popular Kata beach this afternoon. Several of the 10-million baht or more vessels will never sail again.

Plans to lift some boats free with cranes did not eventuate today, but owners and insurance assessors were busy along the beach, where the presence of the sand-stuck yachts made for an added tourist attraction.

The Royal Thai Navy 1 surfed over the waves with the help of a complement of sailors in the water and a large engine-powered Navy boat out at sea.

Coming out of the blue, the late monsoon storm caught some of the region's finest sailors unprepared when it swept in on Saturday before dawn. Skippers had clearly not expected such a storm out of clear skies.

One Phuket King's Cup Regatta official said that some yachts had clearly anchored too close to shore. Some had probably also chosen light anchors, better for racing in terms of weight, but less resistant to the Phuket October storm that waited until December to arrive.

More attention to weather forecasts can be expected for the sailing of the 25th Phuket King's Cup Regatta next year.

The cost of repairs to the Navy boat is estimated at 300,000 baht . . . but at least it is still afloat. The rest? It's about a 30 million baht shipwreck.