RA was already running two more regattas in Thailand – the Phuket King’s Cup and the Bay Regatta – along with the Royal Langkawi in Malaysia and the Sabang Regatta in Indonesia.
That’s enough for now, says Kae. It’s all she and her crew can manage.
Bangkok-born Kae, who arrived in Phuket 10 years ago after being transferred from Australia by the company she was working for, Royal Marketing, saw an opportunity in the King’s Cup.
Swiftly she set up her own company and then pitched for the job of managing the event. “I wanted to improve the regatta to put it in my resumé,” she says. “I was the first Thai and the first woman to run it.”
Initially the regatta “was my hobby,” she says – she was already making good money from trading stocks on the internet, but this allowed her to get out and meet people, something she had always enjoyed.
Stock trading, she says, is lucrative but “boring”.
“It was tough,” she says. “It was not easy because it involves HM the King’s name, so everything has to be perfect.”
The second year was harder. “You have to make it better every year,” she explains. “When people come to a regatta they don’t want it to be the same as last time, and that applies to the fun on the water and on land.”
Plainly, she has succeeded in making the King’s Cup increasingly popular. When she first started about 700 sailors were involved. The figure at last year’s event was around 2,000.
She has her own measure of success.
“I count the number of DNSs [did not start] each day,” she explains with a grin. “A big number tells me the party the night before was a big success.”
Each regatta has its own character and its own needs.
For example, the Bay Regatta, which she took on seven years ago, is, she says, “more fun”. But the logistics are not easy – delivering everything needed for parties on islands around the bay requires skillful planning and execution.
In Langkawi she had to overcome prejudices – against women running anything, and against the booze aspect. “It was difficult. [In Malaysia] they like a man to be in charge.”
There were similar difficulties in arranging the Sabang Regatta, first staged in September last year. The Indonesian government, wanting to promote sailing among its thousands of islands as a lucrative niche form of tourism, put up a budget of US$5 million (B150 million).
In the end, only 16 yachts joined in, but each required its promised free ration of alcohol, which had to be delivered from Jakarta, Sabang being a strictly Muslim area.
“But the islands there are still beautiful. It’s still unspoiled.”
She and her business partner Simon James, who handles the racing at events, have a crew of about 30 to help them.
When there’s a regatta to be organised they all work terribly hard over long hours, with the compensation that, in between, they get plenty of time off.
She has bound the crew closely to her with an unusual form of team building. “We go out dancing and drinking together. My slogan is ‘Work hard, play harder.’ I always spoil my team. In return they give me love and hard work.”
Playing hard is important to Kae – drinking lots with other people helps to lubricate deals and make things go more smoothly, she says. And she has a legendary capacity for it.
What does she most enjoy about the business? “I like being organised. I’m a stubborn woman. I get my way. I want to make it professional.”
That includes the downside: dealing with “mafia” groups who expect to make money out of the events she runs.
“This is the most difficult thing to deal with. It requires great patience. You have to get them to listen and cooperate. I’ve built relations with all the top guys, so I never pay them any money.”
She also knows that any successful regatta depends on keeping not only the sailors happy but also the sponsors. This means a certain wow factor.
“For Samui I persuaded Suthep Thaugsuban [Surat Thani MP and Democrat Party heavy-hitter] to come. That helps to get sponsorship.”
Is there a phrase to describe what she does? “I’m the cleaner,” she says with a huge grin. “My job is to clean up the BS.”