The ceremony was held this morning at 9am, and presided over by Rawai Mayor Arun Sorot as well as Mr Somsak Luktao, president of the local long-tail boat club, who assembled with local villagers and politicians at Rawai Beach to kick off the annual event that celebrates the traditional way of life embodied by the long-tail boat, in Thai known as “reua haang yao”.
The races are divided into five categories: the first category is for boats with 4-stroke engines and no limit on engine size; the second category is for boats with engines of up to 2,000 CC, which included five teams; the third category is for boats with engines up to 1,500 CC, and included sven teams; the fourth category is for boats with Yanmar engines rated at 10.5, 11.5 and 12.5 horsepower, which included 10 teams; the fifth category is for boats with Honda 1-stroke engines of no more than 13 horsepower, which included 11 teams; and the final category is for boats with flat hulls and included 51 teams.