Jeanneau Class Regatta 2016 - a tale in two parts

by Guy Nowell, Sail-World Asia on 20 May 2016 Jeanneau Class Regatta 2016. A tale in two parts - February and May. The RHKYC’s annual Class Regatta is an occasion when the Club’s Class fleets pick up their passports and head off to the wilds of Port Shelter. Impalas, Dragons, and Flying Fifteens racing together on ‘short’ courses, Etchells and Sportsboats (M25, J/80, J/70) on the ‘long’ course. The idea is to get everyone out of the harbour and into the scenic environs of the New Territories for the weekend, and it’s a good idea.

There have been spectacularly sunny Class Regattas in the past, and a spectacularly cold one that sticks in the memory, but there has rarely been one that was quite as windless as the weekend 12-13 February. On the Saturday there was barely enough breeze to send the fleets around the course, twice. Barely, but enough. Under leaden skies and with not much more than hope to keep the fleet moving, two races were completed on the Saturday afternoon.

The forecast for Sunday was uninspiring – and for once it was correct. RO Nigel Reeves ‘found’ a small patch of easterly breeze that looked promising, but failed to live up to either its looks or its promise, and died completely just as the fleet leaders rounded the leeward mark for the first time. It was too late to call a shortened course, and the breeze never recovered enough to get the boats up to the top mark for a finish there, either. Race abandoned, restart.

But even that wasn’t on the agenda. From 1130 hrs the fleet jilled around in a flat calm and something precious close to fog, varying the tedium with a bit of paddling here and there, and even a knot-tying lesson. By 1330 hrs everyone had had enough, even the ever-patient RO. Up went the AP over A, and everyone went home.

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So closely packed is the Club’s sailing calendar, the next available date for a resail was 14 May – the morning of the first day of the annual Spring Regatta. The Class Regatta needed just one more race to constitute a series. In marked contrast to the conditions in February, Victoria Harbour sparked up 8-10 kts of breeze from the east, and – wanting to “get it in the bag” as quickly as possible - RO Charlie Manzoni sent the long course boats to Tai Koo Shing and everyone else to Shau Kei Wan. And back - and that was enough to put three races on the card and complete the Jeanneau Class Regatta. Don Chow of China Pacific, Jeanneau agents, gave away the prizes with aplomb and good humour, and an excellent time was had by all.

Full results at: http://www.rhkyc.org.hk/2016classregattaresults.aspx