Racing fleet finishes Vietnam Race
by Guy Nowell, Sail-World Asia on 19 Oct 2008
Ambush coming into finish. VinaCapital Vietnam Race 2008 Guy Nowell
http://www.guynowell.com
The fleet’s in. Full Metal Jacket crossed the finish line at 0915 hrs today and Ambush at 1532 (local time). Ambush is the only finisher in Div B.
Both crews reported a good trip across from Hong Kong – Joachim Isler (Ambush) said the ride was 'cracking' (of course). Both boats reported wind speeds in excess of 30 knots at times, with FMJ owner Chris Meads delighted to be Top Gun for the trip with a top speed of 26.2 knots on the whizzometer. 'At high speed the boat behaved absolutely perfectly,' said Meads. 'She was running rock steady, and was an absolute joy to helm.' Getting the weight to the ‘back of the bus’ meant running the spinnaker sheet round a winch handle substituting for a turning block, with the trimmer working from behind the helmsman.
Shahtoosh motored in to Nha Trang in the early evening, with Thea and Miss Salona (also retired) expected tomorrow morning.
It’s a 656 nm course to Nha Trang, pretty much the same distance as the China Sea Race. Once upon a time (actually, not very long ago) anything up to five days was considered quite usual for a race of that distance. Now it seems that increasingly fast boats have reduced the ‘normal’ time for a race, and maybe decreased elapsed time expectations, so that a light patch down the course and an ETA of more than 48 or 72 hours calls for retirement. After all, a good blow could quite possibly give a VO70 line honours for this race in 24 hours!
'More people ought to do this race.' How many times have we heard this from visiting crew members over the last few days? There is no doubt that it is being talked about in Australia, New Zealand, and the UK – all places with plenty of sailors and substantial racing fleets. So bring ‘em on! Sure it is a long way to come for one race, but the combination of China Coast Regatta, Vietnam Race, Raja Muda Selangor International Regatta and Phuket King’s Cup is more than enough to make the trip worthwhile. Who would prefer to be sailing in the Solent at this time of year instead of enjoying sunshine, shorts and t-shirts in South East Asia?
The Vietnam Race really ought to be destined to become an Ocean Classic – it’s just a case of raising visibility, getting the word out there. So, all visiting sailors, if you enjoyed this event, tell everyone at home.
Provisional results: http://www.rhkyc.org.hk/hkvietnamrace/results08.htm
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