Not the San Fernando Race 2015

by RHKYC Media / Guy Nowell, Sail-World Asia on 2 Apr 2015 Category 1 Offshore Race rerouted due to Typhoon Maysak: there was a certain amount of angst flying around in the RHKYC Sailing Office yesterday afternoon when San Fernando Race Chairman Gerry Daughton announced that, having monitored the development of Typhoon Maysak and taken advice from Hong Kong Observatory, the Race Committee had come to the decision to amend the destination of the 20th edition of the San Fernando Race for the safety of the fleet.

This is no run-of-the-mill typhoon: the met people have already labeled it as a ‘super’ typhoon, and it is being reported as the most powerful nasty to come out of the western Pacific at this time of year since 1940-something.
?
Daughton stated that “Given the information and forecasts available to them, Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club and the San Fernando Race Organising Committee believe that there is no alternative but to alter the destination of this year’s race in the interests of competitor safety. It is intended instead to offer the fleet a challenging offshore race in the northern part of the South China Sea.”

Those of us who live in this part of the world very much understand that typhoons are not to be trifled with… rather like people in Queensland having a healthy respect for cyclones.

The forecast track of Maysak puts the eye of the storm either right on top of San Fernando or darn near it on about Sunday.

So imagine this: the back of the fleet is still busy sailing towards the storm, the fast finishers are parked at Bauang Beach and wondering whether the holding in the anchorage is good enough, and anyone who has finished and turned straight round is now trying to outrun something very nasty indeed.

No. Calling the race was a good move.

The organisation – or dis-organisation – that this causes is huge. Accommodation to be cancelled, parties and prizegiving ceremonies to be rescheduled, boatyard and mooring spaces to be arranged for a returning rather than a departed fleet and a great deal more. Add in the complications of a replacement course around virtual ocean marks, and you have to contact and notify the China Marine people and the HK Government departments, talk to the HK Observatory and few others besides. Rearrange the Yellowbrick tracking. The list is huge. “‘Yesterday felt like a very long day,” said Alex Johnston, RHKYC Sailing Manager.

The all-new ‘Not the San Fernando Race 2015’ will run to 330nm, using a Victoria Harbour start as scheduled, before taking the fleet out through Lei Yue Mun Gap to the east, then around both physical and virtual marks before finishing back in Hong Kong.

Director of the Philippines Department of Tourism for Hong Kong and Macau, David Leung was pragmatic about the change in plans, saying that “Safety has to be our number one concern. The weather is very hard to predict nowadays and it is unexpected to have such a typhoon this early in the year.”

?While competitors and sponsors were understandably disappointed not to be finishing the race in the sun, sand and blue skies of the Philippines, it was clear that the decision was understood and supported.?

Tactician on Ragamuffin 90, Matt Humphries, noted that, although the Custom 90 would probably have reached San Fernando before being affected by the weather system, it was not all about the fastest boats, but “…about the integrity and safety of the fleet and I commend RHKYC for its decision.” (Rags 90 subsequently headed off for Subic chop-chop and was not a participant in the race).

Veteran sailor Geoff Hill, owner of Smith 72’ Antipodes concurred, saying “you cannot send the fleet into danger. I am very comfortable with the RHKYC’s decision, and I am looking forward to the triangular race instead.”?

Today’s start saw 17 boats from the original entry list of 25 on the line and raring to go. Unfortunately the ‘raring’ lasted about 100m before a big left hander knocked line leader Ray Roberts’ OneSails Racing off towards Hung Hom where he found enough breeze to keep going and march away from the entire fleet while everyone else wallowed about in the middle of the harbour in very desultory fashion. Up past North Point it was a lurch-and-stop programme driven by an unseasonal southerly flicking between 2 and 8kts.

As the breeze recovered, Antipodes was the first boat to pop out (OneSails was already gone), followed by Explorer under spinnaker and Sea Monkey under a Code 0. By the time the bulk of the fleet had reached Hung Hom, OneSails Racing was fetching Lei Yue Mun Gap.

Inside the harbour, spectators were treated to some close racing between IRC Premier boats Xena and Explorer, while Mills 41 Ambush showed off her new lines as she made up ground on Antipodes.

At 1600hrs, OneSails Racing was leading on the water, albeit at a modest speed of around 5-6 kts with a finish ETA of midnight on Friday night, while in IRC Premier, Moonblue 2 had already signed off and declared that she was going fishing.

The 330nm combination of physical and virtual marks will take the boats south west of Hong Kong, leaving the Lema Islands to starboard, before completing a figure of eight around four waypoints, then returning via Dangan Dao to finish at Shek O Rock.

Patience, and shuffle the cards. More news tomorrow.

Yellowbrick tracking is running live at http://www.rhkyc.org.hk/sfrtracking.aspx