RHKYC Middle Island Dinghy Regatta- not with a bang, but a whimper

by Guy Nowell / Sail World Asia on 6 May 2005 There are two good reasons why the main Hong Kong sailing season ends about now: heat and wind (or lack of it). While the temperatures climb towards 30 deg and beyond, the NE breezes die out to eventually be replaced by the SW monsoon – which blows nicely offshore but rarely seems to get to the coast. And by then it is really warm.

The annual RHKYC Middle Island Regatta is designed to get out on the water a mixed fleet of Optimists, Toppers, Topazes, Lasers and Stratos’, patrolled by the occasional shark in the form of a Laser 5000, and give a bit of racing experience to the junior members of the Club (and other HK clubs) at the end of the season. Last year many of the competitors spent as much time re-learning their capsize drills as actually racing, but this year was just the opposite.

Two races on Saturday were sailed more in the lulls than the puffs, with anyone who managed to hook into a few seconds of breeze counting themselves lucky. Richard Knight, RHKYC Senior Sailing Instructor, said, “it was a real lottery. We were just trying to get round the course, coasting from one small patch of ripples to the next.” Sunday was not an improvement, and only one race out of two was even started. But three races make a regatta, and 28 boats and their crews reported an “enjoyable, if frustrating” weekend.

Results:
Slow Division (Oppie/Topper/Topaz)

1 Richard Wallace (Optimist)

2 Christian Houston-Floyd (Optimist)

3 Lau Kai Fung (Optimist)

Fast Division (Laser/Stratos/5000)

1 Jan Bochenski (Stratos)

2 Fong King Him (Laser)

3 Yau Chun Man (Laser)

For full results go to www.rhkyc.org.hk/sailing/dinghies/miregatta.htm