Korea Cup International Yacht Race - hello from Hoopo

by Guy Nowell, Sail-World Asia on 20 May 2010 Hoopo is a small fishing village on the east coast of South Korea. It’s not somewhere you immediately think of where yacht racing is concerned, but today is the first day of the third Korea Cup International Yacht Race, and this piscatorial backwater is covered in flags and bunting, and there is an unmistakable buzz in the air Or maybe a hum...

The KCIYR comes in two parts:

– an Inshore Series here in Hoopo, four days of short course inshore cans racing for a fleet of beach cats (F-16, 17, 18s; Nacras; Hobies0 some Magnum 21 trimarans, and some Elliot 5.9s, Admiralty 30s, a Yamaha 30 and a Beneteau 40.7 thrown in for good measure.

And then there is the KCIYR Offshore event. This begins with a passage race from Hoopo to Ulleung-do, 80 nm straight out into the Eastern Sea, followed by an inshore race at Ulleung-do. Then there’s a ‘parade of sail’ 47 nm southeast to another island, Dok-do, and finishing up with another passage race back to Hoopo (120 nm).

This edition of the Korea Cup has attracted an entry list of 23 boats for the inshore series and a further 27 for the offshore event. Crews have come from far and wide – Russia, South Africa, France, Singapore and of course Korea.
Competitive sailing is still very much in its infancy in South Korea, but the Korean Sailing Federation and the federal government and various provincial governments are determined to change that, and are looking to put Korea firmly on the Asian sailing map (or should that be ‘chart’?).

This event is substantially subsidized by the Korea government through the Korean Sailing Federation – overseas entries are paid a subsidy, sort of ‘appearance money’, shipping for the overseas beach cats is covered, and there is PRIZE MONEY! The object of the exercise is, of course, to attract the overseas visitors and kick-start yachting tourism in the country.

As all the friendly, smiling people keep saying, 'Welcome to Korea!'

Right now the sun is shining, the temperature is about 23°, the humidity is low, and the breeze is definitely ‘in’. It’s positively Mediterranean.