Please select your home edition
Edition
A+T Instruments 2024 Leaderboard

A Day at the 700 Yacht Club, Seoul, South Korea

by Josephine Lee, 10mag.com on 15 May 2012
700 Yacht Club, Han River, Seoul, South Korea Josephine Lee
It’s Sunday afternoon at the 700 Yacht Club’s Opening Day Regatta. Around a dozen racing yachts are positioned by the starting line. On the start boat, the commodore stands beside the signal flags, looking at his stopwatch and motioning that it’s almost time. I point the air horn upward once more: five, four, three, two, one. The blast rings in my ears, but I’m already crouching with my camera trying to get a shot of the boats as they leap forward. The winds have picked up and the sun is finally breaking through the hazy sky – a great beginning to the club’s first race of the season.

Tucked beside the Sunsang Bridge at the Nanji Han River Park, the 700 Yacht Club offers a unique sailing experience near all the comforts and conveniences of the city. On the club’s official opening season at the start of April, I spend the day in the excited bustle of members, staff, and other reporters reveling in the good weather and friendly discourse around the clubhouse and its newly refurbished terrace.

The event kicks off with the christening of a new sailboat and a quick explanation of the rules of the race by the club’s founder Harold Shim and outgoing Commodore Marcus Von Engel. The whites of the sails, full and radiant with the cold spring breeze are a sight to see, and the air is punctuated with the energetic shouts of racers hollering instructions and my own irrepressible shrieks of glee.

By the third round, after observing a brief collision between two yachts and getting an abridged, verbal lesson on sailing from Marcus, I am impatient to get closer to the action. The water, earlier the color of slate, now shimmers in the evening light and the boats catch the deepening sunset in their sails as they turn toward the finish line. Another moment passes and it’s over.

Back at the clubhouse, members warm themselves in the dining hall and regale each other with the day’s highlights while waiting for the other teams to return. The Club inaugurates the new Commodore, Mr. Shivkumar, in a Commodore Installation Ceremony to replace Marcus, who is leaving Korea. Awards and prizes are given for the day’s races and the clubhouse fills with laughter and merriment as team prizes are mixed up and everything is repeated twice, in English and Korean, for the benefit of the diverse members.

Founded in 2006, the 700 Yacht Club also formed Korea’s first international yacht racing team, which participates in competitions around the world and makes headlines by being the first group from Korea to join in on major yacht races. In their slideshow, Harold shows video of the club’s racing team participating in the 174th Australia Day Regatta and winning in the race’s largest division. In addition to international races, the club also participates in lake and ocean sailing and invites members along on other domestic and international destinations.

Full story: http://10mag.com/community-700-yacht-club-seoul/
Exposure MarineMackay Boats 728x90 BOTTOMHenri-Lloyd Dynamic Range

Related Articles

The X-Yachts Gold Cup Experience
A celebration of sailing, of X-Yachts and, most importantly of all, people Having just returned from Haderslev, Denmark - which is the home of X-Yachts and played host to the X-Yachts Gold Cup 2025 - I was left wondering if this was a racing event, a rally or a social celebration amongst close friends.
Posted on 10 Jun
Three Rivers Race bridge mast drop compilation!
Horning Sailing Club's event is iconic for many reasons The Yachtmaster Insurance Three Rivers Race at Horning Sailing Club is an iconic event for many reasons. The most unique scenes are at the bridges, where the sailors have to drop their masts and row underneath, often leaving it to the very last minute.
Posted on 10 Jun
2025 IRC National Championships preview
This year's event has teams racing from all over the world The 2025 IRC National Championship, part of the Royal Thames Yacht Club's 250th Anniversary Regatta, will bring together over 50 IRC-rated boats for three days of competitive inshore racing in the Solent.
Posted on 10 Jun
Loro Piana Giraglia Day 3: Capricorno rising
Upset on day three of the inshore racing The pecking order at maxi events is typically well defined with the largest, fastest yachts coming home first. However this was nearly upset on day three of the inshore racing at Loro Piana Giraglia, organised by the Yacht Club Italiano
Posted on 9 Jun
Freestyle Pro Tour Sardinia day 4
Caers, Huvermann and Pezetti win in full-power freestyle conditons Day 4 at FPT Sardinia delivered a full dose of high-wind freestyle, with Juniors, Women, and Men's fleets all completing full eliminations under the blasting winds.
Posted on 9 Jun
5.5 Metre World Championship Day 1
Strong winds delay the start of racing in Sopot No racing was possible on the opening day of the 2025 5.5 Metre World Championship in Sopot, Poland, with winds of 30 knots across the bay for most of the day.
Posted on 9 Jun
Black Foils into top three for SailGP Season 5
The Black Foils have moved into third place in the season long Rolex SailGP Championship The Black Foils have moved into third place in the season long Rolex SailGP Championship after a second place at the Mubadala New York Sail Grand Prix.
Posted on 9 Jun
Prize Round the Island Race for 84-year-old Peter
Taking line honours on the helm of his old boat Peter Cunningham hailed the Round the Island Race after taking line honours on the helm of his old boat. Peter, who was first to finish the 2021 race with his PowerPlay Racing Team, repeated the feat on the multihull MOD70, now Zoulou.
Posted on 9 Jun
32nd International Optimist Regatta starts soon
A fleet of nearly 100 sailors will compete at St. Thomas YC One week, three events! The TOTE Clinic kicks off Monday through Wednesday, the TOTE Team Race is on Thursday, and the 32nd International Optimist Regatta (IOR), hosted by the St. Thomas Yacht Club (STYC), runs from Friday through Sunday.
Posted on 9 Jun
Registration now open for GKA Youth events
Germany and Spain events will have U14, U16 and U19 divisions Registration is now open for the two upcoming GKA Youth events of the 2025 season. First up is the GKA Youth Big Air Kite World Championship in St. Peter Ording, Germany.
Posted on 9 Jun