San Fernando 2003. The Race that never was. - photo © Guy Nowell
Dear Recipient Name
Today should have been the start of the Rolex China Sea Race, but it wasn’t. The last time a bug cancelled a race out of Hong Kong was – you guessed it – San Fernando Race 2003. SARS. When all boats were denied entry to the Philippines before the start, but the Clipper fleet set off for Singapore instead and ended up in Nongsa Point Marina (Indonesia) because Singapore changed their mind while they were en route.
The outlook continues grim practically everywhere, but the thing that really worries me is what the scenery will look like when ‘normality’ returns. ‘Control Measures’, especially when they are ‘for your own good’ never go back to where they started. Expect a surge in dinghy, small boats, and short-handed sailing as sailors find that they can’t have a full crew on the TP52 any more. Four-up to Vietnam, anyone? And everyone minimum 2m apart? Definitely no hot-bunking!
So: now that you have time on your hands, take a look at our stories below. From self-isolating advice from offshore sailors to a fabulous VOR drone compilation, and from varnishing a Contender to techie stuff in the America’s Cup… top up the coffee and read on. If you want more, just go to www.sail-world.com/asia - what you can see here is only a selection.
Standing by on 72.
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