Volvo Ocean Race, Hong Kong stopover.
by Guy Nowell, Sail-World Asia 11 Jan 2018 03:18 PST
11 January 2018
l to r: Grant Calder, Yeung Tak-keung, Tom Mayo, Peter Ansell, Andrew Kwok, Karl Kwok Chi-leung, Tong Yui Shing © Guy Nowell
The Volvo Ocean Race is on its way to Hong Kong. The seven-strong fleet of round-the-world racers departed Melbourne on 02 January, and is presently struggling its way through the Doldrums marginally to the north of New Caledonia with an ETA of 20 January or maybe sooner.
On Monday the local Hong Kong media were introduced to the concept of the forthcoming stopover at a press conference: special guests including Yeung Tak-keung, JP, Commissioner for Sports; Karl Kwok Chi-leung, MH, Chairman of Major Sports Events Committee; Grant Calder – Port Director, Hong Kong Stopover and Director of Mayo & Calder; Peter Ansell, Head of Operations, Volvo Ocean Race; Andrew Kwok, CEO of HGC and Tong Yui Shing, President of the Hong Kong Sailing Federation.
The finish line for this leg of the VOR will be right off the end of the old Kai Tak runway, and the fleet will then berth at the Race Village presently under construction from the contents of 180 containers behind the HK Cruise Terminal in the Kwun Tong typhoon shelter.
The stopover is hosted by HK Government Home Affairs Bureau, the Hong Kong Sailing Federation, and HGC - Presenting Sponsor of the Volvo Ocean Race Hong Kong Stopover. HGC will also stage a HGC Talent showcase and e-Sport competition at the Race Festival grounds.
During the stopover (17 January – 07 February) there will be a VOR Hong Kong Festival, featuring a whole boatload of sailing and entertainment, with family-friendly activities on offer daily, including DJs and live music from Hong Kong’s up and coming local bands and entertainers, a Cantopop concert on 26 January featuring Sammi Cheng, Gin Lee and Ellen Loo, traditional Chinese Opera from the Hong Kong Young Talent Opera Group (24 January) and an international (but as yet unnamed) rock band, as well as a variety of food and beverage options (Hong Kong food trucks), and sailing and water sports themed activities.
Over 8,000 free tickets for the concert on Friday 26th January will be available for the public registration (11 January, 10.00am) on a first-come, first-served basis (Registration via www.ticketflap.com).
Onshore entertainment will be matched by plenty of excitement on the water as some of the world’s best sailors battle it out in an In-Port Race (27 January), an Around the Island Race (28 January), and for lucky guests of the various race sponsors and teams, Pro-Am racing on 29 January.
Unfortunately, and in spite of a huge and usually empty car park in the Cruise Terminal, there is absolutely no private car or even taxi access to Race Village – for fear of congesting the extremely limited road system in the area. To get to the Festival, you’ll have to take public transport to Kwun Tong and then a (free) ferry across the typhoon shelter from Kwun Tong Public Pier – from where, coincidentally, the HK Government is now busy planning to evict a number of untidy-looking street sleepers. For full details of transport access, check out the website www.volvooceanracehk.com/transport/ and the Wisdom Transport Video (www.dropbox.com/s/aop1d5pxqqnswt5/Wisdom%20Transportation%20%28Press%20Con%29.mp4?dl=0).
The Volvo Ocean Race-Hong Kong Stopover is designated as an “M” Mark event – something that helps enhance the image of Hong Kong as Asia’s sports event capital. The “M” Mark is awarded by the Major Sports Events Committee, symbolising intense, spectacular and signature events in Hong Kong’s sporting calendar.
After the main events, the VOR fleet will motor off to Nansha, 50nm away up the Pearl River, for a brief visit to Nansha Marina, otherwise known as the ‘Guangzhou Stopover’ (01-05 February). The origins of this strange sidebar to the Hong Kong stopover and the VOR proper are somewhat obscure, but chiefly involve sponsors’ requirements, whether Hong Kong is actually a part of China when a stopover in China is called for, and who promised what to whom when the original round-the-world route was announced. Remarkably, we hear that the Nansha expedition is deemed to be a scoring ‘leg’ of the overall race – 1 point for each boat that turns up (or doesn’t take a holiday in Hong Kong, depending on how you look at it) - which we guess will be the first time that race points will have been awarded to boats that hoist the iron headsail. The Race Village closes on 31 January, and will not re-open. Boats will return to Hong Kong on 05 February, and the re-start takes place on 07 February with the fleet heading out on the next leg to Auckland.
Tong Yui-Shing, President of the Hong Sailing Federation, has called upon the public to get behind the Volvo Ocean Race when it visits Hong Kong, noting that it is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and an opportunity to see yacht racing at its very best. Tong strongly indicated that the VOR stopover might be a one-off occasion, saying that “we don’t know if we can bring the event back to Hong Kong in the future because of its [high running] costs, and because there is stiff competition for hosting rights of having it in the city. We have never been able to do this before. This is the first time we have also entered a yacht in the world-class event.” [The latter comment refers to the Hong Kong flagged boat Sun Hung Kai Scallywag, an entry funded by Malaysian-Chinese money and with no Hong Kong sailors on the team having sacked its sole HK crew member last December. Many local sailors are less than enthusiastic supporters of a boat that represents Hong Kong in name only, has thus far substantially underperformed in the race, and has repeatedly been the focus of some highly controversial and unfavourable media attention.]
The main financial backer of the stopover is the Hong Kong Government with a HK$26m stake in the event, ably supported by Presenting Sponsor HGC. Said a Home Affairs Bureau spokesman, “We are expecting 7,000 people to visit the Race Village on a daily basis, and there are more than enough activities for them to enjoy.” One of the major attractions will be the Volvo Glove cinematic experience, which shows just what it’s like on board a VO65 racing yacht, abd there is a full-size race boat cut in half to allow visitors the change to explore the inside of the boat.
There’s pretty much something for everyone at this event, sailors and non-sailors alike, and of course it is greatly to be hoped that it will give the sport of sailing a boost in the SAR. Hong Kong is, de facto, the epicentre of the sport in Asia, and in the last few years has been the venue of several World Championship sailing events – but nothing quite as prestigious and internationally visible as a visit from the Volvo Ocean Race. This is a moment for Hong Kong to make a mark on the world’s sporting stage: let’s hope it’s a good one, and let’s hope that there is a positive trickle-down effect that boosts local participation in the best damn sport in the world.