Youngest skipper to take on the Rolex China Sea Race
by RHKYC Media 26 Mar 2018 04:27 PDT
28 March 2018
Kingsman © RHKYC / Guy Nowell
Celebrating his 25th birthday on the eve of the Race, Gordon Liu may be one of the youngest skippers in Rolex China Sea Race history.
Gordon, a fresh graduate from the University of Northumbria in Newcastle, will make the crossing on the Sydney 38 Kingsman with his crew of seven. Kingsman is co-owned and supported by Cowen Chiu, Gordon's Godfather and Chairman of the Hong Kong Sea School.
Gordon caught the sailing bug in Hong Kong, "I started sailing in 2000 when Optimists were first introduced to the Tai Tam Scout Centre. The Hong Kong Island Region of the Scout Association of Hong Kong held their very first youth sail training lessons and I was one of the participants. I remember there was a sudden thunderstorm and the instructor asked us to sail back while he was recovering some capsized Optimists. It was very windy which frightened me at first but I soon realised that the only way to get myself out from the situation was to take control of the boat and sail back in. Once the boat was under control, it was not scary after all. These principles continue to play an important part in my life and sailing; if you are in an unwanted situation take control and deal with it."
This will be Gordon's very first offshore race as skipper and his crew is made up of a combination of experienced sailors and university students. Gordon's experience comes from offshore passage cruising and he has acquired a few thousand miles as skipper thanks to cruises between Hong Kong, Taiwan, Philippines, Kota Kinabalu, Singapore, Pangkor, Langkawi and Phuket.
"As a skipper and co-owner, the biggest challenge has been to build a strong offshore team and knowing our limits. There has been lots of training to get the team and boat prepared." he said.
Kingsman (previously called Stella owned by Roland Buser (2008) and then Fred Kinmonth (2004)) has taken part in two previous editions of the China Sea Race, placing 3rd in her division and 10th Overall in 2008 and 7th in division and 7th overall in 2004.
In closing, we asked Gordon how the boat name came about and if Kingsman was his favourite movie, "Kingsman is a good movie, I like it. We came up with different options, and when Karl Kwok, owner of MOD Beau Geste (who is also racing in the 2018 Rolex China Sea Race), came up with the name Kingsman. We all liked it!
The Notice of Race for the 2018 Rolex China Sea Race starting on 28 March 2018 is available online at rolexchinasearace.com.