29 on the line braced for Rolex China Sea Race
by RHKYC Media 27 Mar 2018 05:11 PDT
28 March 2018
(L to R): Gavin Brady (MOD Beau Geste), Lucy Sutro (Rear Commodore), John Woo (Vice Commodore), Duncan Hine, Simon Powell (RCSR Chairman), Robert Stoneley (RHKYC Commodore), Inge Strompf-Jepsen (Moonblue 2), Tiger Mok (Seawolf), Gordon Liu (Kingsman) © Rolex / Daniel Forster
A press conference was held today at the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club (RHKYC) for the 2018 Rolex China Sea Race, which starts tomorrow Wednesday 28 March in Hong Kong's iconic Victoria Harbour.
This year will mark the 29th edition of this biennial Offshore Category 1 race, run under the auspices of RORC since 1962. The organising authority, RHKYC, has been hosting 29 boats from Hong Kong and other regions, before the start, including entries from Australia, Mainland China, Philippines and Singapore.
In the lead up to the event, competitors go through a stringent preparation period, during which all participants are scrutineered to ensure that they satisfy the World Sailing Category 1 Offshore Sailing Regulations (with RORC prescriptions).
The fleet will gather before the start at RHKYC's Kellett Island club-house for a lion dance to wish the competitors a safe journey across the ever-challenging South China Sea. The Race traditionally starts in the cooler climate of Hong Kong then, after a bumpy first night, competitors are greeted by clear skies and a full moon as they reach towards the Philippines. As the fleet approaches the northern coast of the Philippines, tactics become supremely important as boats do their utmost to keep moving in the light air that is often found off the coast.
The boats to watch out for record-breaking times and Line Honours win are Karl Kwok's multihull MOD 70 Beau Geste and Philip Turner's monohull RP66 Alive. The current race record stands at an impressive 47h 31m 08s for monohulls set in 2016 by Alive and 48h 01m 47s in the multihulls set in 2000 by Benoit Lesaffre's Crowther 50 Catamaran Atmosphere.
Current favourites for IRC Overall win (on corrected time under IRC handicap) are Lighthorse Alpha Plus, Alive and the two TP52s; FreeFire and Standard Insurance Centennial in IRC Racer 0. However, with conditions being a bit of a lottery as the boats make their way along the race course means that timing is everything and, given a perfect set of circumstances, any of the IRC entries could lift the coveted China Sea Race trophy.
Rolex China Sea Race Chairman Simon Powell summed up his racing experience in his speech today, "I have competed in every edition of this race since 2008 and will be racing down again this year. As amateur racing yachtsmen and yachtswomen we love and relish the chance to compete in this very special event. It's a race where competitors start off in warm clothes and wet weather gear for the first 100 to 150 miles and end up in shorts and T-shirts. We see amazing sunrises and sunsets, and usually have some fast reaching under moonlight skies – it's all great stuff and who could argue with finishing in the welcoming, relaxed, warm waters of the Philippines. More than anything that seems to draw us all back race after race for this event is that we are trying to repeat those unique, sublime moments again and again – they are priceless."
Armchair enthusiasts can follow the action by checking the Yellowbrick trackers which update twice an hour. For the more competitive armchair enthusiast, they can join 1000s of competitors racing against the actual fleet on Virtual Regatta.
The Rolex China Sea Race 2018 will start in Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong, at 1120hrs (HKT) on Wednesday 28 March.
The Notice of Race for the 2018 Rolex China Sea Race starting on 28 March 2018 is available online at rolexchinasearace.com.