Please select your home edition
Edition
Doyle_SailWorld_728X90px_GP TOP

China Coast Race Week 2018: Hong Kong to Hainan Race finish

by RHKYC Media 20 Oct 2018 00:46 PDT
Ambush leading at Lei Yue Mun. Hong Kong to Hainan Race 2018 © RHKYC / Guy Nowell

Second to arrive in Sanya, Hainan, after Karl Kwok's MOD Beau Geste, and claiming Monohull Line Honours was Sam Chan's TP52 FreeFire. FreeFire arrived on Friday night at 20h 15m 40s HK time, with an elapsed time of 32h 55m 40s.

Sam Chan is the only owner to have a version of FreeFiretake part in every edition of the Hong Kong to Hainan Race. And racing into Sanya 2h 15m later was Joachim Isler and Drew Taylor's Mills 41 Ambush, arriving at 22h 34min 54s HK time and taking the IRC Overall win!

Isler was thrilled. "We were the first monohull out of the harbour and held on to the lead until just before the TCS3 mark. That was the first highlight. Then there was some great racing; first with the jib top and then with the A4. We recorded fantastic speeds, topping out at 25kts which was very exhilarating. It was a little bit light today, but we had a tremendous finish, coming in with 20kts of breeze. So all in all, a fantastic offshore sprint. It's brilliant to be leading IRC Overall. All of the crew worked extremely hard the whole race. I think it's a well deserved result and it would have been all the more sweeter with my friend and co-owner Drew on board; he was sorely missed." [But Drew's dad, Bruce, was on board, so at least there was a family rep present! Ed]

Fred Kinmonth and Nick Burns' GTS 43, Mandrake III, woke the shore crew up with their early arrival at 05h 31min 46s this morning, putting them in 3rd IRC Overall. "We had a tiny bit of trouble dropping the spinnaker at one point, and it's no longer in one piece; that was probably our low point of the race, but the rest of it was magnificent. A finer body of men, one could not possibly find. I would say we probably had one of the best crews we have ever had, in terms of years of experience. Superb racing." said Kinmonth shortly after arriving at the pontoon.

The rest of the fleet continue to sail to the south of the rhumb line and are expected to arrive throughout the afternoon and evening tonight. The prizegiving will be held tonight at Sanya Serenity Marina.

Keep up with the latest news on the Hainan Race visit www.chinacoastraceweek.com/news

Related Articles

Admiral's Cup: Emotional, Rare, Unforgettable
The 2025 Admirals' Cup set the stage for a bold new era in offshore racing Once the pinnacle of international offshore sailing, the return of the Admiral's Cup was a resounding success, setting the stage for a bold new era in offshire racing. Posted on 4 Aug
Cowes Week 2025 Day 3
Weekend warriors and inspiring figures With the decision to abandon racing for the day taken on Sunday evening, many crews took the opportunity to rest and gear themselves up for the rest of the week. Posted on 4 Aug
Stride Forward team at Cowes Week Update
Battling boat changes and challenging conditions There's something new going on in the Childerley household at this Cowes Week. With Stuart getting back to competitive racing for the first time since suffering a life changing injury, his wife Lisa, daughter Abbey and son Ben are also racing together. Posted on 4 Aug
Festival of Sails 2026 expands to 5 days of racing
Australia's largest celebration of sailing just got even bigger Australia's largest celebration of sailing just got even bigger, with the Festival of Sails expanding to five action-packed days of racing. Posted on 4 Aug
Bulwarks and Bulldust – watch the new season
First show of the new season is Michaela Claes from Pantaenius Insurance Michaela Claes came into boating just 13 years ago. A lifelong passion for horses is still there, but she has added boating to her fluent German and English as her third language, and now has her boat licence to prove it. Posted on 4 Aug
Cowes Week 2025 Day 2
Tight racing, big waves and family fun The second day of racing at Cowes Week 2025 proved much easier for the Race Officers, with a good breeze, which enabled all classes to get away on time and delivered great, competitive racing across all fleets. Posted on 3 Aug
Channel Islands Open Dinghy Masters Preview
The Carey Olsen Jersey Regatta will be hosting the championship Along with the 12th edition of the GBR IRC Channel Islands Championship for cruiser/racers, the Channel Islands Open Dinghy Masters Championship will also run under the Carey Olsen Jersey Regatta banner. Posted on 3 Aug
Cowes Week 2025 Day 1
Light winds, building breeze and spectacular racing The opening day of Cowes Week 2025 dawned with light north-westerly airs. The weather forecast predicted a sharp change in wind direction, with Storm Floris moving in from Iceland later in the day. Posted on 2 Aug
Centenary edition respects the legend
Quotes from the Rolex Fastnet Race winners Alexis Loison and Jean-Pierre Kelbert are undoubtedly the right hands. Kelbert is the founder of the builder, and knows all the intricacies of Léon. Most significantly, Loison has previously won the Rolex Fastnet Race, in 2013. Posted on 1 Aug
Last hurrah for centennial Rolex Fastnet Race
20kt breeze gives welcome momentum to the final boats attempting to finish A highly successful centenary Rolex Fastnet Race is into its last moments and with this the northwest wind off Cherbourg's Cotentin peninsula has today been blowing a sturdy 20+ knots, for the first time since last Saturday's start in Cowes. Posted on 1 Aug
Zhik 2024 DecemberRooster 2025North Sails Loft 57 Podcast