Lucky 88 for RHKYC's Spring Regatta
by RHKYC Media 12 May 2019 03:27 PDT
11-12 May 2019
RHKYC Spring Regatta 2019 © RHKYC / Guy Nowell
Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club's annual Spring Regatta was held over the weekend of 11 and 12 May to officially close off the Club's 2018-2019 sailing season.
A total of 88 boats (88 being a very auspicious number in Chinese culture) signed up for the two days of racing with one race held on Saturday and two races held on Sunday. Each race had nine separate starts. The bulk of the racing fleet were one-design classes; Dragons, Etchells, Flying Fifteens, Impalas, J/80s, Ruffians and Pandoras. The rest of the fleet comprised four sportsboats and 26 big boats, with the big boats being split into three divisions)\.
Saturday kicked off with blue skies, fantastic sunshine and decent breeze; starting off at seven to eight knots in the harbour area and further east blowing eight to 10kts but once the boats were at the start the wind had built to 12 to 14kts. Race Officer Barry Truhol looked at the playbook and with the great weather, extended the courses a little; targeting to have the boats out racing for around two hours. Six race tracks in the eastern portion of the harbour were utilised and a longer course was set for Big Boat Division 1 which took them out of the harbour towards Siu Sai Wan and back. All finishes converged back in the harbour at the same point between North Point and Kai Tak.
Sailors returned on Sunday hoping for more of the same conditions and whilst the wind was evident, it was proving to be difficult. Truhol commented "The third race was especially difficult because the wind dropped and so we set shorter courses... and then the breeze picked up and everyone finished at around or a bit ahead of the two hour mark, when I had been aiming for a bit over two hours. Otherwise, apart from the issues one has to deal with having that number of boats on the water, it's been a fantastic weekend."
In the Etchells fleet Mark Thornburrow (Racer X) maintained his top position throughout the weekend with a 1st, 4th and 1st place finish in his three races. Mark Thornburrow "We had a very good day. We had fantastic wind which kicked in for the second race. It was sunny and warm - in fact the whole Spring Regatta was fantastic, perfect!"
Frederic Azemard was similarly happy with his top place finish sailing his Dragon, Wudi. Azemard scored three bullets across the weekend, commenting "The conditions were probably the best we have ever had at a Spring Regatta. Great weather, good wind, a bit of tactics as it was a little shifty and there was a little current but we really enjoyed it."
The 2019 Spring Regatta was sailed in superb conditions and nicely brings to a close another successful season for the Club. Rear Commodore Sailing, Lucy Sutro, reflected upon the 2018-19 season, saying "The Club has enjoyed a very successful season with a record number of boats participating in most of the Club's events. If I had to pick some highlights I would pick the recent Ladies' Helm race (a record number of female helms), China Coast Regatta (some great racing for the big boats) and finally Hong Kong Race Week, which just goes from strength to strength."
Looking forwards, Sutro added "Next season we see the return of the Rolex China Sea Race, our blue-riband offshore race, when we will watch with interest to see if the record set at the last race will stand. For the classes we will be introducing a new format for the Class Regatta which will have the classes racing against each other in a new format. Details are still to be finalised, so watch this space!"
The prizegiving was held at the end of the two days of racing and was, as ever, a well-attended celebratory event. Commodore John Woo said "Without the support of our many volunteers, this event would not be possible. It takes approximately 20 volunteers each day to make the Spring Regatta possible by helping with Race Management, safety and the Protest Committee. I am sure you will join me in thanking them all for giving up their valuable time to ensure success of the event. I would also like to thank all our sponsors: St. James's Place, Solaris Yachts, Peroni, Mumm Champagne, Lillet, Skin Laundry, ETA Logistics and Sail-World Asia for their commitment to this event. We hope to welcome them back to the Club in the future."
Full provisional results available here