Please select your home edition
Edition
Cyclops Marine 2023 November - LEADERBOARD

Cancellations (various), The Living Dead, SailGB (yes, you read that right).

by Guy Nowell 5 Mar 2020 02:50 AEDT
BuyAssociation HKRNVR Pursuit Race 2020 presented by RHKYC © RHKYC / Guy Nowell

This weekend’s IRC National Championships in Hong Kong cancelled – well, just one race in a series - but NOT on account of Covid-19. The IRC Nationals was to have been two geometric races in Port Shelter followed by a 50nm short offshore starting late afternoon or early evening this coming Saturday 7 March. All and any races in Hong Kong are subject to issuance of a race permit from the Marine Dept, and this has been refused, citing “safety reasons”. They just don’t want anyone sailing around unlit islands at night or going anywhere near shipping lanes.

To be quite honest, this is pretty feeble. I have raced in Hong Kong waters at night on many occasions, including the short offshores that we used to do just before the China Sea and San Fernando Races. Pedro Blanco and back. Around the Lemas and back to a finish in home waters. I have sailed into Hong Kong waters at night many times when returning from the Philippines.

Now, there are a number of ways of circumventing governmental timidity and spinelessness. First, deny all knowledge of racing and call it a rally – just like the Hong Kong to Vietnam Race which started off badged as a “rally” but still had a finish boat and a stopwatch waiting at the other end, and still awarded prizes. Alternatively, never use the words “night” or “overnight” in the NOR or SI. Say the start is going to be at 1000h, fly an AP on shore until 1800, then take it down and start at 1900. Problem solved.

Losing events to the vagaries of government nimbys or the overstated dangers of “lethal” viruses is becoming endemic round here. Pity the organisers of sporting events that have been postponed by the advent of Covid-19, the dreaded lurgy from Wuhan, otherwise known as the WuFlu.

The problem is twofold: if you are trying to reschedule an event such as Hong Kong Race Week, you have no idea of the re-start date for normality – ie the first date you can consider for your postponed event. The Hong Kong Sevens have been moved to October, but what if we are still in the grip of mask mania then?

Second, you’ll now be facing a packed calendar that gets increasingly congested with each passing day as everyone else tries to find new dates for their postponed events.

Third, if your event has an international component, the intended visitors may have made their travel arrangements and accommodation booking a long time ago, and other - prior – arrangements at home just don’t allow for rescheduling.

So far, sailors in Hong Kong have lost Hong Kong Race Week (the biggest dinghy regatta in Asia), the Rolex China Sea Race, and the Interschools Sailing Festival. Strictly in-house events such as the RHKYC’s Top Dog Series of pursuit races, the HHYC Monsoon Series and the ABC Waglan Series remain unaffected. Ironically, the RHKYC has increased its number of course hours at their Middle Island dinghy centre to accommodate demand – Hong Kong’s schools have all been closed since Chinese New Year, and there are a lot of young people going stir crazy in apartments. What better than to get out in the fresh air, eh? Schools cannot participate in events such as the Interschools Sailing Festival because (1) schools are closed and (2) all events are “off”. However, schools can advise parents to contact the sailing clubs directly for information on courses. Yes, it’s bizarre.

The business side of boating is taking a battering as well. The latest casualty is the Dubai Yacht Show, and at just one week’s notice! Other boat and yacht shows that have rolled over for the time being – Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, Korea, Taiwan.

Hong Kong has been turned into something out of The Living Dead. Just a month ago there were 20+ big white luxury motor yachts parked in the bay in front of my house for the weekend. Last Saturday/Sunday there were four. Traffic on the roads is massively reduced (not necessarily a bad thing), and it’s really easy to get a seat in a cinema as long as you take along a mask in your pocket. Singapore seems to have got a grip, but other parts of the world are preparing for a full-scale panic attack. Hand sanitiser, pasta, and toilet paper are all disappearing off the shelves in Australia, and people are starting to demand to work from home in the UK. Germany’s Interior Minister has refused to shake hands with Chancellor Merkel (probably a good idea on more than one count) and Italy is reverting to being a collection of city-states as one big centre after the other “isolates” itself.

Next likely target on the cancellation list? The Olympics. Former International Olympic Committee Vice President Dick Pound has said that If it is deemed unsafe for Tokyo to host the Olympics during the planned dates 24 July – 09 August, the only option would be to cancel the event. “You just don’t postpone something the size and scale of the Olympic," he is quoted as saying. "There are so many moving parts, so many countries and different seasons, and competitive seasons, and television seasons. You can’t just say, we’ll do it in October.”

Remember Asia Pacific Boating? The oldest boating magazine in Asia? 40+ years old? Folded up at the end of last year? Well, it’s back. It is still owned by Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) but now has a new management team operating it under licence. In the current economic climate we wish them luck. Luxury magazines live off the full-page and double-page glossy ads, not on subscriptions of newsstand sales, but money is undeniably tight at the moment. We still think that if you are a boating business entity then the most cost-effective way to reach the maximum number of people is online. Call me on +852 9680 7062 or email asiaeditor@sail-world.com

Last weekend saw the opening regatta of the 2020 SailGP season, in Sydney. “The fastest racing sailboats on the planet” and all that. If you were standing on Shark Island in the middle of Port Jackson, it was probably a case of “blink and you’ll miss it” as one or more of the F50 cats went humming past. If the commentator reminded us that Ben Ainslie was the “most-decorated Olympic sailor on the water, ever” once, then he did it a hundred times. I am a Brit, so I was quite happy to watch Aisle hand out a comprehensive thumping to all and sundry, but it was probably pretty tedious for everyone else. You can’t tell if the boats are going upwind or downwind, you can’t see any tactics or strategy in play (apart from “go as fast as possible”), and it’s all over before it starts. And speaking of starts – yes, that’s the good bit.

All this proves to me that speed is not the essence of racing, and reminds me that watching replays of 12s in Fremantle or the IACCs in Valencia is a great deal more interesting. Match racing is chess on water, but match racing F50s, at least on this occasion, was pants. “C’est magnifique, mais ce n’est pas la guerre, c’est de folie” as Gen Bosquet observed. Show down? What show down? The two top scorers from the fleet racing, Ainslie (GBR) and Slingsby (AUS) faced off for the last race of the regatta. Slingsby was a ½ second early coming into the box and copped a penalty; Ainslie just waved goodbye, and kept going. You would have, too. There was not one moment of tactical interaction between the two boats. Gawd knows what those monohulls with the alien antenna waving arms are going to be like in a match race. They’ll probably get tangled up in the pre-start.

Standing by on 72.

Related Articles

Don't miss our upcoming must-watch free Webinar
Tracking and Fleet Monitoring discussion on 22nd October 2025 Yacht tracking and fleet monitoring are essential, yet traditional tracking methods face significant challenges. On October 22nd we are hosting an exclusive and free webinar, with an in-depth exploration of the latest in tracking technology. Posted on 8 Oct
SailGP rolls through Cadiz, One Design racing news
F50s in Cadiz, Formula Kites, J/22s, Hobie 16s, and GL52s SailGP has enjoyed a fine tour of the United Kingdom and Europe of late. This wrapped up this past weekend in Cadiz, Spain, where the DP World Spain Sail Grand Prix was contested using the league's 24-meter wingsails and the light-air T-foils and rudders. Posted on 7 Oct
Opportunity knocks
Time with Keryn McMaster was on offer, so yeah, let's do this! Best grab it with both hands, then. Time with Keryn McMaster was on offer, so like, yeah, let's do this! She's a bit of ledge, so she fits in very well with the precursor piece we did on the Admiral's Cup, which was entitled: The call of the mighty. Posted on 6 Oct
Crossroads Moment for Olympic Sailing
Many changes to scoring over the last 20 years - it looks like it's all going to change again Perceived lack of attention span, confusing scoring systems, the need for TV to have an understandable format and grandstand' moment has led Olympic sailing to experiment with various formats over the past 20 years, and it is now looking to change again. Posted on 29 Sep
SailGP, TOR Europe, Women's Match Racing Worlds
Good things often happen when preparation meets opportunity Good things often happen when preparation meets opportunity. Such was the case for the Germany SailGP Team presented by Deutsche Bank squad when they notched their first-ever SailGP event win at last weekend's Rolex Switzerland Sail Grand Prix. Posted on 23 Sep
And so, it begins…
Grand Final not run yet, but our Hobart coverage begins with something very cool Maybe a tad earlier than last year, which I think was after the Grand Final, but the 100th entrant seemed like a good place to set things off. Now with that said, Sail-World's Hobart coverage begins. Posted on 21 Sep
Growing Female Participation in Sailing
Success Stories in the Flying Fifteen fleet It's been an incredible summer of sailing in the UK, and one of the highlights for me has been talking with competitors at major events, learning how they started sailing, what they love most about the sport, and their visions for the future. Posted on 16 Sep
Dr. Peter Puskic on TOC's Pacific Data Expedition
Dr. Peter Puskic discusses The Ocean Cleanup's Pacific Data Expedition This year, The Ocean Cleanup teamed up with some of the returning Transpac fleet to gather data on the Great Pacific Garbage Patch using innovative camera technology and AI that the organization developed. Posted on 16 Sep
Globe40 and La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec
A look at the Globe40 and the La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec It's always an encouraging sign when a round-the-world race begins its second edition, especially when the steeds in question are approachable boats for most serious sailors. Posted on 9 Sep
You just gotta love a good algorithm
So, I opened up YouTube, and there it was. Could not believe my luck, actually. So, I opened up YouTube, and there it was. Could not believe my luck, actually. The algorithm had coughed up something I really wanted to watch. Yes, I know it means Big Brother is watching and listening.Also, every key stroke is being recorded. Posted on 7 Sep
Henri-Lloyd Dynamic RangeNavico AUS Zeus3S FOOTERAllen Sailing