Rolex China Sea Race 2023: One week countdown to entry deadline
by Vivian Ngan 18 Feb 2023 00:50 PST
Rolex China Sea Race 2018 © Rolex / Daniel Forster
With one week to go until the entry deadline for this year's Rolex China Sea Race, the entry list already features 21 boats committed to this 565nm Category 1 Offshore Race which will start on 5 April in Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour and finish, depending on the size of boat and the conditions encountered, anything from two to five days later in the Philippines' Subic Bay.
2023 marks the 61st anniversary of this biennial Offshore Category 1 Race organised by the multi-faceted and cosmopolitan Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club, one of the oldest and most prestigious clubs in Hong Kong. Rolex has been a partner of the Club since 2007 and Title Sponsor of its flagship Race since 2008.
The current entry list features a strong contingent of international entrants. Four-time Asian Yachting Grand Prix Skipper, Ray Roberts from Australia, will be taking part in his second China Sea Race, this time on board TP52 Team Hollywood. His first participation in 2010 on AUS 8898 Evolution Racing, saw him take 2nd place overall.
Philippines entry Emerson Villena is returning for his fifth edition of the Rolex China Sea Race on TP52 Centennial 3, looking to improve upon their best previous result of 3rd IRC overall ins 2018. Another Philippines entry, Ernesto Echauz's R/P 75 Centennial 5, will be taking part in the boat's first Rolex China Sea Race, however Ernesto Echauz is no stranger to this flagship offshore race, having participated in nine editions of the race and having his name twice engraved on the China Sea Race Trophy (1998 and 2008).
Meitatsu Fukumoto and Seng Huang Lee's SHK Scallywag Fuku is also set to join their first edition of the Rolex China Sea Race. The ORMA 60 trimaran broke the multihull record in their first attempt in the 2019 edition of another of the Club's offshore races, the Hong Kong to Vietnam Race, with an elapsed time of 30h9m27s and the team is going going to attempt to beat the Rolex China Sea Race multihull current record set by Karl Kwok on his MOD Beau Geste with an elapsed time of 38h 30m 07s in 2018.
As an undisputed Asian blue-water classic, the Race has attracted the attention of the international yachting fraternity to Hong Kong and Southeast Asia and the 2023 edition of this blue water classic promises to be a riveting competition.
The online entry and the Notice of Race are available online at www.rolexchinasearace.com and entries closed on Friday, 28 February 1800hr Hong Kong time.