Lipton Trophy 2023 at Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club
by Vivian Ngan 6 Nov 2023 04:53 PST
4 November 2023
What a perfect day to go racing! The second constituent event of the Top Dog Trophy Series 2023-2024, the Lipton Trophy, took place on 4 November in ideal conditions with an average of 8 to 10kts of easterly wind bestowed upon Victoria Harbour.
A total of 64 boats started the race in staggered start times according to their RHKATI rating.
Regular RO team of Gareth and Di Williams elected a course that took the fleet up to Tai Koo Shing hoisting their kites to round Hung Hom, then repeating another two and a half rounds before a downwind finish at Kowloon Bay.
Pursuit races work on each individual boat or class of boats being given different start times based on their handicap rating, with the result being a close finish for every boat on the course as the fleet compresses. The slowest boats, having a head start, experienced the thrill of leading the fleet around the course while the faster boats need to be strategic about jockeying their way through the fleet.
As the day progressed, the wind built up to 12kts under a blue sky giving excellent sailing conditions throughout the day. The Pandoras were able to hold off the faster classes until the third rounding of Tai Koo Shing - Ruffian Picaro overtook Windfall and continued to sail through the finish line at 16h 26m 50s lifting Lipton Trophy. Pandora Windfall crossed in 2nd place and Ruffian Victory 9 in 3rd place.
The Lipton Trophy is the second of four events that make up the Top Dog Trophy Series 2023-2024 and the sailor of the best-combined results will be determined after the next two pursuit races, where are HKRNVR Memorial Vase (13 January 2024) and the Tomes Cup (27 April 2024).