Volvo China Coast Regatta 2024 wrap up
by Vivian Ngan 14 Oct 2024 03:41 PDT
11-13 October 2024
The Volvo China Coast Regatta, Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club's premier 'Big Boat' event, took place over the weekend of 11 to 13 October. With a strong northeasterly monsoon blowing throughout the entire regatta, a 31-boat fleet battled it out in classic Hong Kong signature autumn sailing conditions.
The opening day of the three-day event started in a favourable easterly breeze of 14 to 15kts, with windward / leeward courses set to warm up the sailors. That was followed by a 17nm island course for IRC Racer 0, taking competitors round Po Toi and Sung Kong before finishing off at Stanley Peninsula, whilst the route for all other divisions was reduced to a 10 to 11nm course rounding Beaufort Island and Sung Kong or just Beaufort Island before ending at Stanley.
The Champagne sailing conditions were set to improve on day 2 of racing, with 18 to 20kts of easterly breeze under a beautiful clear blue sky. All IRC Racer fleets were put through their paces with three demanding windward/leeward courses; The order of the day was a thorough test of both tactics and boat handling, tight mark roundings and close finishes.
The IRC Premier Cruiser and PHS divisions joined for day 2 and 3 of the event. The PHS division was set one windward/leeward and a 10nm Island course, while IRC Premier was sent to complete two Island courses in the breezy conditions.
After a hard day on the water, sailors were rewarded with a legendary Mount Gay party held at the Club's Middle Island race venue.
The final day of racing saw the Race Management team record an average of 15kts of north-easterly breeze (gusting up to 20kts) across the racecourse set off south-east of Lamma Island. All IRC racer divisions and the PHS division were set one windward/leeward course, with an island course ranging from 9nm to 11.5nm around Po Toi and Sung Kong or Beaufort Islands finishing off Stanley.
Competition was fierce across all six divisions: IRC 0, 2, 3, Cape 31, Premier, and PHS. In IRC Division 0, an impressive line-up included three TP52s: Sam Chan's FreeFire, Noel Chan's Rampage88, and Nie Hua's Happy Go, racing alongside strong teams onboard Seawolf, led by William Liu, and Stanley Tse's Kikukie's Dream II
After three days of racing and having completed all scheduled seven races, the IRC divisions enjoyed one discard. Tight racing amongst the TP52s saw Rampage 88 take four bullets to put them in 1st place overall in division 0, three points ahead of Happy Go in 2nd place and William Liu's Seawolf in 3rd place.
Back in 2019, Ellian Perch delivered his Cape 31, Orion DYP from South Africa to Hong Kong to join that year's edition of the China Coast Regatta. It was the debut of the Cape 31 in Hong Kong. Five years on, the Cape 31s are the fastest expanding fleet in Hong Kong, with this year enjoying a dedicated division.
The fleet featured tight racing throughout the regatta, with several Cape 31 sailors from the UK joining Noel Chan's Rampage38 for a taste of China Coast Regatta racing at its very best. A hard-fought battle was put out by Rampage 38 to Andrew Taylor/Denis Martinet's Capitano, David Kong's Out of Africa and Randy Yeung's Tai Chi by Simplicity.
Capitano came back strong, winning the final two races; however, it was Noel Chan's Rampage38 that lifted the trophy, with David Kong's Out of Africa in 2nd place over Capitano in 3rd.
IRC Racer 2 featured five formidable teams. Nick Burns' King 40 Witchcraft, victorious over four consecutive years, lining up with Dennis Chien's Mat 1245 Arcturus+, Glenn Smith's Grand Soleil 44 Wild Card, and James Verner's Nightshift and Johnson Yuen's Summit 40 Zoe's Guard.
The standings for IRC Racer 2 remained consistent throughout the event with Witchcraft taking the win in all seven races, for a decisive win over James Verner's Nightshift in second place, followed by Dennis Chien's Arcturus+.
IRC Racer 3 was another hard-fought division, with defending champion Andrew Pidden's Juice, battling it out against Nick Southward's Admiralty Harbour Whiskey Jack, Hugues de Saint Germain's Ocean's Five, and Henning Mueller's Zesst for the overall win.
Despite a strong performance Juice had to settle for 2nd place as Admiralty Harbour Whiskey Jack topped the table three points ahead, with Zesst in third place.
IRC Premier Class comprised Carl Wilkinson's Lisa Elaine, Peter Churchouse's Moonblue 2, Tom Attenborough's Parnassus, and new entry Franco Cutrupia's Solaris 60, Fenice.
Fenice won three races out of four to take the overall first place ahead of Peter Churchouse's Moonblue 2 in second place.
The PHS division featured nine entries, with yachts ranging from a Farr 30 to an Oceanis 50. Notable contenders in recent editions of the regatta included Sunny Leung's Jibulai, Herman Wong/Chris Li's Kiasu, Raymond Wu's Tornado, Bradly Wilkins' Blowers Daughter, Eddy Lee's Generations, Dean Chisholm's Darling, Ming Lou's Coral Harbour, Thomas Wong's DBX2, and Sunny Chai's Simplicity GS, all vying for the title of best PHS boat.
It was a tight battle between DBX2 and Blowers Daughter, with both boats tied on 5 points, but it was DBX2 that took the overall win on countback.
Race Officer Inge Strompf-Jepsen commented, "We had a great race management team with a lot of knowledge; there was nothing that needed explaining, and it was really good. We've had a lot of fun, and I hope the sailors enjoyed it too. A good Race Officer is a lucky Race Officer; I think we were lucky with the weather, and this was overall a very good event."
Once again, the Volvo China Coast Regatta lived up to its reputation in delivering the best of Hong Kong's sailing conditions: excellent breezes, blue skies, warm friendly waters, and great parties. We hope everyone enjoyed the three days of racing and the social events - we're looking forward to seeing you all next year!
Keep up with the latest news on the Volvo China Coast Race Week visit: chinacoastraceweek.com/news
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