Interschools Sailing Festival 2025 at Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club
by Vivian Ngan 17 Mar 2025 02:04 PDT
15-16 March 2025
Mixed weather conditions were experienced by the 147 sailors competing over the two days of competition at the 2025 Interschools Sailing Festival on 15 and 16 March.
The sailors, representing 18 schools from Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area hit the water on 15 March for the first day of racing with great wind conditions greeting them with 7 to 9 kts of breeze gusting to 12kts - ideal for team racing. With 25 races tucked away by 1300hrs however, the weather started transitioning for an expected lively afternoon front and accompanying thunderstorm.
With the wind all but gone, the Race Management team was forced to AP racing. Several attempts to restart followed, and shortly after 1500 hours, with heavy wind warnings issued, the N over A was hoisted, and all sailors returned swiftly to shore after 32 races.
Race day two saw racing start in breezier conditions, with 12 to 18 knots gusting through 20+ knots across the course, keeping all sailors on their toes. For the completion of the qualifying series in the building breeze, and with sailors of various levels of experience in heavy weather conditions, RO Elberti Uiterwaal-Postma invoked the main sails-only and helmets requirement.
An hour into the schedule, the breeze began to abate, allowing jibs to be reinstated on the dinghies. And by 1400hrs, the qualifying round was completed, and the finals schedule was set.
Commenting on the day's racing, Uiterwaal-Postma said, "The final was divided into gold and silver fleets, with the numbers 1 and 2 from each group sailing for gold and the numbers 3 and 4 sailing for silver. In total, we managed to get 84 races in and have a great Interschools Festival." She added, "We saw some great team racing, and we saw many sailors improve as the weekend progressed. All teams got at least eight races under their belts."
After the event, Harrow International School Team Leader David Lamb said, "This is a fantastic team event for the schools and indeed the Club. The camaraderie amongst the teams, general banter and spirit of good competition rang out clearly!"
The final races sailed the eventual winers were:
Gold Fleet:
1st Harrow International School
2nd Hong Kong Academy
3rd Hong Kong International School
4th Vanke Meisha Academy
Silver Fleet:
1st French International School
2nd ISF Academy
3rd Meisha Bilingual School
4th Hong Kong Schools Sailing Association