Volvo Autumn Regatta 2026 at the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club

by RHKYC Media 21 Sep 05:17 PDT 19 September 2026

Competitors were welcomed on 19 September by near-perfect autumn sailing conditions, with clear blue skies and an easterly breeze of 6 to 8kts providing an outstanding start to the season.

Traditionally contested over two days and three races, the Volvo Autumn Regatta is open to all of Hong Kong's keelboat sailors and remains one of the most popular sailing events. This year's regatta attracted almost 600 competitors across seven one-design classes, Sportsboats and Big Boats.

Due to the State Funeral for The Honourable Tung Chee Hwa, the first Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, on 20 September, and as a mark of respect, the regatta was reduced to a single day of racing, with the first warning signal brought forward by one hour.

Race Officer Barry Truhol set the start line off Hung Hom, with the Division 0 Big Boats getting proceedings underway at 1245hrs, followed by the remaining Big Boat divisions, Sportsboats and one-design fleets. A total of 29 Big Boats competed across four divisions. As has become customary, the Etchells class fielded the largest fleet with 16 entries, while the Flying Fifteen, J/80 and J/70 classes were also strongly represented with 14 boats competing.

Adding an international flavour to the regatta were 19 sailors from Royal Perth Yacht Club, who travelled from Western Australia to experience Hong Kong sailing and compete aboard Rampage 28, MNOG One and Manbude.

Mark Dymond and Simon Cosoli of Royal Perth Yacht Club praised both the racing and atmosphere “From what we've seen so far, Hong Kong has an incredibly vibrant sailing community. There is an impressive variety of boats on the water, and the atmosphere is fantastic. It's been a wonderful experience. Back home in Perth, where I usually sail on the river, we'd be fortunate to see around 80 boats out on one of our busiest days. The scale of participation here, both in terms of the number of boats and the people involved, is truly remarkable. I don't think I've seen anything quite like it elsewhere. It's been very impressive and we're thoroughly enjoying being part of it.”

All classes completed two races in Victoria Harbour. Courses ranged from 3.16 to 6.86 nautical miles, with the Big Boats sailing between one-and-a-half and two laps on courses stretching between Shau Kei Wan and Hung Hom. The one-design fleets raced on courses between Shau Kei Wan and Tai Koo Shing.

As the afternoon progressed, the breeze steadily built to 10kts with gusts reaching 12kts. Beneath brilliant blue skies, colourful spinnakers filled Victoria Harbour as the fleet raced downwind against Hong Kong's iconic skyline, showcasing the city's vibrant sailing scene at its very best.

Reflecting on the day's racing, a delighted Race Officer Barry Truhol said: "With the regatta reduced to a single day, we needed to ensure the fleet could complete two races. We set courses of around an hour and a half for the faster boats and approximately an hour for the slower classes, then turned the fleets around as quickly as possible to get a second race completed. The breeze stayed between 8 and 10 kts for most of the day, occasionally reaching 12 knots. It was a great day on the water and I hope everyone enjoyed it."

After two competitive races, Noel Chan's Rampage 38 emerged victorious in Big Boat Division 0. In the remaining Big Boat divisions, overall honours went to Nick Southward's Admiralty Harbour Whiskey Jack (Division 1), Steven Wu's Boracay – Jelik 5 (Division 2) and Anthony, Michael, Raymond and Andy's Triple A (Division 3).

There was also an impressive performance from the visiting Royal Perth Yacht Club team aboard Manbude, helmed by Ben Fitzhardinge and Bill Quinn, which secured second place overall in Big Boat Division 1.

In the one-design classes and Sportsboats, Madness came out on top in the Etchells class. As for the rest: Dragon - Phyloong II; Flying Fifteen - Mana; Impala - Gnu; J/80 & J/70 - Jelignite; Pandora - Windfall; Ruffian - Scallywag; and Sportsboat - Phoenix all picked up the silverware in their classes.

With strong racing, a record turnout and spectacular weather, the Volvo Autumn Regatta delivered a memorable event, setting the tone for another exciting year of racing in Hong Kong waters.