Victoria Harbour “an ideal stop” for Ocean Race

Volvo boats in harbour racing. January 2017

Volvo boats in the 2017-18 race at the old Kai Tak airport
Thanks to this government’s incompetence there’s no place for
boats in the redevelopments. Way to go Carrie!…

Veteran sailor Karl Kwok is pushing for Hong Kong to be a stopover in the 2012-22 Ocean Race (ex the Volvo Ocean race). [here]

Karl at the Royal Hong Kong Yacht ClubP
That’s his trimaran Beau Geste 

It would sure be a better choice than Qingdao or Sanya which I thought at the time were chosen by folks who naively thought there’d be commercial gains. 

‘We can do something special’: Hong Kong’s Scallywag takes second in thrilling Volvo Ocean Race battle with AkzoNobe

Scallywag arrives in Auckland, late last night

Hong Kong’s Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag earned second place in the sixth leg of the Volvo Ocean Race after one of the most exciting finishes in the competition’s history, sailing into Auckland, New Zealand last night just two minutes behind winner Team AkzoNobel.

In what was effectively a match race between the two leaders, the lead changed hands multiple times over the last 50 nautical miles with the Dutch boat narrowly managing to hold off a determined David Witt and his crew.

Full story, video and pics >> here in the South China Morning Post (it's free!)

Scallywag is currently running third overall, after a win Melbourne - Hong Kong and second in Hong Kong - Auckland.

Hong Kong’s Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag to tackle Volvo Ocean Race

Scallywag training in Spain last month.
Source: Scallywag Facebook

So Hong Kong has its own boat in the Volvo race starting 22 October, the VO65 "Scallywag" owned by the chairman of Sun Hung Kai, Lee Seng Huang, and skippered by Aussie David Witt. Link here in the South China Morning Post report (free and no registration needed). There's also video of Scallywag training in Spain at that link.  Good stuff!

I met David Witt a few years back when he was here with the other Scallywag the 100-footer, Syd Fisher's ex Ragamuffin which they raced in the Sydney-Hobart.  We were also in few regattas with that Scallywag.  Can still remember them thundering past us at the top mark in a race, cutting inside (legally!) and making us look like we were standing still...

Jing and I also spend a fair bit of time at the stand-up Punchline Comedy club at the Sun Hung Kai Centre in Wanchai, Mr Lee's head office, so heaps of connections!

There's a separate story on the one Hong Kong crew, the backup navigator Tiger Mok, Link here. 

Chinese club unveils open-ocean yacht race plan at UN conference | South China Morning Post

/Snip:

China plans to start an international sailing competition modelled on two of the world's most challenging open-ocean races – Britain's Fastnet and Australia's Sydney-Hobart – as one of its commitments to protecting the world's oceans.

It's planned to start from Zhongshan Zhoushan Island just south of Shanghai, East of Ningbo. Inaugural race set for second half 2018.

Read on .....
"Chinese club unveils open-ocean yacht race plan at UN conference"| South China Morning Post

Hong Kong in the Volvo. Yay!

Scallywag crew, skippered by David Witt, will take part in one of sailing’s most prestigious events – which visits Hong Kong in 2018

Hong Kong will have a yacht in the 2017-18 edition of the prestigious Volvo Ocean Race, it was confirmed on Thursday.

Lee Seng Huang, executive chairman of Sun Hung Kai & Co, will run the crew from his supermaxi Scallywag in the round-the-world race, considered one of the most challenging events in sailing.

Hong Kong will be a host city in the event, held every three years, for the first time early next year.

“This campaign will showcase world class competitive offshore sailing in Hong Kong and China with the first time stopovers for the Volvo Race in Hong Kong and Guangzhou. I have every confidence that Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag will make Hong Kong proud,” said Lee in a statement issued by organisers.

He hopes the campaign can “promote competitive sailing in Asia and build a long-lasting youth sailing legacy in the region”.

In an interview with the SCMP in January [1], Lee described how he developed a fascination with sailing growing up in Sydney near the start line of the famed Sydney-Hobart Race. He described watching the yachts as “an expensive curiosity”.

Sun Hung Kai & Co executive chairman Lee Seng Huang, owner of Supermaxi Scallywag, and skipper David Witt in the lead-up to the 72nd edition of the Sydney to Hobart race. Photo: Rolex/Daniel Forster.

When renowned Australian sailor Syd Fischer decided to retire and sell his 100-foot yacht Ragamuffin – third in the Sydney-Hobart in 2014 and second in 2015 – Lee stepped in to take over, renaming it Scallywag at the suggestion of his daughter.

How a Hong Kong tycoon’s ‘expensive curiosity’ led to a sea rescue and a record in the Sydney to Hobart race [2]

Keeping the same crew, the boat has set numerous speed records from its HK base, including a new landmark in the Hong Kong to Hainan race (23 hours, 31 minutes and 52 seconds), third place in the 2016 Sydney-Hobart [3] and most recently smashing the record in the San Fernando Race from Hong Kong to the Philippines by more than 15 hours (34:27.15)

In the Volvo Ocean Race, the crew will race a Volvo Ocean 65, skippered by Scallywag captain David Witt, the Australian who has raced Sydney-Hobart more than 20 times and who last competed in the Volvo race in 1997-98.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for the Scallywag team to represent Hong Kong on a truly global stage,” said Witt in the statement.

“With the race returning to a more traditional route and competing in One Design yachts, we feel that we are capable of achieving something that has been a life-long personal dream.”

The latest version of the Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18 Route Map. The route will see the boats race three times more Southern Ocean miles than in recent editions, visiting 12 cities around the globe. [4]

The other confirmed entries so far are team AkzoNobel (skippered by Simeon Tienpont, Netherlands), China’s Dongfeng Race Team (Charles Caudrelier, France), Mapfre (Xabi Fernandez, Spain) and Vestas 11th Hour Racing (Charlie Enright, USA).

The race will start from Alicante on 22 October, with the fleet capped at eight Ocean 65 yachts.

Teams will cover a total of 46,000 nautical miles stopping at 12 host cities – including Hong Kong in early 2018 – and finishes in The Hague at the end of June.

“We are delighted that Hong Kong will be represented by a syndicate for the first time, especially as it comes during the first ever Volvo Ocean Race to feature Hong Kong as a leg,” said Richard Mason, chief operating officer of the race.

“With a fast yacht, skippered by an experienced captain and the support of Mr Lee, Scallywag promises to be competitive and we are confident that they will be well supported by the public during their historic stopover in Hong Kong.

A series of races will be held in and around Hong Kong during the stopover including the competition race, a Victoria Harbour race and an Around the Island race.

The boats will be moored at Kai Tak Runway Park, which will be the home of the Volvo Ocean Race Festival, a 15-day carnival that will be free to the public.

More on this: 

How a Hong Kong tycoon’s ‘expensive curiosity’ led to a sea rescue and a record in the Sydney to Hobart race [1]

Hong Kong super maxi Scallywag smashes San Fernando race record [5]

Scallywag grabs third place in Sydney-Hobart yacht race to make Hong Kong proud [3]

HK to Vietnam race results

Want to keep a copy of the results, in case we ever do the race again. (Last did it in 2008, on Thea)
Stevo, on Ambush, (2nd IRC 1), said:

"Some of the best sailing I have done in a while.  Saturday in particular was 18-22 knots of wind, blue sky, blue water and navigators instructions were "go fast as possible"....

Dave Witt, sailing master on Ragamuffin, the 100' maxi that took Line Honours in race-record time, said the race is "sailing's best-kept secret".  "If I had to pick one ocean race to do every year, this would be it", he adds. Hmmm, gets one thinking of 2017 (it's only biennial: sorry Dave.....):

Chinese Sailors Come a Long Way in the Volvo Ocean Race

Members of the Dongfeng team racing last year. The Chinese crew members in
this year’s Volvo Ocean Race have quickly overcome their lack of experience. CreditYann Riou/Dongfeng Race Team, via Volvo Ocean Race

NEWPORT, R.I. — The Chinese team in the Volvo Ocean Race could not have performed worse during a trial run in September, less than a month before the actual race began.

With France’s top ocean racers training the crew, the Dongfeng Race Team watched a $15,000 sail slide overboard and a Chinese crew member cling to a halyard as he met the same fate, the line shredding his palms, only to be rescued along with the sail.

“The French guys were getting loads of grief,” said Mark Turner, one of the Chinese team’s managers, at a stopover here last week. “The other teams, everyone, thought we were irrelevant.”

But Dongfeng, whose crew includes members who had never slept on a sailboat or spoken English before February 2014, arrived in Newport on Thursday as the victor of the race’s sixth leg, which started in Itajaí, Brazil, on April 19. It was the second leg the team has won in the nine-leg race around the world, which covers 11 ports and about 39,000 nautical miles.

Read the rest.....

Dongfeng wins Leg 3 of the Volvo Ocean Race

China boat, Dongfeng, arrives in Sanya, Hainan Island, China
winning Leg 3 of the Volvo Ocean race.

There's a report in the South China Morning Post, here (needs registration, but not money).
More details on the Volvo Ocean Race site, here.

Vestas Wind

From here.

I certainly empathise with Chris Nicholson, of Team Vestas Wind, which ran aground on a reef of Stage 2 of the Volvo Ocean Race.
Yachting World. 
The New Yorker.

Report into the abandoning of “Walawala 2” on the HK to Vietnam Race

Walawala 2, August 2012 on Western Circuit.  Courtesy WW2 Facebook

Report of the review into the abandoning of “Walawala 2” on the Audi Hong Kong Vietnam Race on 18 October 2013.

This review of the abandonment of Walalwala 2 is well worth reading, and worth close scrutiny in particular by Xena crew in forthcoming Subic Race. [Backup PDF file here].
BTW: Our crewmate on forthcoming race to Subic, Stevo, was on Walawala 2 when she went down.... 

Around the Island Race, Hong Kong, November 10th 2013

L to R: Angel, TC, Zoe, Noel, Garry, Dagmar, Jing, Claes,
Jade, Steve, Biggus, Stevo.  Post race, Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club

We raced Xena in the annual Around the Island Race (ATIR), this year with over 250 entries, in about 20 classes, everything from Flying Fifteen dinghies to Frank Pong's Custom 75-footer.
A great race this year, with plenty of wind, rarely below 15 knots, averaging in the 20s, with occasional gusts over 30 knots.  This was the wind being sucked in from just north of East, by the super typhoon Haiyan, which has wreaked havoc in the Philippines... an ill wind...  Rather shocking and sobering to think, as we enjoy our race, such devastation was happening in our neighbour country.... our thoughts surely with them, as must also be our help...

LATER: The best way to donate is via our Club, which will match your donation one for one.  The link is here.

EVEN LATER: if you're not a Club member and wish to donate,  send a cheque payable to "Royal Hong Kong Charity Foundation Ltd" or  transfer money directly to the Foundation's HSBC account number 652-214743-001.  Receipts can be issued at request to email here.

Only one slight area of less pressure, as always south of the Island around Cyberport, where it dropped to 5-10 knots, but we never stopped, and made it round the island in just 3 hours 15 minutes, which averaged 8 knots even, for the 26 nautical mile course.  And we were fastest speed on the water in our division.
In our Class we came second, to the Beneteau First 50 Lighthorse.  We beat them by 10 minutes on elapsed time, but needed to be a bit more to beat them on corrected, which put us 4 minutes behind them.  Oh well -- I still recall we raced that boat last year in the China Coast Regatta, beating them five out of five races, so it will all be on next time we meet them.
Special guests on board Xena yesterday: Claes Tallberg, who is Commodore of the Nyslandska Jaktlubben in Finland and is in Hong Kong with about 20 other Commodores for the ICOYC Commodores’ Forum. To whom we said: "Tervetuloa"! (which is, I trust, "welcome" in Finnish).  And two youngsters, "Sharks" they call them, who are on the Club's Youth Sail training program: Freya and Thorwen (piccie below), who were making a transition to a big boat from 29ers (Freya) and Optimists (Thorwen).
Results (Click "IRC Cruising")
Above photo missing a few of the crew: MC Danger, myself, who took the photo and the two "Sharks", young sailors on RHKYC's sail training program:

Freya Darnton and Thorwen Uiterwaal-Postma
young "Sharks" with RHKYC youth training courses.

And another of the crew:

Only difference with one above, is I'm in this one...

Beauties and the Best... Stevo with Dagmar and Jing.

Some photos from Cess:

Hold on tight to that mainsail, Gaz!...

Whoops!....

Post mortem.... Jing, Biggus, Forse, Stevo, Zoe

Angel and TC

Dagmar and Forse, with prize giving lady.  RHKYC Poolside Prize giving
11th November 2013.

Phuket Race week

Moya Hin approaches top mark, Pete J at helm, yours truly, Forse, on Main,
Kevin on Jib/brace, La on checkstay, Paul on the keyboard.  Photo from regatta site.

I'm down at Sanwa cove in Phuket for Phuket Race week, an "off-season" regatta in the SW monsoon; hence based around the SE corner of the Island.

With Peter Jones, wife La and their crew on Moya Hin, a Bashford + Howison 41.  Lovely boat and crew, good winds in the 10-20 knot range with no holes. Met Pete Jones through sailing mate Rob, of the Vlad-Moscow trip...
Pete ("Sorro") Sorenson and Gordie Ketelbey walked away with first, notching up 8 bullets, basically unbeatable.  They're racing in their new purchase, the old Ichiban, ex-owned by Matt Allen, a Beneteau 44.7 raced successfully for years around this area, now renamed "Fü Jin", (風神) or wind god, in Japanese, keeping that Japanese vibe ("ichi ban" = "number one").
"Moya Hin", meantime, means "Rock Doctor" (or "Dr Rock", which is maybe cooler....), in Lao, as Peter Jones is a geologist, exploring for minerals in Laos.
The next top four after Fü Jin, had some close racing, sometimes just seconds of time in it. We were the big improvers up to the second-last day, in contention for a podium finish overall, but a touch of the wobblies on the last two fresh-breeze races led us to drop down a place, one point off fourth.
Enjoyed by all, with thanks to Pete J and team.

Moya Hin approaches bottom mark, Day 2.

Fü Jin and Moya Hin, Day 3

Cadillac and Bare Essentials Clean up....

What a Grand prize! Grant and Iris heft the trophy...

Bare Essentials, a 55' Robinson stripped out racer

From Grant, this morning:

Hi Peter and Jing

Hope this finds you well and happy.

We have enjoyed a Fabulous B.O.I. Sailing Week - perfect weather and a great result for "Cadillac"

1st Online and 1st PHRF every race. PHRF handicap is a National measured handicap system like IRC but also incorporates a performance aspect relative to all other N.Z. Race Yachts and is revalidated yearly.  General Handicap is a very arbitary local club handicapping system which "Cadillac" is always handicapped out of these days because of her race history.

Having won our division at BOI Sailing Week we then swapped yachts from "Cadillac" to "Bare Essentials" the 55ft Robinson Design for the annual Waitangi, Bay of Islands to Whangaroa Harbour Race  approx 35nmiles.

Turned out to be a very fast race (top speed 24.8knts)  with us taking out line and handicap honours again as well as smashing the standing time record, reducing it to 2hours 35 min, from the previous 3hours 25min set by the TP52 "Kia Kaha" 

So Big Celebrations and lots of hangovers following morning.

Weather has turned a little nasty now .. 35knts from the South, so we have left "Bare Essentials" in the Marina at Whangaroa, came home by car 'til the weather improves .. then we will go back and bring her down the coast to Whangarei where she is normally moored.

All the Best for now

Grant and Iris

Cadillac roars on the water

Cadillac lifts her skirts..

Regular Xena crew Grant and Iris are racing their Cadillac, a Beale 9.6m, in Islands Racing 2 Division of The Bay of Islands Sailing Week.
In Race One Day One, they creamed the opposition by over half an hour on the water, and got 1st corrected in PHRF inshore, 4th corrected on General Handicap.
Well done to Grunter, Splash and crew!
Results here.
Key sponsors are our mates at North Sails...

UPDATE (26 Jan): Grant, Iris and crew on Cadillac finished the race week of three Islands courses with three Line Honours, First in PHRF and Fourth corrected in General Handicap.  Great job guys! Series results here.

Bay of Islands Tall Ships and Classics

"Black Panther".  Click on photo to go to video

Thanks to Iris for the link to the YouTube of the 5th January Tall Ships and Classics race in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand.  Iris and Grant take part on "Black Panther" a Spencer 64' (screen shot above).
BTW: I note that the first boat mentioned in the video on-water action is a Bristol Channel Pilot Cutter called.... Iris....(at 1:50).
Grant says: "Great Day enjoyed by all again this year."

Syd-Hob update: boats we're following...

 Wild Oats XI at sunrise, just past the Iron Pot Rolex/Daniel Foster

Well, we picked it three days ago: WOXI gets the Treble for the second time: first over line, first on handicap and new race record.  As our Kiwi crewmates would say: Awesome!

Others we're following:

IRC2: Veloce with Bicky and G aboard finish 4th.  Well done, guys!
Chutzpah 5th (a website story here) and Toybox 2, the new Xp44 6th.  In this div, two Ker designs took out first and second: GTS43 Occasional Coarse Language Too and Ker 40 AFR Midnight Rambler.

Phil Simpfendorfer's Elliott 44cr Veloce ROLEX/Carlo Borlenghi

Is that G we see in front of the stack on the windward rail?

IRC3: Gordon's Zen has just finished, placed 11th in class (may improve, some boats still to finish in this div)

PHS: Brindabella finished 10th over line, 2nd overall PHS and 1st in Div 1 of PHS.

Sydney Hobart: looking at boats we know...

Looks like Wild Oats XI may pull off the Line Honours - Handicap double.  As well as their new race record, of course, for the Treble..

Some others we're following:

In IRC 2:  Chutzpah, an IRC40 owned by Bruce Taylor, father of HK's Ambush Drew Taylor is lying 3d, with 234 miles to go (DTG). Veloce, an Elliott 44CR, with Bicky and G aboard, are lying 5th, with 237 DTG.  Toybox 2 is a new Xp 44, lying 6th with 265 DTG.

In IRC 3: two previous crew of Xena -- and owners of Sydney 38s -- are battling it out: Tony Levett in TSA Management is 7th (271 DTG) and Gordon Ketelby in Zen is 8th (277 DTG).

In PHS: Brindabella, a boat I cruised on a couple of times years back, and used to be owned by old mate George Snow, is lying first in this division, with 128 DTG.  Challenged by Helsal III.

Asian Yachting Grand Prix Championship: we're sitting first on countback...

Thanks to MC Danger for the heads up:

Above is a screenshot.  Website here.

We're sitting first on countback, equal on points with Nick and Fred's EFG Mandrake, with one less regatta sailed..... Makes you think, dunnit?  Maybe we should do a few more of those remaining ones....

Xena: Racing program 2013

I have just posted ideas of the races and regattas we may take part in next year.  Here.
Expressions of interest welcome!

Moonblue 2 in Samui

The famous Moonblue 2 party, King's Cup 2010

I believe, from Pete Churchouse, she's arriving in Samui today or tomorrow.
Practice starts on Sunday, racing on Monday.
Jing's not able to make it this time, as she's got to head off to Korea next week.