A total of 104 competitors braved an inauspicious weather forecast to sail at this weekend’s AutumnRegatta. In spite of a quiet day on the water on Day 1, Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club’s Kellett Island base was humming first thing this morning with the sailing fraternity discussing wind, tide, exclusion zones and all manner of other factors which might affect their enjoyment of the two races scheduled for Day 2.
Whatever sacrifices Race Officer, Marty Kaye, had made overnight were worth it, as competitors were rewarded with a 10-12kts easterly, blowing straight down Victoria Harbour from Lei Yue Mun Gap. Not wanting to make it too easy, the construction exclusion zones had been relocated, and Kaye had to instruct classes not to set any courses including Kowloon Buoy or Dock Buoy roundings, as those areas were out of bounds.
The first race of the day started bang on schedule, with the slower fleets following a windward leeward loop to Tai Koo Shing and the faster boats to Shau Kei Wan. In the event, the wind held so well that all the boats apart from the Pandora fleet were allowed to continue to two laps of their course, before being shortened at Dock Buoy.
Conscious that the Harbour breeze often dies at around 1500hrs or so, and keen to make the most of the prevailing 11kts, Kaye elected to stay on anchor, lay an ODM and start the next race immediately with no course changes. Only two boats were recorded OCS for the entire regatta, Whiskey Jack, which went on to win Big Boat Division 2, and Etchells Kung Fu Fighting , both exonerating themselves and continuing to race.
Perhaps as compensation for Saturday, the breeze held all afternoon and sailors were treated to a rare clear, hot, sunny, windy day two.
While a number of protests were heard, the recently formed Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club Pipe Band entertained the crowd to a medley of Scottish tunes, while the bar flowed with Laurent Perrier Champagne, Bacardi Black and Carlsberg. It could be argued there were worse places to be!
A rowdy and well-attended prizegiving got underway with prizes presented by Max Chen from McLaren and Juliana Fung from SHK Private, with the following winners being awarded ‘best in class’
CLASS BOAT NAME SKIPPER
Big Boat Div 1 Elektra Marcel Liedts
Big Boat Div 2 Whiskey Jack Nick Southward
Big Boat Div 3 GA Arthur Ho
Sportsboat MERLIN Steve Bourne
Dragon CELINES Marc Castagnet
Etchells QUEST Fred Kinmonth
Flying Fifteen FRENCH FRIES Bob / Bobson
Impala TAXI Florence Kan
J/80 FOOTLOOSE Y C Leung
Pandora SOLSTICE K W Chair
Ruffian SCHANNULEKE Erwin van den Berge