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Looks like the pukka Hong Kong sailing season has arrived! Marvelous sailing weather - and we made the most of it on Sunday. Clear air, a great breeze and lovely temps graced the MOB (Man Overboard) Relay Race and subsequent beach BBQ at Sunshine Island.
The aim-of-the-game was for each of the 2-boat teams to start from a buoyed box off Sunshine beach, sail three legs and carry out a MOB-relay in the box between each leg, before anchoring off the beach for the BBQ. Prize order to be decided on the corrected time of the last boat from each team to finish, back at the box. Clear as mud?
Well, the teams managed to fathom the ins-and-outs of the various tactics involved, and most went for the cross-wind leg first, around Peng Chau, as the breeze picked up to a steady 15+ kts. All bar Epic, in fact, revelling in the stronger airs - she went straight for the windward mark, Kau Yi Chau.
It’s difficult to relate relative performance from that point on, as teams sailed the three legs in varying order. Wings led Wizard back to the finishing box first, in only 2hrs 30 mins, but would it be fast enough on handicap? The crews from the four teams all finished, anchored off and arrived on the beach with a smile on their faces, all pretty sure they had done well. They had certainly all flown around the course; it was that kind of day - a great breeze, on flat water.
In the spirit of the event, you will note that Epic was allowed to sail the relay race on her tod, team-mate Lorien having lost a shroud chain-plate and in fear for her mast. So Epic duly carried out the MOB relays by herself and made the most of the strong conditions to steal first place. Well deserved, though, as she’s a weighty boat and only comes into her own with winds above 15 kts. Team ‘Dubya’ (Wings and Wizard) came second, with the Thornton/Forsythe combo (Sabi Star and Thea) third, and Authority and Rosemary fourth.
Of note, apart from the regular crews (repeat customers), not one enquiry was received for this event from prospective crew - a first. If you are reading this and want to get out sailing, but don’t have a boat, just drop us a line and we’ll put you in touch with skippers that need additional crew. Similarly, if you know someone who wants to get into sailing in HK, and particularly DB, then put them in touch and we’ll get them out on the water. No experience necessary, just a ‘can-do’ approach. So contact crew@dbyc.net to sign up for our next event.
Many thanks to the Huggins family aboard Phish and the Pickles aboard Roger the Cat for acting as Race Officers, and to the many others who helped shuttle the crews ashore in tenders. Also to the chefs, who got the BBQ going in double-quick time. Our thanks, as always, to the Marina Club for sponsorship of the alchoholic portion of the prizes.
The numbers were crunched over the BBQ lunch, with the results as follows:
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Photos courtesy of Sue Fernie and Fred Roswald. More of Fred’s photo’s can be found on his Wings cruising blog - click here. ***
