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After weeks of bad news in which it seemed like the Gods were against us and we would not have a Tsing Ma Regatta this year - but against all odds, and with the stubbornness of your Commodore, we managed to pull it off very well. TMR11 was as exciting as ever, but with a modified route due to Mar Dep restrictions around the recovery of a sunken tug-boat near the Brothers.
After a week of strange weather, on day 1 we had absolutely no wind. An optimist might have said that at least it wasn’t raining. Due to the absence of Soko, Harlequin, Tsuru, Skellum, Salalah and others we had a little sadness in our hearts at the idea of not having all those friendly faces around. But there were still 13 boats in 2 divisions and little did we know how much fun we would have anyway.
After a (very) slow start, where Andy Kung and Bevin Brakespeare on the committee boat, Outsider did a magnificent job, Authority took the lead with Intrigue Plus in pursuit and Bliss hitting a rock. The wind picked up from the SE and we decided not to shorten the course. Rosemary was last over the line but soon was in front of most of the fleet with only Authority and Intrige Plus leading. Rigel radioed the Safety Boat For Play in panic that they had an emergency which turned out to be the absence of a cork screw on board. (Later they discovered the wine on board was all screw caps - much later, they discovered the cork screw as well) At Cheung Chau Rock it was Authority, Intrigue Plus, Thea, FC Bart, Rosemary, Xakanaxa, Koala, Epic, Bliss and Rigel.
After Cheung Chau Rock the wind was almost from astern with the apparent down to a trickle and on Thea we could not get the spinnaker pole off the mast because it was stuck. Authority and Intrigue Plus. disappeared into the mist with their Symmetrical kites up and Thea was third with Xakanaxa in close pursuit, then FC Bart, Koala, Rosemary, Bliss, Epic Sipadan and Rigel
Thea went deep while Xakanaxa was tacked downwind, both with assymmetrics, but Xakanaxa tacked too far out and into the strong ebb that slowed her considerably. Thea went deeper at a slower speed but avoided the current; the strategy paid off. FC Bart would have had the second division wrapped up but got into a spinnaker tangle and Rosemary, Koala and Bliss took advantage and passed her. Bliss is definitely sailing well this year. All in all a very exciting race in about 8 or 10 knots of wind with a lot of different strategies with Rigel and Sipadan entering the motoring division.
After the finish it took the small boats a considerable time to reach Gold Coast marina against the ebb tide, where we had the dock party and exchanged tall stories and gossip. Dinner was postponed to 8pm at the Gold Coast Hotel where we finally relaxed and enjoyed the fine food. Unfortunately we had to postpone the prize giving due to the lack of a microphone and so missed out on the Garry Late Night Show.
The following morning the small boats were understandably anxious to leave early in order to reach the start line on time, so the briefing started a few minutes early. Even so Koala, with had engine problems, did not make it and retired, and Bliss started 22 minutes late.
From the start to Kau Yi Chau we had 18 knots from the SE and everybody was flying. This was Rigel and Epic weather and when we watched them start we thought we would never see them again until after the finish. The small boats except Rosemary were all behind Kau Yi Chau by the time Thea started. Rosemary had the winches in the water and this was definitely not her best weather but she kept on slipping away and nobody ever managed to pass her in spite the lack of a spinnaker. Xakanaxa was catching up from behind while Sipadan was moving along well in the strong wind. We found out only days after the prize-giving that several boats did not round Datum Rock but because they were not amongst the winning boats we left the provisional results untouched.
As usual rounding Hei Ling Chau brought light winds and holes. Bliss got into a kite-gybe tangle and Rosemary, without a kite, took advantage and passed her. To our amazement, Rigel and Epic were stuck in a hole and we were all still in the race. As Rosemary passed Epic, Rigel slipped through the forbidden zone off the explosives depot but Rosemary in a final sprint managed to pass them on the finish line being not more than a second ahead. Epic and Thea had a similar duel with Thea finishing meters in front of Epic. Next was Xakanaxa with Authority closing on her, but not fast enough. Bliss and Salona were next. As usual, pursuit races guarantee exciting finishes.
The nature of pursuit races is such that if incorrect elapsed times are assumed (guessed), the time differentials at the start may be wrong. So it was thought that the fast boats may have been punished, and I said so at the prize-giving. But no, using the spreadsheet to simulate a normal race with handicap-corrected elapsed times, the results were almost identical (less than 14% fleet spread and totally unrelated to size), so we left the provisional results untouched.
With very many thanks to TMR11 sponsors: HSBC International, Zaks, Hemingways, Sahara ® eco-barnacle management, Gold Coast Yacht & Country Club, and the magnificent reception sponsored and organized by the DB Marina Club.
Thanks also to Bevin Brakespeare on committee boat, Outsider and Andy Kung for setting up the start, Janine and Stephan for event admin, Faye for organizing our beer and dinner at the last minute - and all the other volunteers who contributed. The legendary Garry Smith gave prize-giving a new meaning and then accepted the Toilet Seat gracefully for his encounter with a rock on Bliss. He has now officially become the prize-giving entertainer. The HSBC International Photo competition was won by James Oliver and here is the photo. Well done and enjoy your iPod-touch.
