What is it about Hong Kong? Two weeks of strong monsoon, and the first sniff of a yacht race guarantees light airs. Now known as the Tsing Ma Regatta, Saturday’s leg from Discovery Bay to the Gold Coast proved a tricky course in gentle breezes varying from E’ly to W’ly, and back again, over the course of the day. This, coupled with the usual Ma Wan tides, kept the crews working throughout what turned out to be a taxing, seven hour race.
After a tight start by Paul Crichton, Race Officer on Lady Jo-Jo, the front boats sailed straight into a hole under Peng Chau. The back markers, Arconia and Aisling V, were thus gifted the opportunity to side-step the problem area and take the lead. Not for long, though, as Soko broke free and charged for Kau Yi Chau, only to do the same there! Arconia side-stepped again, reaching the Tsing Ma bridge first and holding the lead ever after as the flood took hold and stretched the fleet.
As they cleared the western approaches of the Ma Wan channel, the yachts were forced to beat into a light W’ly. Some went north (Lilla D was thought to be heading straight to the finish), others south (where Shockwave died in a hole). Those in the middle fared best, making the most of the tide. In hindsight, it would have been best to have shortened the course at Reef Island as a result of the light winds. Unfortunately, an hour after that option was declined, the winds died to a zephyr and it became clear that none of the boats would be able to stem the tide to finish before the 1800 cut-off.
This resulted in a late arrival for the dockside welcoming party, sponsored by San Miguel. However, it didn’t upset the testosterone-charged French crew of Congo, led by Serge Guignard, who put on an impromptu cabaret with the water-hoses. The prize-giving was held in the Gold Coast Yacht and Country Club, where the crews enjoyed an excellent buffet supper. The party then moved to the new Marina Clubhouse and extended to the wee hours aboard the boats.
The trophies, sponsored by the GCYCC, were nominally awarded to the first three boats for their times at the penultimate mark, CP5. However, it was decided that the results would not be counted for the purposes of the overall results for the regatta. This meant that it would be all or nothing in Race 2. Arconia’s skipper, Jim Fernie, got special mention – and the traditional ‘Rear End’ trophy - for running out of fuel at the mouth of the marina and requiring a tow.
Sunday morning dawned with a brisk northerly and more than a few hangovers. Most boats were late at the start, including the committee boat, Risky Business, which sounded the 5 minute warning signal as she dropped the ODM. Sofia, a nubile Swede in a boob tube was then despatched to the top deck to ‘fly’ the race flags by hand. The French crew awoke at this stage…
Somehow, the start went well and the fleet charged towards the first mark in a flash of cruising chutes. Aisling V was enjoying jostling with Soko so much that they neglected to round the mark and took some time dousing their chute to come around for a second try. There then followed a fine reach toward the Tsing Ma bridge in gusty conditions – a very refreshing change to the frustrations of Race 1 the day before. Again, Soko and Congo had stretched a good lead by the bridge in little over an hour, helped by the full ebb. They then chose to straight-line the next leg to Kau Yi Chau on a series of very broad reaches, followed by most of the other boats. Arconia made up time here by running closer to the wind and taking advantage of the stronger ebb by Tsing Yi. Shockwave, the smallest boat at 22 ft and skippered by 15 year-old Michael Carlisle, also flew downwind and, incredibly, the fleet had bunched again as they approached Kau Yi Chau. Bar one – Sabi Star had retired hurt as her mainsheet block disintegrated during a jibe, earning her skipper the ‘Rear End’ trophy for Race 2.
The beat to the penultimate mark off Discovery Bay saw the bigger boats extend away, once again, but not enough to offset their handicap. Soko took line honours, closely followed by Congo (one to watch, once Serge finds himself a spinnaker) and Cu Na Mara.
Arriving back alongside at Discovery Bay by 1400 allowed ample time to enjoy the ice-cold arrival beer, sponsored by Cerveza Sol. The prize-giving party was held later by the swimming pool at the Discovery Bay Marina Club, sponsor of the evening’s trophies. Overall regatta prizes were also provided by Fragrant Harbour magazine (including International Optima anti-foul, a Silva head-torch and other FH goodies) and Jug Thornton (crew knives), of Sabi Star. Amazingly, only one crewman found himself in the water – a Frenchman, obviously. Goodness knows what would have happened if they had won.
A tired body of sailors and supporters then stole away for a well-earned early night. An enjoyable weekend, capped by a spanking breeze in Race 2. It’s a great sport when the wind blows…
Anyone interested in the next Tsing Ma Regatta, planned as a COA event for the Spring, or other DBYC regattas, should contact us at info@dbyc.net for further details.
Tsing Ma Regatta – Race 1 (shortened course)
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Tsing Ma Regatta Results – Race 2 and Overall Results
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