HONG KONG—The first of six race days of the Hebe Haven Yacht Club “Quest Yachting” Typhoon Yachting Series took place on Sunday June 8 with 61 boats taking part.
Typhoon Series races generally take place covering island courses outside Shelter Cove to match wind conditions and the categories of boats taking part. IRC-A and -B boats normally cover additional legs to that of their slower counterparts, but good boat handling and navigational capabilities are required for all classes.
Take for example the first of this year’s races, visibility was very poor off Sai Kung last Sunday, probably as low as 800 metres so navigational aids were needed even for the more experienced sailors knowledgeable of local island layout.
Race-1 was due to start at 11am but wind conditions were only light and from weather predictions wind direction was expected to change as the day progressed, increasing the complexity of setting the courses. Race Officer Lesley Anderson finally got the IRC-A and –B boats away at 11.40am followed by three more waves (IRC-C, IRC-D and Sports Boats, and finally HKPN) at 5-minute intervals.
All boats followed the same course: Club Mark, Table Island, Steep Island Mark, Bluff Island, Bay Island, Table Island and finishing off Little Palm Beach.
Race-1 Winners
“Hua An” took line honours and 1st place in the IRC-A followed by “Signal 8”, “Ambush” and “Vineta”. “FreeFire” although registered for the series did not take part on this first race day.
“Lighthorse” was first across the line for IRC-B boats, but “Mojito” took first place on corrected time, “Sell Side Dream” came second and “Lighthorse” was placed 3rd.
“Dexter II”, “Vixen” and “Gearbox” were placed 1st, 2nd and 3rd respectively in IRC-C category. “Rampage” took line honours, but finished in 4th place on corrected time.
“Calamansi”, a new boat to the Hebe yacht races took line honours in IRC-D and came second on corrected time, but it was “St Happens” that took 1st place with “Taxi” coming in 3rd.
The spectacular “Brace Brace Brace” was 12 minutes ahead of the second placed boat “Black Magic” in the Sports Boat category, but this only gave “Brace” 6th place on corrected time. “Black Magic” took 1st, followed by “Sidewinder”, “Ricochet” and “Good Vibrations”.
“Surfdude” took line honours in the 21 boat fleet of HKPN competitors giving her 2nd place on adjusted time. “Dea II” came 1st, with “JeNa PaBe” and “Jazz” in 3rd and 4th places respectively.
Next Races
The next races in the Typhoon Series take place on June 22 when two geometric races will be held. This coming Saturday June 14 is the start of the Hebe Haven Summer Saturday Series.
