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Kowloon Cup
What a weekend it turned out to be! The sun shone, the sea sparkled and the wind blew 10 knots, sometimes 12, from the northeast. It's hard to beat Hong Kong in those conditions, even if temperatures dip into the single digits. Besides, that's what guys like Musto, Gill, Helly Hansen and Zhik are for – no shortage of their gear seen around Port Shelter on Saturday, the 11th of January, for the first race of the Kowloon Cup 2025.
Incidentally, the Observatory's predictions are primarily for urban areas – temperatures are a 'couple of degrees lower in the New Territories'. The Observatory's 12 degrees, in other words, can quite often mean nine degrees in Sai Kung. Add to that the wind chill factor . . .
But back to Day 1, and the raising of the orange flag at 1250, on Hebe One, the committee boat. Race officer, Simon Jones, welcomed everyone on VHF Channel 72 and confirmed Course 40 for both the IRC and PHS fleets. From the middle of Port Shelter, this meant passing a windward mark laid in the direction of Sai Kung town, followed by a beat up the passage between Sharp Island and Kau Sai Chau, rounding Green Beacon to port, reaching along Wakeboard Alley, past High Island Reservoir, running through Rocky Harbour and finishing, depending on conditions, south of the Ma Tsai Pai rocky islet.
In the north-northeasterly, the RO was hoping for a race duration of two to two-and-a-half hours, with everyone back at the club by 1600. This proved fairly accurate, given the 15-nautical-mile course length and 12-knot breeze.
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At 1355, the horn went for the starting sequence of the first race. Four minutes, one minute, and a clean start for all 13 entries competing under the Portsmouth Handicapping System (PHS). Minnie the Moocher, with the club's rear commodore (sailing), Bridget Chan, gripping the Ker 11.3's enormous wheel, took off with Darling in hot pursuit. It was going to be a fast one.
Leaving the windward mark to starboard, the leaders were soon negotiating the passage between Sharp Island and Kau Sai Chau. Past the Yim Tin Tsai church, the dangers facing the fleet were the rocks and sand banks around Green Beacon. After that a lookout for speeding wakeboard boats had to be kept but, on the day, 'Wakeboard Alley' was remarkably empty. Something to do with the cold, perhaps?
Motoring ahead of the fleet, Hebe One had to get a move on to lay the finish line. With Minnie the Moocher just visible in the northwestern sector of Rocky Harbour, an ODM was laid at 1415 and the committee boat dropped anchor to the south of Ma Tsai Pai. Minnie finished at 14:31:39, taking line honours but having to accept 2nd place on handicap behind Voyages 66, helmed by Mason Lai.
In 3rd, another surprise achiever was Cynthia Law and her resilient crew on RB. Darling, not often seen racing in Sai Kung these days, finished 6th.
Last boat home was, also surprisingly, Ming Lou's Coral Harbour. On handicap, the usually competitive Oceanis 40 placed 11th ahead of Stingray and Jelik 7.
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Day 2 of the Kowloon Cup 2025 dawned almost identical to Day 1, with near perfect sailing conditions. Straight northerlies bearing down on Port Shelter on Sunday, the 12th of January, saw wind speeds reaching highs of 12 and lows of 6 knots. The highest readings came from Shelter Island while Rocky Harbour had less wind due to the surrounding topography.
Race 2 of the competition was designated a 'Pursuit Race' with faster yachts, such as Minnie the Moocher, starting 5-10 minutes after the others. This would allow them to catch up with the slower boats and, in theory, everyone would finish at the same time. Then, with tummies rumbling, it would be a dash to a seafood restaurant. On Sunday, the 12th, the chosen restaurant was Urchin Farm
The course for Race 2 took in a Club Mark, then Table Island. After that it was Trio Beach, Bluff Island and back to Trio before heading around the headland into Rocky Harbour. Finally, a Kowloon Cup Marker and an Islet Marker provided some pre-finish fun: boats had to loop these markers until the race officer signaled the finish. In Sunday's race, four boats managed to achieve four laps each. These results were included in the overall positions.
Nine yachts took part involving some 80 sailors. With temperatures ranging from 10 to 16 degrees (in the sun), all competitors were dressed with layers of warm clothing. Anyone walking into the gathering at Urchin Farm would be forgiven for thinking that the patrons had just finished an Arctic crossing!
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Pursuit racing was 'invented' more than two centuries ago to allow vessels of different sizes and designs to compete fairly against each other. Another term could be 'handicap racing' as the smaller and slower boats start first while the sleek racing machines are given late starts with allocated time penalties.
Sunday's event went smoothly with the results being combined with Day 1 for the overall score. The finish line was set conveniently near High Island seafood restaurants and, during a boisterous lunch, the RO, acting as Master of Ceremonies, presented prizes to the top competitors. Here are the first five:
Position |
Boat |
Day 1 |
Day 2 |
Overall |
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1st |
Harpseal |
4 |
2 |
6 |
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2nd |
Darling |
6 |
1 |
7 |
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3rd |
X-Terminator |
5 |
5 |
10 |
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4th |
Minnie the Moocher |
2 |
9 |
11 |
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5th |
Jibulai |
9 |
3 |
12 |
Another successful event with some tough competition given the cool northerlies at this time of year. Special thanks should be given to the sponsors – Ullman Sails, Breezy Marine and Carlsberg. Urchin Farm dished up some great seafood for the crews while organization and management of the event was provided by the Hebe Haven Yacht Club.
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