Typhoon 9 & 10, prize-giving

For some, and going by the series results up to Race 8, overall victory was never in any doubt. In IRC A, there was Happy Go – which still turned up for Races 9 & 10 because Nie Hua and his crew like winning and because the Typhoon Series never fails to offer great racing. In PHS A, Krampus was well ahead on points but, because of a keen rivalry with Minnie the Moocher, did Races 9 & 10 just to show who's boss! Footloose was going to win the J/80s regardless so Henry Wong and crew saved their energy for the prize-giving and all the prizes they would be carrying home.

For others, these two races would be the deciders. There was Out of Africa and Capitano in IRC B, Admiralty Harbour Whiskey Jack and Dexter II in IRC C, and Zoe in PHS B which was up against Pepper & Salt and Foxzhead. The athletic sportsboats (SMS) saw the club's very own Team Hebe Dragons doing battle with the Magic 25, Ironman.

Out of 10 races, the rules allowed for two discards.

But back to the final afternoon of racing. There was little time to waste as the committee boat, Hebe One, left the dock at 1120 and made for open water, coming to rest southeast of Shelter Island, west of Jin Island and not far from Ma Tsai Pai.

Race officer, Barry Truhol, chose Courses 6 and 7 and sent the support boats to lay two windward marks – A1 and A2 – at 0.8 and 0.7 nautical miles respectively. The two markers for the gate – port and starboard – were laid 100 metres from the committee boat and a marker for the finish line was set 250 metres to starboard. Notably, this ODM was a rigid inflatable (RIB) with an orange flag raised and a 'spotter' on board to report any boats on course side (OCS).

The RO figured on 45 minutes per race with the IRC A, B and Sportsboats doing three laps of their course and the others, two.

At 1250, the wind was blowing 8 knots from the southeast. At 1255, IRC A division entered its 5-minute countdown and, at 1300, five big racing machines slipped across the line, heralding the start of the penultimate race of this year's Typhoon Series.

IRC B was next to start but Arcturus+ and Nightshift were a little too keen and had to come back. The Cape 31s – Capitano, Out of Africa and H3O – were making sure they stayed in the fight and powered away to the A1 mark. Manbude could have done with one or two more crew.

The IRC C division started at 1310 with Rita Yau helming Dexter II into a commanding position. Whiskey Jack was not letting her have it easy, though. Bits & Pieces, with Dion Houghton working the tiller, made an impression. The J/80s and Sportsboats made it a very busy and noisy 18-boat start.

Then came the 12 boats of PHS A. Among the starters was Voyages 56, now a Hebe boat, with Xu Yuching as skipper. Good to see another Mainland entry making its mark among the local boats.

PHS B got away at 1320, Zoe pushing hard to stay in front.

With the breeze holding, the boats were able to finish in quick time without incident – a credit to the RO and his team.

It was straight into the final (Race 10) of the UK Sailmakers Typhoon Series 2024. IRC B got away at 1420 with the grand prix fleet, unusually, the second division to start, at 1426. After a delay of more than half an hour, the RO had the IRC, J/80s and Sportsboats on their way at 1502. If the wind held, they would all be home in approximately 45 minutes.

Five minutes later, PHS B started with the helm, veteran Tonny Chung, keeping Foxzhead in front. Pepper & Salt and Zoe were also looking strong in this surprisingly competitive division.

As predicted, boats began finishing in 45 minutes, Happy Go taking IRC A. Behind the big TP52 came Unicorn and Zannekin. IRC B was won by Capitano. Two other Cape 31s – H3O and Out of Africa – filled the 2nd and 3rd slots respectively.

Nick Southward's Whiskey Jack took IRC C, while the J/80s were won by Blue Water Racing Team ahead of Shenzhen Sailing Weekend Team and Future Sailing Team Club – all three from the Mainland. This is a big development in the Hong Kong yacht racing scene and deserves to be publicized and promoted. Also, having club J/80s for hire, certainly makes it easier for the Mainland sailors. Tuco won the SMS division ahead of Ironman.

Baby Beluga was last boat home at 16:10:44. Well done to its crew for their perseverance.

Finally, in their rush to get to the sponsored San Miguel beer, the TP52, Phoenix, ran aground off the club's main pontoon. A retracting keel might prevent this from happening again . . .

Prize-giving   Typhoon Series prize-givings are legendary but 2024 must surely go down as one of the best. After the three protests had been heard, the show started with master of ceremonies, Rob Allen, whipping the crowd into a frenzy!

Prizes were awarded to 1st, 2nd and 3rd in all divisions. These are the winners : Easy Go (IRC A), Out of Africa (IRC B), Admiralty Harbour Whiskey Jack (IRC C), Footloose (J/80s), Team Hebe Dragons (Sportsboats), Krampus (PHS A) and Zoe (PHS B).

A memorial to the late Chris Howarth was presented to the club by the publisher of Fragrant Harbour, David Robinson. Chris was editor of the magazine for 21 years and spent a lot of time at the club, covering regattas, shows, projects and Sailability. A eulogy by Tunku Soraya Dakhlah (Royal Langkawi Yacht Club) was read out to the 100 or so yachtsmen and women in the audience.

Photographers were kept busy throughout the boisterous ceremony made all the more enjoyable by co-ordinated music from DJ, Kevin Lewis. For example, when Minnie the Moocher received a prize, the strains of Cab Calloway's Hi-de-hi-de-hi-de-hi, Ho-di-ho-di-ho-di-oh accompanied the crew's appearance on stage. Brilliant – well done Mr DJ, and a big well done to the Hebe Haven Yacht Club for a memorable Typhoon Series and prize-giving. May there be many more like it.