Vietnam Race entries

With fewer than 50 days to go, international entries from three countries mark the first sign-ups for the 10th edition of the Hong Kong to Vietnam Race; a 673-nautical-mile predominantly downwind run to Nha Trang , Vietnam. Racing kicks off on the 24th and 25th of October 2023 on Victoria Harbour in front of the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club’s main clubhouse at Kellett Island.

The Category 1 Offshore race is known for its windy and warm weather sailing conditions and is run under the auspices of Royal Ocean Racing Club. Racing finishes in Nha Trang which boasts many family-friendly resorts.

The first entries hail from Italy, Philippines and the United States. Among them for the first time are two boats from the Standard Insurance Centennial team. Ernesto Echauz’s Reichel Pugh 75 Standard Insurance Centennial 5 which took Line Honours in the Rolex China Sea Race earlier this year, is testing its offshore ability together with teammates on board the TP52 Standard Insurance Centennial 3 helmed by Emerson Villena, making its first appearance in the Hong Kong to Vietnam Race.

Italian Maserati Multi70, skipped by Giovanni Soldini, is back for its second edition of the Hong Kong to Vietnam Race. After narrowly missing the race against another Hong Kong trimaran, Orma 60 SHK Scallywag Fuku, Maserati Multi70 took Multihull Line Honours in the 2023 RORC Transatlantic Race and is set to challenge the multihull speed record.

Also to be watched is American Jim Murray with his Pac52 Callisto. Callisto has a lot of offshore racing exposure in America and just took 2nd place in the RORC Caribbean 600 IRC 0 division.  The Hong Kong to Vietnam Race will be their first Asian offshore race.

The Hong Kong to Vietnam Race was first run in 1996 and, since 2004, has been held biennially. This year it returns after a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic. It is recognised as a qualifying race for the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race and as the longest Category One offshore race in Asia. Meitatsu Fukumoto and Seng Huang Lee’s SHK Scallywag Fuku set a new Multihull Race Record of 30 hours 9 minutes and 27 seconds in 2019.  The current Monohull Race Record of 41:30:20 was also set in 2019 by Lucky, a US-based J/V Maxi 72 skippered by Bryon Ehrhart.