China Coast Regatta

The Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club’s premier big-boat event – the China Coast Regatta – took place from the 17th to the 19th of October in Hong Kong’s southern waters. The 34th edition attracted 30 entries, including TP52s, Cape 31s, performance cruiser-racers and offshore yachts, with sailors from Hong Kong and overseas competing across the IRC divisions.

The regatta delivered three days of excellent racing. On Day 1, race officer Inge Strompf and her team made full use of a fresh 15- to 18-knot easterly, gusting 20. After an opening windward / leeward for IRC Racer and PHS, competitors tackled island courses around Hong Kong’s southern islands, where speed, tactics, tides and pressure shifts all played a part.

Day 2 brought a steady 12- to 14-knot easterly and blue skies. The IRC Racer fleet completed three demanding windward / leewards, with consistency and clean boat handling proving decisive in the close competition. During Day 3, an initially light 6-knot breeze off Lamma Island built to 10 knots before the first start.

The racing intensified as the leaders fought for every advantage, with close match-racing tactics on the start line. Seven races were completed across the IRC divisions, bringing the discard into effect and adding another dimension to the final standings.

IRC Racer 0 featured the TP52 trio of Sam Chan’s Free Fire, Noel Chan’s Rampage 88 and Nie Hua’s Happy Go, alongside William Liu’s Ker 42 Custom, Seawolf, Lu Xiaoguang and Bo Wu’s Ker 46+, Unicorn, and Eddy Lee's Neo 430 Next. Happy Go claimed five bullets to win IRC Racer 0, finishing five points ahead of Rampage 88. Seawolf, the fleet’s smallest boat, took 3rd overall.

Eight experienced teams contested IRC Racer 1, including Nick Burns’ King 40, Witchcraft, James Verner and Sean Taylor’s Nightshift, Cape 31s Capitano, Out of Africa and Tai Chi by Simplicity, along with Arcturus+, Wild Card and Zoe’s Guard. Witchcraft dominated with six bullets from seven races. Out of Africa finished 2nd while Arcturus+ secured 3rd on countback after tieing with Capitano on 17 points.

IRC Racer 2 brought together the regatta’s sole international entry, Singaporean Yi Min Lee’s J/99, Jolt, and five local challengers: Andrew Pidden’s J/99, Juice, defending champion Nick Southward’s J/109, Admiralty Harbour Whiskey Jack, James Ford’s Ocean’s Five, Lewis Cerne’s Wicked and Henning Mueller’s Zesst. At the conclusion of the regatta, Whiskey Jack successfully defended its title, claiming the IRC Racer 2 crown. The two J/99s followed closely behind, with Juice securing 2nd place, two points ahead of Jolt in 3rd.

Competing in his first China Coast Regatta, Yi Min Lee praised the racing in Hong Kong: “It’s great. You have a wonderful sailing area here and it’s so lovely. The waters are wide open, the courses are very interesting and we had good wind. I particularly enjoyed coming here because there is another J/99, so we had close competition and some really good, fun sailing.”

IRC Premier brought together Franco Cutrupia’s Solaris 60, Fenice, Todd Barr’s AquaHub’s Moody Girl, Thomas Wong’s DBX2, Carl Wilkinson’s Lisa Elaine and Yun Ye’s Italia Yachts 14.98, Windflower, for four island courses. The top three remained unchanged from Day 1: Windflower won by one point from Fenice, with DBX2 in 3rd.

The Chung Yeung Festival holiday enabled the PHS Division to race on all three days. Dean Chisholm’s Darling, Herman Wong and Chris Li’s Kiasu!, Yiu Kwai Szeto’s Glory, Richard Bulgin’s Rising Sun and Zeng Hu’s TT completed two windward / leeward and two island courses. Rising Sun held the top spot, finishing one point ahead of Darling, with TT placing 3rd.

China Coast Regatta 2026 concluded after three memorable days of close racing against Hong Kong’s coastal scenery. From the action on the water to the Mount Gay party on the Middle Island hardstanding, the event again showcased the best of Hong Kong big-boat racing.