Open Dinghy Regatta

Can you imagine the organization that goes into a regatta which attracts a whopping 262 boats and 325 sailors? Ninety officials who lay four entire race courses and make sure everything on the water is ready to go? Coaches, committees, back-up teams and countless others who provide their time and resources to make it happen? Sponsors, partners and government agencies whose support is essential? And all this before the racing actually begins!

The Open Dinghy Regatta, organized by the Sailing Federation of Hong Kong, China and hosted by the Hebe Haven Yacht Club, is an event of mind-boggling size and complexity. It is held over two days and features six races, conditions permitting.

In its current format, the regatta has been held annually since 2020. Back then it attracted 150 boats and numbers have been rising ever since. This year's total of 262 represents an increase of 14% over last year's 231. Quite obviously, the word is spreading – be there, it's competitive, well run and the food is great. Could we be looking at 300 boats next year?

Here's a statistic worth considering. Last year, Mainland entries numbered 28. This year they more than doubled to 59 – that's a big increase.

Back to the weekend of the 17th and 18th of May 2025. On Saturday, a briefing was held at 0900 on the main committee boat, Hebe One. Principal race officer, Inge Strompf, spoke to her team and told them "we have enough wind but it's going to be very, very hot. The good news is that a seabreeze is expected at 1200, but then it will die at around 1500." She was right on the former, wrong on the latter. The southerly breeze held at between 6 and 7 knots throughout the afternoon.

Strompf has some 40 years' experience of running races. She favours clean air and, as expected, Hebe One sailed a long way past Shelter Island before dropping anchor at 1030. "No wash from passing powerboats here," she exclaimed, "and steady wind from 165o for Course 2." Great conditions for ILCAs and Oppies.

Further out, Course 4 was being laid for the 29ers, 470s, 420s and Multihulls. Back inside Port Shelter, Course 1 for the 'Green' Optimists was taking shape in the shadow of the University. The Fusions, Fevas, Quests, Toppers, Sailability's 24mRs, Hansa 303s and Liberties were preparing themselves for battle on Course 3, positioned to the west of Silverstrand.

The action began at 1055 with countdowns for the various fleets. On Hebe One, the RO, ably assisted by Juliet Ashton and Dave Norton, was faced with a dramatic windshift and, exercising caution, raised the AP flag. But not for long.

At 1140, with the marks re-positioned, Strompf had the ILCA 4s away, followed by the ILCA 6s. Then came the dramatic sight of 45 Intermediate Optimists and 60 Main Optimists jostling to gain advantage before heading off on a trapezoid course. Lively, aggressive and exciting to watch – no holds barred among these up and coming stars!

For the rest of the day, Port Shelter and beyond was filled with sails. Sailors from Hong Kong, China, Macau, France, Britain, Singapore and the United States – that's an international event for you!

At 1330, there was a major windshift and race officers scrambled to reset marks before starting new races. It was a challenge for race management teams but well cor-ordinated work by management teams ensure that delays were short.

In fact, conditions were so good that the RO for the Green Optimists went for another race, making it four in total on Saturday. Sunday would see three races, allowing for a discard of one. Six to count.

The 29ers, too, were reveling in the conditions and Course 4's management team got in another race, making it four for the afternoon; likewise the 420s. Everybody happy.

So ended Day 1 of the Open Dinghy Regatta 2025. There were five protests, heard later ashore. As a 'ranking regatta', sailors take the event seriously and the protests were heard in front of six experienced and knowledgeable jurors, including one from Singapore.

In the Garden Bar, tactics were discussed and reviewed on SailFish – a programme developed in China which shows the racing tracks of individuals on screen. Very useful for training purposes.

Day 2 dawned much the same as the previous day. Overcast, dark clouds over Sai Kung while, further south towards the Nine Pins, patches of blue could be seen. Wind again, Force 2.

This time, Course 2 was brought back into Port Shelter, west of Cascade Bay. It made the tow from 'club to course' less tiring for the young Optimist sailors who were soon rearing to go behind Hebe One. The wind was favourable – 7 knots from 145°.