As a recent convert to the exciting world of sailing, the news of the cancellation of this major sailing event in Hong Kong came as a big disappointment.

The World Sailing Teams Association, Louis Vuitton and the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club (RHKYC) have announced that preparations for the proposed “Louis Vuitton Trophy Hong Kong” will no longer continue.

The Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club has been instrumental in the promotion and organisation of this unique event and regrets that it has been cancelled.

The world-class sailing event involving America ’s Cup Class boats and racing teams was scheduled to be held on Victoria Harbour in January 2011.

However, it has become clear that many of the teams involved will now be focusing their resources on their preparations for the next America ’s Cup. A draft Protocol, which defines the terms for the 34th America ’s Cup, was released in recent weeks and includes between five and seven events in each of 2011 an 2012. This has made the Louis Vuitton Trophy Hong Kong schedule unfeasible to maintain for some of the competing teams.

The Louis Vuitton Trophy Hong Kong had been supported by the Hong Kong Government with an offer of funding from the Mega Event Fund and use of the new Pier 10 site in Central as a Race Village which was to be open to the public, free of charge. With the event in the planning stage only, no Mega Event Funding has been accessed and no work has been undertaken at Pier 10.

The Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club, as on-water co-ordinator and one of the three organisers of the event, remains optimistic that other international sailing events will be staged in Hong Kong in the future.

“The Louis Vuitton Trophy had the potential to place Hong Kong on the map as a host city for major world class sailing events. The Club appreciates the tremendous level of Government support we have received in this attempt to bring the Louis Vuitton Trophy to Hong Kong . We remain confident that sailing regatta organisers will continue to consider the city and its harbour as a prospective venue in the future,” said Warwick Downes, Chairman of the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club’s organising committee.

The America’s Cup winner, BMW ORACLE Racing, has indicated to the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club an interest in staging an America’s Cup Championship event in Asia and will look at Hong Kong as a potential venue in that context.

“Should this happen, the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club remains happy to assist.” Warwick Downes added.

Chairman and CEO of Louis Vuitton, Yves Carcelle, who worked behind the scenes to provide support for the event said: ” Hong Kong , with its wonderful harbour and city skyline, would have made a superb venue for the Louis Vuitton Trophy and I hope that, in the near future, we can support the staging of an event of this caliber here.”

Read our story on the Louis Vuitton Trophy Hong Kong here

This is what we are missing out on:

Typing this in my apartment in Hung Hom Bay, directly across from the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club’s Kellett Island HQ, I can see that Day 2 of the annual Spring Regatta is in full swing.  Judging from the angle of some of the boats, it looks as if they are again experiencing great conditions for some exciting sailing.

Yesterday, it was T-shirts, shorts and big smiles today for the first day of the RHKYC Spring Regatta. 

Sunshine and 18 knots of easterly breeze were provided to blow away the cobwebs during the around-the-cans race in the Eastern waters of the Harbour. Given the faultless conditions, the Race Officer, Simon Boyde, selected a Club start, treating spectators on the balcony to the sight of 93 boats in eight starts.

 Day 2 of the RHKYC’s Spring Regatta, Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong. (Pic: Mike Jansen)

Continues below:

Guy Newell captured some of yesterday’s action in this slideshow:

Here in Hong Kong we’ve had the privilege of being exposed to the speed and excitement that go with the world of Extreme 40′s sailing.  Late last year, the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club (RHKYC) played host to six boats flown in especially for the Hong Kong-leg of the Extreme Sailing Series Asia.  Here are some of the pictures I took during this exciting week:

After the fun and excitement that went with a week of multi-hull sailing in November last year, we learnt that our harbour will again be host to yet another major sailing event early next year.

Just what is the Louis Vuitton Trophy? 

Well, from a novice to you, I fully intend to find out.  Therefore, here’s my first introduction to the world that is the Louis Vuitton Trophy, I hope you will stay with me throughout this experience:

From SailingNewsTV, the 2009 Louis Vuitton Final:

More news about the Louis Vuitton Trophy coming soon.  Stay close!

Following hot on the heels of the successful Cathay Pacific/Credit Suisse Hong Kong Rugby Sevens tournament, the RHKYC boatyard and docks were buzzing with activity with crews loading provisions and gear.

The reason?  Thursday, April 1 saw the start of the Rolex China Sea Race. 

This year is the 25^th edition of the Rolex China Sea Race, which was first run in 1962, and has been held every two years since then. In 1972, it was officially recognised by the Royal Ocean Racing Club, and is now run under their prescriptions. The race has continued to attract increased interest and serves to draw the international yachting fraternity to Hong Kong and Southeast Asia .

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The sea gods came to the party sending the Rolex China Sea Race fleet off in a light southeasterly breeze and a fair tide towards the finish off Subic Bay, Philippines, 565 miles distant.

Earlier in the day, it was not so promising, but the breeze eventually filled in and the fog burned off to produce a colourful start just off the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club in Victoria Harbour . The 30-boat fleet started in a 6-8 knot breeze, which increased as the bigger boats approached Shek-O rock. This year, all divisions went off in one start, providing a spectacle with Hong Kong ’s towering buildings providing a dramatic backdrop.

The Rolex China Sea Race fleet set off from Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour (Pic:Rolex/Daniel Forster)

All you armchair-sailors out there will be happy to know that Pole Star and SkyWave have joined forces to provide a web-based tracking facility for the event. Shore-based fans can follow the racing online at:

www.rhkyc.org.hk/chinasearace/tracking.htm

(Pictures courtesy of RHKYC/Rolex/Daniel Forster)

The Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club (RHKYC) is one of the oldest sports clubs in Hong Kong and is committed to promoting sailing and rowing in the community.

The Club’s mission, however, is not limited to their sport.  It is a caring organisation and plays a vital role in the upliftment of the broader community.  Club members and staff are keen and regularly take part in community and charity activities, such as the Oxfam Trialwalker, McDonald’s House, Hebe Heaven Yacht Club 24-hour Charity Dinghy Race, Operation Santa Claus, etc.

This year, members and staff of the Club were delighted to be able to share the festive joy with several disadvantaged groups. 

The RHKYC’s Charity Fund(comprising money raised from members and staff) donated $20,000 each to the Fresh Fish Traders’ School, and the Worldwide Fund Hong Kong’s Marine Detective Programme. 

In addition to the monetary donation to the Fresh Fish Traders’ School, RHKYC invited 43 of their students to the Club for a memorable Christmas experience where they had the chance to create their own chocolate Yule Log as well as hearing a brief introduction to dinghy sailing. The Club hopes that this can help to enhance the students’ scope and self-confidence.

Continuing with the Club’s tradition of sharing during the festive season, RHKYC’s annual collection of new toys from members and staff resulted in two groups of children receiving gift; the first were children of the Baptist Oi Kwan Social Service’s ‘Standby U Programme’ and the second group were students from Lok Sin Tong Leung Kau Kui Primary School (Branch). 

Well done Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club! May you continue your good work in the new year.

When I reported in an earlier article that the boats taking part in the inaugural Extreme Sailing Series Asia will be packed up and shipped off to the next leg in Singapore “soon after” the Hong Kong leg, I didn’t realise just how “soon” it would be!  

I watched in awe as skipper and double Olympic Gold Medalist Shirley Robertson and her crew prepare and load their craft Rumbo Almeira onto it’s trailer immediately after finishing the final race of the Hong Kong leg of the Series on Tuesday afternoon.  The boat was lowered onto it’s trailer within minutes after the final race concluded in Victoria Harbour.

The teams had just enough time for a quick post-race debriefing before attending the official prize-giving at the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club.

The Extreme Sailing Series Asia now moves on to Singapore for the second leg (December 11-15) before the inaugural series concludes in Muscat , Oman , from February 1-5. 

(4 pictures below)

Oman Sail’s Masirah continued their winning form by taking a comfortable overall victory in the first leg of the inaugural Extreme Sailing Series Asia in Hong Kong that concluded yesterday afternoon.

The Extreme 40s were here in Hong Kong to demonstrate the potential of bringing a full scale public event to the region in 2010/2011 – a chance to showcase the specatacle of Extreme 40 racing to the national and international media and VIP guests.  Organisers OC Events last night were confident that the Series will return to Hong Kong next year with about twelve boats.

The champions of this year’s European Series, skippered by Pete Cumming of Great Britain , consolidated their overnight lead by winning the first three races today to set them on the way to victory over the 20 races held in Hong Kong’s spectacular Victoria Harbour during the last five days. 

BT took second place, followed by the China Team and Shirley Robertson’s Rumbo Almeira. The Wave, Muscat and Red Bull Extreme Sailing Team rounded out the six-boat field. 

Said Cumming: “We had very different winds here to the European circuit and with two new members of the team we are really pleased to have done so well. We had to learn to adapt to a new bow and helmsmen and it’s been a great challenge that the whole team has risen to. We came here not looking for or expecting a win, just gave it our best. Bring on Singapore .”

Winning skipper Pete Cummings and his crew celebrate their win in Hong Kong aboard Masirah.

The Extreme Sailing Series Asia now moves on to Singapore for the second leg (December 11-15) before the inaugural series concludes in Muscat , Oman , from February 1-5.

Hong Kong’s largest and most inclusive sailing event got underway early on Sunday morning, spiced up with six visiting Extreme 40’s, a record 14 Outrigger Canoes and four Offshore Rowing Boats. 

The 216 strong sailboat fleet featured all types of sailing boats, with the largest classes being the 35 IRC Cruisers, 54 HKPN Cruisers and 22 Hobie 16’s. The first start was at 0830hrs on both inner and outer start lines, and the start sequences continued at 5 minute intervals until the final start of the Extreme 40’s at 0940hrs. 

Around The Island Sailing Action (Pic: RHKYC/Richard Knight)

The sight of over 200 sailboats heading East to Lei Yue Mun was nothing short of magnificent, however staggered starts from RHKYC Middle Island allowed the Hong Kong Outrigger Canoe Club (HKOCC) women’s crew to lead the paddlers into the harbour from the West just as the boats were disappearing to the East. 

HKOCC led from start to finish, taking line honours and also the Women’s OC6 division paddling. The men’s trophy was lifted by HKIPC after completing the course in 03:40:34, in the face of stiff competition from overseas teams from Japan, Singapore, Saipan and, of course, Hawaii.

Meanwhile, back on the race track, RO (Race Officer) Jimmy Farquhar was making a considered decision to shorten the course at Green Island , to spare boats the pain of landing in several holes in the area of Western. This proved to be an astute decision, as the northerly breeze fluctuated between 0 – 12 knots all afternoon along the South of Hong Kong Island. 

A “fish-eye” view of the Around The Island Race (Pic: RHKYC/Richard Knight)

While the Extreme 40’s were allowed a chance to finish at Kellett Island and smash the existing multihull record (they failed), the Isler/Taylor owned Mills 41 ‘Ambush’ took monohull line honours at Green Island in and elapsed time of 3:50:06. Of the 163 other boats finished there, it was Gideon Mowser on SB3 ‘Sky’s The Limit’ who took the Monhull title on ATI handicap, with Mark Thornburrow on Hobie Tiger ‘Dream’ carrying off the Multihull prize.

During the Hong Kong leg of the Extreme Sailing Series Asia’s customary Media Day on Friday, I was fortunate to get my first-ever feel of an Extreme 40 racer courtesy of skipper Nick Moloney and his able BT crew.  For that reason it was expecially good to hear that BT took line honours in today’s Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club (RHKYC) Around the Island race.

BT snatched victory by just 14 seconds in the annual Around the Island Race in Hong Kong this morning, following a 27 nautical mile marathon. The six Extreme 40s battled their way around Hong Kong Island (the territory’s largest island) with every boat taking the lead at some point during the race. It was an amazing day for not only the sailors, but also the VIP guests onboard, who raced in the coveted ‘fifth man’ spot, including the Queen’s Grandson, Peter Phillips, onboard The Wave, Muscat.

The Wave, Muscat on Friday’s Media Day (Pic: Mike Jansen)

“We are totally pumped,” said BT Skipper Nick Moloney (AUS) just after they crossed the finish line just ahead of the home nation Extreme 40, China Team. “It all came down to the last 200 metres. We could see the new wind coming through and we knew that whoever gets the wind first will win. We thought China Team might catch it first, so we did panic a bit, but we edged into first place with the breeze and crossed the line first,” he grinned.

For Khamis Al Busaidi the bowman onboard Oman Sail’s Masirah, the Around the Island Race here in Hong Kong had particular resonance as he was onboard Masirah when they won Line Honours in the ‘other’ Round the Island Race around the Isle of Wight in the United Kingdom. Speaking before they set off he spoke of his determination to top the podium. “I really want to win a second Around the Island title, it would be a great honour. The team is very strong and I know we have the knowledge and experience to do well, but it will all come down to the wind.”

Masirah (Oman) during Friday’s Media Day (Pic: Mike Jansen)

Unfortunately for Khamis and the crew onboard Masirah, it wasn’t to be a double first for them. Despite leading practically the whole way around the Island of Hong Kong, they ground to a halt in the final leg up the Lamma Channel.

 Skipper Pete Cumming explained:

“This race was so similar to the Round the Island Race in Cowes back in June. Plenty of wind at the start, with it dropping right off over the south side of the island. We had such a fantastic start and round the East side of the Island we did a horizon job, hammer down, 26 knots and off we flew. But the tough thing about being the lead boat is that you act as a weather station of the other Extreme 40s in the fleet. At one point we had a lead of over a mile and we thought we were home and dry, but we sailed into a hole and all the other boats saw where we were and kept away! Red Bull came down one side and Team China and BT the other and we knew that one or other team was going to take the lead from us and we couldn’t do anything. It was great to be involved, and always something amazing to look at on the shore. The guys on BT did well, but it doesn’t make it any the less frustrating!”

The Extreme 40 fleet left the start line in Victoria Harbour at 0940, the last of a fleet of over 200 boats to depart as they headed on the clockwise course around Hong Kong Island. The Extreme 40s passed within inches of their compettitors, squeezing through the smallest gaps to charge to the front of the fleet and lead the race. After leaving the Lei Yue Mun Gap, the 40 foot catamarans stretch their legs and flew hulls in the 16 knot breeze and glorious sunshine. But as the boats turned into the Southern leg, the wind dropped right off and they crawled past Stanley, often grinding to a halt as the winds dipped.

As the boats sailed into the final leg up Kowloon Harbour, they had to zigzag through the junks, traditional fishing boats and ferries heading to Macau, making the gusty breeze and choppy sea even harder to navigate as they approached the finish line.

Tan Wearn Haw, helmsman onboard China Team said:

“This was a real showcase for the Series and sailing itself here in Hong Kong and I think we are starting to build on the momentum and we are getting a lot of people watching the racing and seeing the power and the speed of these boats. It’s opened up the eyes of the people and the sponsors which is really interesting for everyone.  It’s great to race around the Island. Of course we are really disapointed that we didn’t win in the final stages, but it would be great to be back next year and not only win, but break the record!”

Racing onboard the Extreme 40s with the four professional crews were two ‘fifth men’, VIP guests sailing as part of the core crews.  The Queen’s eldest grandson, Peter Phillips, Head of Group Sponsorship Asia Pacific for RBS said:

“That was a fantastic opportunity to get on board an Extreme 40. It was an awesome experience and great fun. Paul and his crew were superb and gave me one hell of a ride on The Wave. Its incredible to feel the speed over the water and when you’re flying along with one hull out of the water it’s exhilarating!”

Johnny Hodgson, who was onboard the winning boat BT agreed:

“That was fantastic, I’m really happy to have had the chance to race here. It’s great to have the Extreme 40s here in Hong Kong – we need to get them back next year!”

Provisional Results in the Around the Island Race 22 November 2009: (Boat, Finish Time)

BT, 13:05:12

China Team, 13:05:26

Oman Sail Masirah, 13:06:38

Rumbo Almeria, 13:07:50

Red Bull, 13:13:46

Muscat, The Wave, 13:16:06

The six Extreme 40s will be back to their shorter courses tomorrow, Monday 21 November in Victoria Harbour, racing from 2 – 5pm.

The first pursuit race of the National Australia Bank Top Dog Trophy Series took place on Saturday in un-seasonally chilly Hong Kong in an 8 knot northerly. 

With patchy breeze and an incoming tide at Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club’s Kellett Island Clubhouse, RO Brenda Davies opted for a Hung Hom start for the Lipton Trophy, with no delay to the published start times. 

For the uninitiated, pursuit races work on each boat or Class of boats being given a different start time based on their handicap, which in a perfect race would result in all boats finishing at around the same target time of 1630hrs. 

With 47 boats on the start line the 52 minute start sequence went without a hitch, Pandora ‘Solstice’ holding off the faster classes for two laps of Tai Koo Shing before being overtaken by Flying Fifteen ‘Squiffy’.  Cruiser ‘Sai Kung Belle’ was making steady progress, in sixth place at this stage, with ‘Ambush’ back in fortieth, but the beauty of the pursuit race is in the chase, and by the final gun, it was Jamie McWilliam on ‘Sai Kung Belle’ who lifted the Lipton Trophy, with Howard Williams on ‘Squiffy’ holding on to second and Isler/Taylor owned Mills 41 ‘Ambush’ building up to take third place.

Lipton Cup Sailing in Hong Kong (Pic: RHKYC/Richard Knight)

Prizes were presented by the General Manager of National Australia Bank, Mr Andrew Macintosh, and, when the bar ran dry, it was off home for an early night in preparation for Sunday’s 1O1O Next G ™ Around The Island Race.