Rolex
China Sea Race 2008
Hong Kong - Philippines
March
24, 2008 - Subic Centennial emerges
as Overall
IRC winner
Photos by: Rolex / Carlo Borlenghi
Last night the land-sea breeze off the Philippine coast made and lost fortunes for the potential handicap winners in this 565-nautical mile offshore Asian classic.
At the Philippines finish of the Rolex China Sea Race, the local enthusiasm and passion for sailing is evident, so it seemed fitting that the overall handicap winner was the Philippines entry, Subic Centennial, co-skippered by Judes Echauz and Vince Perez and their crew of young Filipino sailors.
Echauz
and Perez won the China Sea Race in 1998 with the same boat, and ten years
later decided it was time to try again. Echauz is President of the Philippines
Sailing Association and head of the Philippines sailing team and was involved
in the ASEAN Games in Manila. Subic Centennial, a Sydney 46 from the Manila
Yacht Club, is mostly composed of young kids who are part of the Philippines
Team, with Australian Jamie Wilmot as the senior coach.
Perez commented, "Judes really does a good job trying to involve young Filipinos who otherwise wouldn't enjoy the sport of sailing. He has provided scholarships in the Philippines Sailing Association, and sent them to the Southeast Asia Games, so this is a great experience for them. Some of them have never been to Hong Kong before, so it's a wonderful ocean race for them to participate in."
Once
again tactics played as much a part as luck. Echauz said, "We were
trying to be close to the rhumb line -- we did not want to go south, as
we might have been stuck. The way we looked at it was to be on the rhumb
line, or eventually trying to go north of the rhumb line, so that when
we got further down (the course) and the wind conditions were northeast
as forecast, on the last day it would be favouring us."
He continued, "The northeast was supposedly forecast for the last two days, but I guess in terms of weather prediction there was a big hole. Yesterday, true enough we got caught up for four hours and were not moving. It was very calm, 2 or 3 knots, up until about four in the afternoon."
Echauz
added, "We've seen Rolex as a sponsor in international regattas and
their being the sponsor for the Rolex China Sea Race will really give
it a big boost and a lot of prestige."
Finishing during the night were Moonblue 2, Australian Maid, Jaywalker, Shahtoosh, Stella, and Dream.
Paul Bankowski's Ker 11.3 Jaywalker, won IRC Racing B division and was 2nd overall on corrected time after Subic Centennial. Jaywalker persevered where others were stymied, coming in on the northwesterly which shut off, filled in from the southeast and shut down again, before finally filling in from the northwest again to get them across the finish line at 2204 hrs.
They
also persevered in that this was only the second time the boat has finished
this race, after starting in four editions, having had to retire twice
due to mechanical problems.
Outlining their winning game plan, crewmember Don Wilks from Hong Kong said, "We decided to go south of the rhumb line and come in from the sea side. First night we dove south quite deeply, mainly because it was a bit windy - didn't have an option. Took off south, stayed south, gybed a couple of times and came in just as we planned. Jaywalker was one of the few boats that avoided any holes, Wilks adding, "From that point of view, we were very lucky, we kept the boat moving at all times."
The
crew of eight, like many in this race, was a mixed group from Australia,
France, UK, and the US. Though they had never all sailed together until
the race start, Jaywalker's crew were an experienced group of amateurs,
many of whom race in local Hong Kong regattas.
The Ker 11.3 sportboat was a lively ride to Subic Bay, Wilks commented, "The boat just gets soaking wet. It's an out and out racing boat, just bunks, navigation station, cooker, very low freeboard, no headroom below. Every wave comes over, so we got very wet." Uncomfortable for some maybe, but exhilarating for others. Wilks said, "South side of the coast here we were doing 14-15 knots, not surfing, just 15 knots straight line."
Interestingly enough, there wasn't a clear right winning track this year to the Philippines - if there ever is -- some boats chose to go south of the rhumb line, such as Hi Fi, Jaywalker, and Dream, while others such as Subic Centennial and Fortis Mandrake headed more inshore.
In
IRC Premier Cruising Division, it was Mark Thornburrow, from Hong Kong,
on his Taswell 49 Dream who finished first. Dream was on a mission to
emulate their performance in the 2006 race, when they finished 2nd overall
(to Fortis Mandrake). The 20-year old 18-ton Dream is a full-on cruiser,
including air-conditioning and hot and cold water - amenities that might
seem odd for an accomplished Etchells sailor. But Thornburrow just seems
to relish the chance to sail comfortably with good friends. Though, make
no mistake, they were there to compete.
Up
until midnight Dream was making good time, spinnaker running and averaging
10 knots when the wind collapsed 20 miles from the finish. The final nail
in their potential handicap win coffin was when the breeze finally filled
in, it had swung around and was dead ahead -- taking them six hours to
beat to the finish.
Peter Churchouses' Moonblue 2 is renowned for being long on amenities and a fun ride to boot, with proper meals and an occasional fine wine onboard. Though shortly after sending an email that predicted a 1730 hrs finish where he added, "Fortunately we have had no breakages and our top speed has been about 12 knots without coming to a complete standstill once," Moonblue 2 ran out of luck, and wind, and would sit for some three hours before finding a breeze to take them across the finish.
Finishing
during the day Monday, and enjoying a decent land breeze, were Walawala,
Crystal, Challenge, Harlequin, and Xiphias,. At 1700 hrs Monday five yachts
were still at sea and due in to Subic Bay by midnight. Still racing are
Thea (ETA 2000 hrs), Cave Canem (ETA 2130 hrs), Harmony (ETA 2200 hrs);
Larabella is motoring and due in at 2000 hrs.
Retired are Strewth (keel problems) and Cloud (accompanied Strewth), who are both in Hong Kong, and Tipsy Frenz (damaged mainsail) is currently in Subic Bay.
Rolex
China Sea Race chairman Peter Cremers, who raced on board his Warwick
55, Shahtoosh, finishing second in IRC Performance Cruising, was pleased
with another successful edition of this biennial race from Hong Kong.
Cremers said, "The race gives a bit to everybody, the top racing
machines and the cruisers like mine. If they do the race in a proper way,
everybody has a chance to do well, that's the purpose. It's not just the
top hot boats that find a home in this race, everyone needs to find his
niche in the race."
The official prize giving ceremony will take place on April 16th 2008 at the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club. Among the trophies, Rolex timepieces will be awarded to Hi Fi's for the Line Honours win and to Subic Centennial for winning IRC Overall.
For more information,
entries, results and follow the action online at: http://www.rhkyc.org.hk/rolexchinasearace.htm
Rolex high-resolution images are at: http://www.regattanews.com/photos.asp?eventid=186
March
23, 2008 - Neil Pryde's Hi Fi takes
line honours win
Dockside
at the Subic Bay Yacht Club, skipper Neil Pryde was presented with a Rolex
Yacht-Master timepiece by John de Luna from Rolex Philippines for Hi Fi's
line honours win.
Pryde,
an internationally known sail maker whose specialty and success has been
as a designer and manufacturer of windsurfers, is a natural tinkerer,
known to always be tweaking his boats to make them faster. Hi Fi is a
completely new boat, though it was born from the ashes of a previous boat
he owned. 
March
22, 2008 - Tacticians roll the dice as frontrunners
near finish; Strewth safely back in Hong Kong
"When
the accident happened, there were two cracks and the bolts broke: the
first time, the boat shivered and we thought tension or something had
happened and we kept on racing. The second one, the boat actually tipped.
And because of the big broad stern, it swung around rather than tipped
over. Then the guys brought the boat up into the breeze and then we let
the sails off so that there wasn't any pressure."
"Then
we started to marshal our resources because we realized that we were 200
miles from anywhere. And it was closer to go back to Hong Kong than it
was to go to the Philippines. And so we elected -- even though it seemed
like a long way to go without a keel -- that we would try. Very stressful
night, everyone was on deck awake. Next morning, just before the "sched",
we spoke to the race office again and they had been in touch with some
of the other competitors. And we saw Cloud (the Beneteau 44.7, in IRC
Racing 2, skipper Olivier Decamps) on the horizon, nicest cloud we've
ever seen! They came to our aid and, very unselfishly, gave up their race,
and they're a very good boat, they would have done very well (in the race).
They escorted us back and I think that is true seamanship. I think that's
one of the spirits of racing. I've done quite a few Rolex races, mainly
the Rolex Sydney Hobart, but I've done Newport Bermuda too, and I think
that is real spirit of competitorship, you give up yourself to stand by,
and they escorted us all the way back and that was fantastic."
March
21, 2008 - Rolex China Sea fleet
halfway to Philippines; TP52 Strewth loses keel
Photos
by: Rolex / Carlo Borlenghi
March
20, 2008 - Wind arrives for start
of Rolex China Sea Race
In
the Racing Division, Neil Pryde's newly modified Hi Fi (HKG), with it's
distinctive flared deck aft, was early at the pin end of the start line,
but gybed around to restart and was quickly back at the head of the fleet
with the other 50-footers. In fact, out through Junk Bay, the 2006 race
winner Fortis Mandrake (HKG) and the TP52s, Geoff Hill's Strewth (AUS),
and Sam Chan's Ffreefire (HKG), were closely grouped together, crossing
tacks.
Describing
Dream, Blaauw said "It's a cruising boat: we've got air-conditioning,
hot and cold water, desalinization and all the rest of it. So if we beat
the racing machines with that, we'll let them know about it!" Outlining
their strategy he continued, "We'll probably end up a bit south of
the rhumb line most of the way and then harden up as the wind swings north,
which is what the expectation is. Our ETA is 90 hours (Monday morning),
if we do it in that, we'll have done pretty well.
March
19, 2008 - Forecast
bodes well for Rolex China Sea Race start
For
the 2006 Race winner Fred Kinmouth, on the Mills 51 Fortis Mandrake, the
forecast sounds promising, "I think it could be quite good for us.
We'll probably have (Force) 4-5 out of harbour and most of the first day,
but then it'll tail off. Our boat is really perfectly suited for light
breeze, 10-11 knots, and also it will be easterly, which is ahead of the
beam, which also suits our boat. We're racing against three boats of similar
length but they are lighter then us, so if it's windy and the wind is
behind, they get up on a plane and disappear and we lose. But if they're
not planing and the wind is ahead of the beam - even though our boat is
older, we're still quite competitive."
Given
the weather forecast, there are several contenders in IRC Racing for the
overall Rolex China Sea Race handicap win, which in addition to Mandrake,,
includes Neil Pryde's newly-refit Welbourne 52 Hi Fi, and two TP52's,
Sam Chan's Ffreefire 52 and Geoff Hill's new Strewth. All are expected
to stage a good fight for line honours as well. Also in the mix is Chris
Meads on his Corby 43 Full Metal Jacket sailing in his first Rolex China
Sea Race. Ma. Fidel/Ernesto Echauz' Sydney 46 Subic Centennial has had
a good showing in past races and Jon Wardill's Cassidy 55 Australian Maid
should never be counted out.