(Middle Island, Hong Kong, China)- The J/80 class in Hong Kong were
treated to "chamber of commerce" conditions-- sun and gorgeous 12-15 kt
Easterlies- for the first J/80 Hong Kong Class Championship. Hosted by
the gracious Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club, the highly competitive fifteen
boat fleet were treated to some great racing over the first weekend in
November sailing in the waters off Lamma Island.The regular fleet racers we're pleasantly surprised to see three bullets of the four-race first day go to Tristan Stewart on JAVELIN, they were sailing in only their second regatta outing with the J/80 - well done guys! Other notable results for the day was a 1 and a 2 for Peter Backe on INVICTUS, a 2 in the first race for Rob Tanner on his new boat EPEKWIT'K and a third for Lucinda Ho on MOZZIE.
From
the dock, Sunday looked very soft at first but the forecast held and
the fleet enjoyed a building breeze throughout the day. After two
general recalls in the first race, the RHKYC's PRO sent up the black
flag and, not surprisingly, the sailors held back and saw a much more
conservative start. Louie Perfectua in JELIK 7 took the first race,
with Andrew Moore & Lionel Welch on TIGRINA in second. JELIK 6,
helmed by Rafael Buitre took third.With the whole fleet suitably warmed up there were some very crowded mark roundings and finishes for the rest of the day. Race 6 was especially close at the first top mark with the majority of the fleet approaching on port lay and plenty of slaloming to avoid boats already around the mark with kites on their way up or made. Peter Backe on INVICTUS won race 6 and 8, and Tristan Stewart on JAVELIN was back on form to take the bullet in Race 7.
At the end of the day, "Congratulations" are on order to Peter and his crew on INVICTUS for the overall win, Louie on JELIK 7 in second, and Tristan on JAVELIN for third. Sailing Photo Credits- Ris Sattinasiri Wood Full results: http://www.rhkyc.org.hk/J80Results.aspx J/80 Hong Kong Class Association: http://www.facebook.com/J80HKG
