(Daya Bay, Shenzhen, China)- Success or victory can be measured in a
number of ways. There are the ten teams that won their respective
divisions at this year’s China Cup International Regatta, but there are
also the victories within those fleets. For example, the ten boat J/80
one-design class with crews from across Hong Kong and the Chinese
mainland. The China Cup and the J/80 fleet have helped foster the gro
wth
of competitive sailing in China. This was the 10th edition and it
attracted 138 entries from 38 different nations and regions around the
world. The event brings together first-time racers with some of the very
best in professional sailing.It was not a classic week for good breeze, with the previous week’s Typhoon Haima upsetting the usual weather systems and making this a predominantly light airs regatta. But, day three was windy and wavy. Then, the conditions were very light for the final day.
In
the J/80 one-design class, Jim Johnstone steered J/BOATS RACING TEAM to
easy victory with a string of bullets to win class with 4 pts in 4
races. Taking second was the XIAMEN JIEPENG SAILING TEAM with scores of
2-2-2-6 for 12 pts. Sailing a very consistent regatta was the TSINGHUA
UNIVERSITY SAILING TEAM with 3-4-4-5 on their scorecard for 16 pts.
Rounding out the top five were FRESH SAILING TEAM in 4th place with 18
points and the famous CHINA NAVAL AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING INSTITUTE
taking the 5th position just one point back with 19 points.
In
the handicap world, it was Nick Southward’s J/109 WHISKEY JACK taking
the silver in IRC C class. And, in IRC A class, a mixed bag of boats
that ranged from Mini-maxi’s to TP52’s to a J/111. In the end, the
enormous spread on handicap did nothing to help the J/111 MOJITO, sailed
by Michele & Simon Blore into 7th place. Here’s a nice YouTube
sailing video of the team practicing off Royal Hong Kong YC this
summer. Watch this nice China Cup sailing highlights video here
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