J/35 DOMINATES HONG KONG ROUND ISLAND RACE!

(Hong Kong, China)- Hong Kong’s biggest annual celebration of sail, Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club’s annual Around the Island Race, a 26.0nm circumnavigation of Hong Kong Island, took place last weekend with an impressive entry list of 227 boats from 14 classes including 7 one-design classes, Sportsboats, HKPN, IRC, dinghies and beach catamarans.

Principal Race Officer David Norton set two start lines off of Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club's Kellett Island Clubhouse with the line closest to Kellett Island used to start the one design boats and the outside line for HKPN, IRC and beach catamarans divisions. The race course took the fleet sailing around Hong Kong Island to starboard (clockwise).


The first start was at 0830 hrs with the Pandoras and HKPN Monohulls which set off in an easterly breeze varying 4 to 11 kts and there was a race start every five minutes until 1100hrs.

Before a majority of boats could get out of the harbour, a weak northerly breeze was blocked by Kowloon Peninsula leading to a huge fleet of yachts parking up at Lei Yue Mun gap due to the incoming tide. But, later the fleet was greeted with a northeasterly breeze of 8 kts near Shek O. As the fleet made their way around Stanley Head, it was a colorful sight to behold with hundreds of kites on the horizon and the breeze had built to 10 kts at the southern side of Hong Kong Island. 


As the day progressed, the wind softened by noon and the breeze was again blocked by Hong Kong Island and another wind hole developed around Ape Lei Chau. PRO David Norton noted that two HKPN boats were well ahead of the main fleet and it was a tough decision then as to whether or not to shorten the course. Norton said, ＂two fast boats started relatively early and were well ahead, so that limited our choices. By noon, we recorded good wind at Green Island so we made a risky decision to finish at Kellett Island so sailors could do a full circumnavigation.” 

The J/145 REDEYE, sailed by David Mitchell Paul Leese, took the silver in IRC 1.040-1.119 Class. They were followed by the J/122E JINN sailed by Nico Cohen-Addad in fourth place. Then, Steve Devlin's J/111 JUGGERKNOT finished 9th place. 


HKPN Overall winner and HKPN 1151-1220 Class winner was J/35 NO ONE ELSE sailed by Wing Hung Ng; they won by a considerable corrected time margin on the entire fleet.

In the Sportboats class, the J/70 DAZIBAO sailed by Andrew Ellis took the bronze.


Trouncing the sixteen-boat J/80 Class, by far the largest one-design keelboat class in the race, was the trio on JAMMIN- A. Segaud M. Dubreuil/ J. Ten Berge. Their round-island time was nearly an hour faster over the second place team- Alain Choi's POIEMA. However, it was a battle behind the JAMMIN team for the top five; all separated by less than seven minutes after 26.0 nm of racing.  Third went to Henry Wong's FOOTLOOSE, fourth to Claude Wong's JELIGNITE, and fifth to the duo of Fraser Boyd & Pete Lake on JOSS. A good showing was had by all.   Sailing photo credits- Guy Nowell/ Sailworld.com and Vivian Ngang.  For more Royal Hong Kong YC Round Island Race sailing informationAdd to Flipboard Magazine.

J/80 FOOTLOOSE Tops Class in Slow Around Hong Kong Island Race

(Hong Kong, China)- Over 200 boats turned up for the 26.0nm Solaris Yachts Around the Island Race under a perfect blue sky. Given the sheer number of boats, Race Officer David Norton set two start lines off of Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club's Kellett Island Clubhouse with the line closest to Kellett Island used for starting the one-design boats and the outside line for HKPN, IRC and beach cat divisions.

The first start was at 0830hrs with the Pandoras and HKPN Monohulls setting off in an easterly breeze of around 4 to 7 kts and the last division to set off at 1030hrs were the Big Boats hoping to make up their lost time in this pursuit-style race.

Unfortunately, the wind softened in the afternoon and a wind hole developed around Middle Island. The majority of the fleet were sailing slowly downwind at the southern side of Hong Kong Island and in the end, just one third of the participating yachts could not reach Kellett Island before the cut-off of 1700hrs.

In the J/80 class, Henry Wong's FOOTLOOSE was the big winner, starting at 9:10am with his colleagues and simply smoking them around the track, winning by nearly a half hour. Second was top woman helm Belinda Ng on JENA PABE.  Rounding out the podium in third place was the duo of Antoine Segaud & Jasper Ten Berge's JAMMIN.  For more Royal Hong Kong YC Around the Island Race sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Hong Kong Round Island Race Preview

(Hong Kong, China)- The annual Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club Around the Island Race is one of the biggest inshore events in Hong Kong. It is a 26.0nm race around Hong Kong Island involving Big Boats, One-Design Classes, Dinghies and even Beach cats!  It is a complete free-for-all as the start takes place off the RHKYC starting line in front of the magnificent, skyscraper laced, Hong Kong city waterfront. The average entry list is 200+ boat entries, with more than 1,500 participants.

The race is popular amongst J/Teams in southeast Asia and amongst the local Hong Kong offshore community.  In the Big Boat Class there is a good turnout of J/Aficionados. At the top of that group is the J/122E JINN skippered by owner Nicolas Cohen-Addad. He is joined by the J/111 JUGGERKNOT (Kanev Pavel), the famous race-winning J/109 WHISKEY JACK (Nick Southward), the J/35 NO ONE ELSE (Wing Hung Ng), and the J/105 LEGENDE (Pascal Martin).

There is a large J/80 one-design class going out for their circumnavigation of Hong Kong, fourteen-boats to be exact. Some of the leading boats could be Henry Wong's FOOTLOOSE, Ben Bulmer's JASMINE, Andrew Blank's JAVELIN, Belinda Ng's JENA PABE, Lonny Chen's MAY 13, and Richard Johnston's UNKNOWN PLEASURES. The lone J/70 sailing the race is Andrew Ellis's DAZIBAO. Good luck to all!  For more Royal Hong Kong YC Around the Island Race sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Hong Kong Round Island Race Preview

(Hong Kong, China)- The annual Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club Around the Island Race is one of the biggest inshore events in Hong Kong. It is a 26.0nm race around Hong Kong Island involving Big Boats, One-Design Classes, Dinghies and even Beach cats!  It is a complete free-for-all as the start takes place off the RHKYC starting line in front of the magnificent, skyscraper laced, Hong Kong city waterfront. The average entry list is 200+ boat entries, with more than 1,500 participants.

The race is popular amongst J/Teams in southeast Asia and amongst the local Hong Kong offshore community.  In the Big Boat Class there is a good turnout of J/Aficionados. At the top of that group is the J/122E JINN skippered by owner Nicolas Cohen-Addad. He is joined by the J/111 JUGGERKNOT (Kanev Pavel), the famous race-winning J/109 WHISKEY JACK (Nick Southward), the J/35 NO ONE ELSE (Wing Hung Ng), and the J/105 LEGENDE (Pascal Martin).

There is a large J/80 one-design class going out for their circumnavigation of Hong Kong, fourteen-boats to be exact. Some of the leading boats could be Henry Wong's FOOTLOOSE, Ben Bulmer's JASMINE, Andrew Blank's JAVELIN, Belinda Ng's JENA PABE, Lonny Chen's MAY 13, and Richard Johnston's UNKNOWN PLEASURES. The lone J/70 sailing the race is Andrew Ellis's DAZIBAO. Good luck to all!  For more Royal Hong Kong YC Around the Island Race sailing information
Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/80 China Cup Challenge Match Report

(Xiamen, China)- After an eleven-race fleet regatta for 38 teams, 10 teams plus the defender and a top women’s team were invited to return Xiamen and participate in the “match racing phase” of the 2019 China Cup Challenge Match on Wu Yuan Bay.

As China’s oldest sailboat regatta, this was the 15th edition of the China Cup Challenge, and as expectations have risen, it was also the largest one-design regatta ever held in China- with thirty-eight J/80 teams!

The format of the event is that the 11 ‘challengers’ fight for the right to compete against the defender from the previous year for the perpetual solid silver trophy in the shape of a clamshell.

The event started with two complete round robins over three days with the defender (the 2018 Champion, Beijing Sailing Centre) part of the round robin 1, but excused from round robin 2. One has to allow the defender some match practice, but not too much knowledge of who will ultimately face them.

Work this math out! Two full round robins equals a total of 120 matches over 44 flights, which makes for long days on the water. Not only for the sailors, but also for the umpire team of John (Chief) NZL, Wayne NZL, Nev AUS and Alistair GBR with a total of 44 flights over the three days.

Conditions ranged from an almost drift off, to enough breeze to light up the J-80s used for the event, making the pre-start very busy at times with some skippers rather fond of the ‘Y’ Flag which, more often than not, drew a ‘Green’ response.

Not always though, with more than a smattering of blues and yellows, a few reds, one black and a redress request (denied). A few ‘contacts’ but none more than a ‘kiss’ with no hull damage reports required, although one or two spinnakers required some tape assistance along the way.

A few sailors commented on their level of tiredness when they came ashore, but spare a thought for the race committee or the umpires who, rather than being involved for half the flights, were on the water for ALL the races.

Those first three days whittled the fleet down to the top 4 teams for the semi-finals. The semis were first to three, then the wind shutdown bringing a brief respite for all in the hot sun and, literally, cloudless sky before the heating land brought in a healthy double-figures sea breeze.

That meant the first semi-final was a humdinger. At one point, when one team put in a completely unexpected maneuver, the umpire boat had to make a swift exit at high power leaving one umpire flat on his back on the bottom of the RIB with the only evidence of his presence being a blue flag being waved above the console and the loud screech of a whistle signaling the penalty that caused the RIB to move!

SEAWOLF TEAM from Shenzhen eventually ran out the worthy winner 4 points to 2, but it was a hard (and fairly) fought victory where at times the tables could have easily been turned. A real sharpening up process for the eventual winner.

There followed a prize-giving on the dock for what could be called the local equivalent of the Louis Vuitton Cup or Prada Cup, as the job was only half done. The Challenger winner was now determined and now had the right to go up against the Defender.

Those Defenders, by the way, spent the whole afternoon on the spectator boat moored just off the race track observing the action with more than a little passing interest. They knew they would have to be on their game to defend their title.

The North against South battle in the Challenge match may appear to be one-sided with SEAWOLF taking the title 4-0, but they didn’t have it all their own way in the pre-start. For the SEAWOLF team, the 24 “practice races” leading up to the match had made the Shenzhen team razor-sharp and their superiority in boat speed. Plus, their boat-handling, particularly at the mark roundings, gave little chance to the Beijing-based team to take advantage of their competitors.

As the Chief Umpire, John Rountree explained, “the quality of the match racing across the fleet has risen every year.” He should know, he has been coming to the event for the past six years!

There was one final element to the event that was pioneered two editions ago- the “All-Star Challenge”.

The new champion would sail in a “Big Money Match” against a team brought together from the teams ranked 2nd to 5th with the best helm, the best mainsheet, etc for a first to 3 winner-takes-all for RMB 250,000; a portion of which would go to the charity of the winner’s choice.

In the past, this has seen some amazing racing. In fact, in one race, there was so much action, it prompted one umpire to claim it was “in the top 10 matches I have even witnessed” and he has umpired at three America’s Cups!

This year SEAWOLF ran away from the competition, winning in a 3-0 rout in convincing fashion; taking home their 250,000 RMB and donating it to a sailing charity for children in China.

Five days of intense racing, a total of 142 races– that’s NOT a typo by the way! The 2019 China Cup Challenge Match once again proving why it is one of the most highly-regarded regattas in the Chinese sailing calendar. Lots of smiles on sailor’s faces (winners and losers), which is what it should all be about – roll on next year! Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/80 Singlehanded Challenge Launches in China

The dream of sailing a singlehanded boat across the China Sea started back in 2015. “Hualian”, as he is known, dreamed of sailing a J/80 sailboat specially equipped to handle the challenges of sailing offshore for 1,600 nm (about 3,000 km). No one has done it before and, in China, such challenges are seen in the same light as other famous Chinese climbers getting to the top of the world’s tallest mountain- Mount Everest at 29,029 feet tall.

Hualian’s first two attempts in 2019 were not completed. In the first attempt, he exclaims, “I experienced 30 knots sustained winds and very low temperature of minus 5 degrees (that’s very cold with wind chill!). I hang up the fishing net, so to speak, and I give up, as the conditions were getting dangerous. The second attempt was just before the late fall. However, because I experienced failure of my main power generation and navigation equipment, I had to stop sailing before the end of the first 24 hours. So, sadly and unfortunately, I had to give up, again.

After more than a year of preparation, Hualian plans to start again from Qingdao at around 10:00 am on October 16, 2019, driving the his J/80 WHITE WAVE all the way south to the beautiful island of Sanya (China’s version of America’s Hawaii).

The challenge is strictly in accordance with the standards of Solo and Non-stop in the international maritime industry. During this period, he will not stop at any port and will not accept any material help from the outside world. There will be no replenishment and no security team will follow. Hualian will be alone on the 1,600 nm (about 3,000 km) voyage, avoiding the ubiquitous fishing nets and the busy ships on the Chinese sea, while managing himself and the ships at all times.

Because it is difficult and dangerous, this level of challenge has not been completed in China, and it is worth exploring and making progress.

Singlehanded sailing does not stop at the China Sea! Follow the J/80 WHITE WAVE as part of championing the Extreme Challenge Environmental Protection project.  Follow the J/80 WHITE WAVE on YB Tracking here 24x7 on his 1,600 nm voyage Add to Flipboard Magazine.

SAILING IN Wins 2nd Asian J/80 Championships

(Qingdao, China)- The second annual Asian J/80 Championship took place in Qingdao, China, famous for its award-winning Tsingtao Beer first created by German immigrants in 1903. Hosting was the Qingdao International Sailing Centre in what were the fabulous facilities for the 2008 Summer Olympics.

From October 11th to 13th, seventeen teams from across Asia (China, Russia, India, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, and Malaysia) all competed for the honor and title of being crowned 2019 Asian J/80 Champion; it serves as the “de facto” Asian keelboat championship as the J/80 is by far the largest one-design keelboat class in the region.

After winning the first race and taking a total of five 1sts in eleven races, Jimmy Johnstone’s SAILING IN Team from China won the regatta by a significant nine-point margin to be crowned the 2019 Asian J/80 Champion. Taking the silver was the TA ORIENT Team from Taiwan with four 1sts in their scoreline to end with 34 pts net.  Hanging on to take the bronze on the podium was the WUHAN INSTITUTE OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION from China with 56 pts net. The balance of the top five was determined on a tie-breaker at 60 pts each, with the Indian team from ROYAL MADRAS INDIA taking fourth place on countback over the Chinese DAIIANN MARITIME UNIVERSITY.  For more Asian J/80 Championship sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Champagne Conditions @ J/80 China Cup

(Xiamen, China)- The China Club Challenge Match, founded in 2005, sailed its 15th edition in the waters off Xiamen, China. The thirty-eight teams that sailed in the event, once again, were participants in the largest one-design keelboat regatta in all of Asia, sailing in a fleet of International J/80 one-design class sailboats.

Day One
On the first day, the fleet was treated to genuine “champagne sailing” conditions, with winds ranging from 8-15 knots throughout the day with relatively flat waters and a burning sun out all day long. This was a little bit unusual, as the tropical depression to the east of Taiwan moving towards Korea, should have sucked all the air out… but, no one was complaining. Conditions were so good that the regatta PRO decided to go for the extra race beyond the standard three, a move that was to prove invaluable later in the regatta.

The racing was close, especially on the start line with thirty-eight boats on the water. The on the water judging team of John Rountree, Wayne Boberg and Roger Purdy (all NZL) and Alistair Skinner (GBR) were kept busy, primarily with ‘early prods’ at the top mark, with some teams launching their bowsprit well in advance of any gennaker hoisting activity.

The one dark cloud of day one was a port starboard incident in race 3 that left the team from Xiamen City Career University (the innocent party) with a sizable hole close enough to the waterline to make their boat unsafe to sail for the balance of the regatta. With the RRS not permitting redress beyond that of their first two races in a 12-race regatta there was little the judges could do to ease their situation. Having said that, their positions in those first two races was not lining them up for qualification for the later match racing.


Day Two
Friday produced more of the same along with the second general recall of the event with the, now flooding, tide swept not just a few, but close to most, of the competitors into an OCS situation… too many to identify. However, such was the patience of the PRO that the Black Flag stayed firmly in the flag roll, but the rest of the regatta was firmly placed under “I” flag starts.

One or two teams were starting to stretch ahead on the leaderboard. Why? Principally, because those teams chose to start in clear air rather than join the big fight for the favored end of the line.

Day Three
By Saturday, the weather system off to the west was starting to make itself felt; not with strong winds but a light gradient breeze. As a result, that meant that later in the day, the racing had to be cancelled as the opposing, light sea breeze cancelled out the offshore, diminishing, gradient winds.


As the boats were being towed back in to the hard, several boats noticed huge masses of fish boiling near the surface. It turns out, it was a small family group of Chinese White Dolphins (sometimes known as “Pink Dolphins”) that were forming their amazing “bubble nets” to herd the fish, and were then surging vertically up through them to feed.

To put things in perspective, estimates put their total population at about 10% of the iconic Giant Panda with less than 100 in the Taiwan Straits area and another 200 or so in the Pearl River Delta. Therefore, to spot them at all was a rare privilege. The fact that so much fuss is made of the Panda, and so little of these beautiful creatures, is indicative of how little attention is paid to our oceans.

Day Four
For the final day, looking out over the water didn’t produce a lot of hope as the fleet headed slowly out towards the racing area. So, it proved to be, with the boats drifting further and further down the, still ebbing, tide instead of staying close to the committee boat.

The PRO tried to get a race off, but with less than half the fleet crossing the starting line before the 4 minute cut off it was going to have a dramatic effect on the results with a “fleet +1” staring many teams in the face. Thankfully, the gradient breeze shut down completely, with those boats that had actually made the start with them virtually parking up only 1/3 of the way up the first beat and with no chance to make the 1st mark time limit. Three toots and an ‘N’ Flag brought proceedings to a halt.

Then, there was an agonizing wait of almost exactly 3 hours in a baking sun, as the clock ticked down towards the time limit at 1400 hours. The breeze finally kicked in at 1330 hrs, building to 10-12 kts, with little phasing and almost directly down tide. With little time left to re-set the course, there was fair amount of committee boat bias (starboard end), resulting in a couple of teams doing turns. It proved to be worth the wait, with one of the best races of the regatta to round things off for the enthusiastic sailors.

However, it isn’t just the racing with this regatta that makes the China Cup so popular. The social event side of it is simply epic! Three of the four evenings are well-organized with great food, wine & beer, capped off with the prize-giving for each day’s winners.

In the end, the three teams that emerged at the top of the leaderboard were, as follows; 1st- Shanghai Noah’s Sailing Club, 2nd- Xiamen Hai Yang Xue Yuan/Daren Sailing, and 3rd- Wan Hang Sailing. Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Russians Win Asian J/80 Champs!

(Xiamen, China)- The local sailing club in Xiamen, China hosted the 2018 edition of the Asian J/80 Championship for a fleet of twenty-six boats from across the greater Asian region representing eight nations; including Japan, Taiwan, Australia, Russia, India, USA, Canada, and China.

This was the first time the J/80 Class was properly enforcing the rules in the Asian market. There were four days of measurement before the event, weighing boats, measuring sails, weighing crew and completing a proper safety check. During the measurement days, teams also got some nice practice time.

The weather in the days leading up to the event was perfect shorts and t-shirt weather. However, thereafter it was a bit cooler on race days.

Day 1
It was awesome racing on day one, with two races sailed in a steady 18-22 knots of wind. Hull 10 came out to race on this day, starting with two bullets. This Chinese team was comprised of junior professional Chinese national sailors; their skipper was the Chinese National 470 Champion. The 2nd to 5th place boats were not so consistent, giving the Chinese Youth team a nice lead in the standings to start the series.

Day 2
With an earlier start and a few knots less wind then the day before, the race committee was able to complete four races. There was no dominant winner of the day, with four different boats getting first place.  As a result, that outcome narrowed the overall points for the first four boats (Russian team, Chinese National team, Australian Team, and Xiamen University Team).

Day 3
Following the trend of the first two days, the fleet was again blessed with good breeze, but just a few knots less than the day before. This time, it was the Russian’s turn. The Russian team from the Seventh Fleet YC (members of the Russian Navy in Vladivostok, eastern Russia) brought their “A” game and pulled off three 1sts and a 4th!

Day 4
The last day of racing needed only one race to complete the series. The boats went out to the starting line with very little wind. Consequently, the RC hoisted the “AP” flag for about thirty minutes to wait for a gentle breeze to build along the shore.  Soon, the fleet started with a light northerly breeze with the current helping everyone to windward and against them down wind. In this area of Xiamen Bay, you can see 1-2 knots of current sailing in the open waters off the harbor. Unfortunately, the breeze shut off for a bit when the boats all reached Mark one.  So, the race became a bit of a restart. But, when the breeze came back, it lasted for the complete race, which was a windward-leeward twice around.

The organizers supplied two judge boats for this event with two International Judges and Jim Johnstone as the third Judge and in charge of the technical measuring process. With on the water judging, the sailors were all able to enjoy the nights off in Xiamen, with a great opening ceremony and plenty of nightlife to be had in the city!

The final results saw the team from eastern Russia- the TEAM EVOLUTION TIGER- win the regatta with four bullets in their scoreline of eleven races for a 26 pts net total.  Second was the XIAMEN UNIVERSITY TEAM with 30 pts net and rounding out the podium with the bronze was the SEAMO RACE TEAM from Australia with 44 pts net.

Overall, the J/80 teams were very pleased with the venue and the class is already in the planning stages for the next Asian Championships to be held in Qingdao next September 2019. The Chinese J/80 Class Association is holding the event in venues where they can see continued growth in the local J/80 fleets. The goal is a simple one- get more boats to participate than last year. The 2019 target is a lofty one-> 40+ boats in Qingdao, site of the Chinese Sailing Olympics in 2008! Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/145 Wins Round Hong Kong Island Race

(Hong Kong, China)- The annual Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club Around the Island Race is one of the biggest inshore events in Hong Kong. It is a 26.0 nm race around Hong Kong Island involving Class Keelboats, Dinghies, Beach Cats and Cruisers.

Winning IRC 2 Class and taking 12th overall in what was decidedly a big-boat race was David Mitchell’s J/145C REDEYE, rounding the 26.0nm course in 3:58:16, for an average of nearly 6 kts.  Fourth in IRC 2 was Rick Van Den Berg’s J/111 JUGGERKNOT.  Taking 5th place in the IRC 3 Class was Nick Southward’s J/109 WHISKEY JACK.

In the eighteen-boat J/80 class, it was a horse race all the way around the island, with several teams running neck-and-neck the entire way.  Ultimately, it was Henry Wong’s FOOTLOOSE that won the class by 11 seconds over Rita Yau’s JELIK 7! Then, just over a minute back was Ben Bulmer’s JASMINE in third place, just edging out by a half-boat length (4 seconds worth) Sarah Page’s SEABISCUIT.  Fifth place went to Andrew Blank’s JAVELIN and Pascal Martin’s J/105 LEGENDE took 7th place.  For more RHKYC Around Island Race sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Fabulous China Coast Race Week

(Hong Kong, China)- The 26th Edition of the China Coast Regatta saw thirty-five yachts compete across seven divisions.  The racing took place in the waters to the east and south of Hong Kong Island, with some islands courses extending into the waters to the east of Sai Kung. The regatta host was, as usual, the extraordinary Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club.

Day One
There were perfect conditions across the race track with blue skies and a 10 to 15kts northeasterly breeze. 28 boats took to the race track, which was located southeast of Hong Kong’s Lamma Island.  All IRC racing divisions sailed one windward / leeward and an islands course.

The first race of the day saw many competitors get a feel for the conditions, with sailors tightening up their drops by the end of the race. For Race 2, sailors were sent on 19 to 32nm course depending on their division. Given the wind direction, sending yachts from Yuen Kok in the direction of the Ninepin Islands made for a giant windward/ leeward with a few obstacles in the way– just islands!

Day Two
The breeze picked up for the second day.  A 20-25kts northeasterly breeze greeted the sailors as they reached the race track, which was located to the southeast of Lamma Island. The IRC Racer classes sailed three windward/ leewards and had four retirements in the first race of the day, which looked to mostly be spinnaker-related issues.  IRC Premier Cruiser sailed two islands courses and HKPN were given one windward/ leeward and an island course.

As the day progressed, the breeze moderated to around 15kts and the sunshine came out making for the best sailing conditions Hong Kong has to offer. In IRC 2 Class, Richard Van Den Berg’s J/111 JUGGERKNOT was tied for first place.

Day Three
Another superb day of excellent conditions; 15kts, sunshine and blue skies.  Racing got away smoothly with all IRC Racer and HKPN divisions sailing one windward/ leeward and one islands course ranging in distance from 10 to 16.5nm. The islands course took the fleet on a beat towards a windward mark and reaching to an ocean mark before rounding Beaufort or Sung Kong and finishing off Bluff Head near Stanley.

In the end, the J/111 JUGGERKNOT skippered by Richard Van Den Berg took second place in IRC 2 Class.  Meanwhile, over in IRC 3 Class, the J/109 WHISKEY JACK sailed by Nick Southward also took the silver in IRC 3 Class with his crew of Peter Albert Baer, Nigel James Clark, Joakim Josef Gip, Sam Johnathon Phillips, Nicholas Johan Southward, and Alec Peter Tracy.  Congratulations to all!  For more China Coast Race Week sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

China Club J/80 Match Challenge Announcement

(Xiamen, China)- The famous China Club Match Challenge event will be taking place off Xiamen, China from November 19th to 22nd.  The event starts with fleet racing for forty-four J/80 teams from across China and Asia. That event then qualifies twelve teams to sail in the final match-racing event to determine the overall winner.

The level of sophistication of the sailing teams has increased dramatically over the years. The top Chinese teams are now doing a lot more boat preparations, with bottoms being worked on for hours before practice. That is a large improvement over years ago, when they ignored the bottoms altogether. This will be the largest ever keelboat event in China with a one-design class.

Then, in December, Xiamen is also hosting the first Asian J/80 Championships. This is an open event, but using International J/80 class rules. However, the Chinese J/80 Class has modified the class rules for championship events, with no restriction to professional sailors, since most Chinese sailors are professional (they have sailed for prize money in many local events). So far, teams that have committed to participate come from Japan, Taiwan, India, Sri Lanka, Singapore, and Malaysia. The event organizers are expecting 40 to 65 entries! Boat weights, sail measuring, safety gear and crew weight will all be done in the three days before registration.

For anyone interested in attending either the China Club Match Challenge or the Asian J/80 Championships, please contact Jim Johnstone- at email- jimjboats@icloud.com or at China cell# +86 185 7722 9501. Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Inaugural J/80 Asian Championship Announcement!

(Xiamen, China)- J/80 production in China started in 2008. Since that time hundreds of J/80’s have been built in China and supplied around Asia and many into new Chinese fleets. This year production has been steady at 1 1/2 boats per week, non-stop.

New fleets have developed in Qingdao, Sanya and Suzhou in 2018. The J/80 Chinese Class has been established and is now the only class in China that is working with a complete set of World Sailing class rules; including boat weight equalization, sail measurements, safety gear checks and crew weight limits being enforced.

This year’s J/80 Asian Championship will be raced out of Wuan Bay in Xiamen, from December 4th to 10th, 2018. The class anticipates the fleet will be 40-65 boats with teams from around Asia.

The first twenty new charter boats will be pre-checked on boat weight and safety gear. Sails and the safety gear list will be checked prior to registration. Three days planned for checking boats and practice. Priority will be given to international teams not based in China up until October 1st.

The racing area is not far from the docking areas and the plan is for two to 4 races per day over four days of racing. This will be an open J/80 event, so no issues on professional sailors in the class rules. Each driver will need to be a member of either the international or national class association. This can be done at registration.

If you or your team are interested in participating this December please contact- Jim Johnstone at J/Boats China- email- jimjboats@icloud.com Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/80s Sailing Strong In Hong Kong!

(Hong Kong, China)-  A member of the Royal Hong Kong YC J/80 fleet, Jason Keg, sent us this note recently:

“We thought you might like the attached picture of the J/80 fleet in Hong Kong.  It's not very often that the entire J/80 fleet from Royal Hong Kong YC and neighboring clubs is moored in the water at the same time.  This occurred due to the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club hosting the recent Optimist Asian and Oceanian Championships 2017 at the Middle Island Clubhouse, with the fleet vacating the hardstands to make space for the competitors ashore.” Add to Flipboard Magazine.