Hong Kong Flying Fifteens – Newcomers shine at the 2021 Class Championship

Hong Kong Flying Fifteens – Newcomers shine at the 2021 Class Championships

WORDS: TIM ROBERTS | IMAGES: OLIVER MERZ

16 boats took part in the 2021 Hong Kong Flying Fifteen Class Championships over the weekend of 11 and 12 December. The fleet included a record nine mixed crews. Racing took place in Victoria Harbour in beautiful sunny weather. A total of six races were sailed in a mixture of testing wind and tidal conditions. Pete Britten and Ollie Merz (3722) were worthy winners of the Championship. The story of the weekend however was the results of the newcomers to the Hong Kong fleet.

Day 1

A steady northeasterly breeze of 15kts, a strong flood tide and choppy sea state greeted the first day of racing. Theme for the day was short tacking up the shore and picking lay lines across the channel.

The Championship kicked off with a super quick windward-leeward course. Three newcomers to the Hong Kong fleet swept the top 3 spots – James Betts and Jim (3990) in first, Gina Chen and Josh (3981) second, followed by Pete Wilkinson and Marie (4015) third. Unfortunately, guest Ruffian sailors Oliver Cully and Christina (3604) had a technical issue and were forced to return to the dock. quickly resorted to sail tie and electrical tape – spirits were however not broken! The windward mark now in strong tide made picking lay lines a challenge. There were a few close calls, some light grazes, plenty of shouting and several penalty turns, including a heated debate as to the required number of turns! (names withheld to avoid embarrassment).

3722 10.0 2nd J Betts 3990 13.0 3rd C Knight-Evans 3979 22.0 4th S Chan 4038 23.0 5th T Sheppard 3997 24.0 6th T Roberts 3876 27.0 7th G Chen 3981 30.0 8th D Chow 3701 30.0 9th WC Chan 3476 44.0 10th Y Kirihara 3735 50.0 11th O Cully 3604 58.0 12th J Komatsu 3828 59.0 13th P Wilkinson 4015 67.0 14th S Suen 3978 71.0 15th T Lee 3649 73.0 16th B Tam 3700 76.0

The final race of the day included a fleet favourite, the fast (and a little bit hairy!) reaching leg. Plenty of overtaking opportunities at the gybe mark. There was a photo finish for second with Tom Sheppard and Beto (3997) pipping Tim Roberts and Edith (3876) by one second. It was great to welcome Tom back from a long hiatus.

After a day of hiking, the sailors returned to the Club to enjoy (socially distanced) ice cold drinks before heading home to get some much-needed rest.

Day 2

Sailors woke, some refreshed, some hungover, to much lighter conditions. A shifty 7 knot northeasterly breeze with a building tide. Leaving the typhoon shelter was the first challenge. The annual Hong Kong cross harbour swim forced the fleet to take an unexpected detour through all the moored boats. Race 4 was a game of snakes and ladders in the light breeze and tide. Sam Chan and Kingston (4038) confidently led the first lap. James and Jim (3990) rounded the leeward mark in the back half of the fleet and decided to hit a corner and split the fleet. The strategy paid off overtaking the entire fleet. They rounded in first followed by Sam and Kingston (4038). The dueled continued on the last downwind leg, with Sam and Kingston (4038) just taking their first win of the weekend by seconds. Pete B and Ollie (3722), the overnight leaders recovered to a creditable third followed by “Ruffian Oliver” (3604) in fourth.

The breeze was now softening with the relentless tide. A two lap windward-leeward sprint was set for Race 5. Pete B and Ollie (3722) secured their third bullet of the series and with it the overall Championship. Wai Chuen and guest crew Rita (3476) were particularly pleased with their fantastic third place. The final race of the weekend started in very shifty conditions. The kind that drives crews nuts in the Hong Kong summer. Carlyon Knight-Evan and Lucy’s (3979) light air skills came to the fore. They took their first win which moved them to third in the overall Championship. James and Jim (3990), one of the “newbie crew”, were second and became Championship runners up. David Chow and Michael (3701) had their best result with a great third place to round out their regatta.

With the Championship completed the fleet drifted home to much needed refreshments, food and the sharing of stories.

Special thanks to Peter Leung and Jarl Borthwick, the race officers, for overseeing a successful Championship and to the Flying Fifteen Class Secretary Tim Roberts and the rest of the committee for organising the twoday event.