Rowing
Rowing with Waves, Racing with Winds W O RD S: FA N G ZH AO; EDIT ED: KEIT H CHEUN G | IM AGES: PH O EBE L EUN G
he Club throughout 2020 has been well positioned to organise regattas and events during the several waves of restrictions brought upon by the Covid-19 virus. However, we have been extremely lucky in regards to the timing of holding our coastal rowing events; with the majority of them taking place a week or two before a lockdown and closure of our sporting facilities. This includes the Around the Island Race 2020 – Coastal Rowing that took place on Sunday 15 November 2020. Challenging coastal conditions greeted the competitors on the race day morning with a large incoming tide and a strong easterly breeze making the start of the clockwise course brutal. From the first stroke at Kellett Island, rowers had to row powerfully with deep blades through the chop! Having passed Siu Sai Wan and arriving on the east coast, the fruits of a consistent surge in the monsoon came to bare with rowers needing to tackle 2.5 meter waves in addition to the side chop created by the
gusts that day. The race photographer struggled to find the crews whose boats were being thrown up to the peaks and down the valleys of the waves just as much as she struggled to keep the contents of her stomach within – it was a tough day for the volunteers too. When most boats had turned Cape D’Aguilar towards Tai Tam Bay, the competitors had now to face an out-going tide with the understanding that no records were going to be broken this year. In fact for the remainder of the race, the conditions were the opposite exact of those desired by the rowers but all crews battled on. Having come through all such suffering and struggling, both physically and mentally, rowers and their boats all successfully and safely reached to the finish line where they were greeted by a horn, applauses and hoorays from the Clubhouse. At that moment, the heart and lungs burnings, muscle pains, blisters on palms and fingers, all turned to be the trophies, medals and glories, no matter what results they eventually finished with. Having rowed and finished the Around the Island Race in 2020 is an achievement that all rowers will cherish and be proud of due to the nature of the conditions they had to face. Although this year’s race was without any overseas entries, primarily due to the travel restrictions and quarantine requirements, we were excited but not surprised to still have 24 race crews with 100 rowers from local clubs! The entries included a Hong Kong Rowing Olympian, a crew from the Hong Kong Youth Rowing Squad, various universities and alumni clubs, Lantau Boat Club and of course a strong showing
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| JANUARY 2021 AHOY!
