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最近，一連串的賽事和活動相繼地取消，原來距離上一次在海上暢航已 相隔8星期，是疫情以來最漫長的一段日子。引述巴黎的一句名言：「在 混亂中拒絕掙扎；處變不驚。」因此，我們的帆船及賽艇部門職員繼續努 力不懈地為大家安排活動。

但值得一提，過去一段日子仍有不同水上活動進行，當中包括堪稱帆船 界難度最高的「旺代單人不靠岸航海賽」，(在此恭喜 Yannick Bestaven 取得勝利！)、以鬥快環繞地球一周聞名的「Jules Verne 挑戰盃」（但對 於 Sodebo 及 Gitana 的退賽我們深感遺憾）以及以水翼單體帆船作賽的 美洲盃帆船賽」。不論哪一場賽事，都值得期待決賽的來臨。

最近，本會的「RHKYC Team Agiplast」到達位於意大利的加埃塔參與 Liberty Bitcoin 青年水翼單體帆船盃賽」的開幕典禮。是首場以「69F 型」水翼單體帆船作賽的賽事，預計最後一場於本年末或2022年初在 香港進行。

回歸本地賽事，3月7日星期日是國際婦女節，屆時將上演「女子舵手賽」； 以往三年皆在國際婦女節當日進行，今年更設大船級別，讓大船級別的 船隊都可以參與賽事。

一如既往，3月份將呈獻多個賽艇和划槳運動相關的活動，會員們積極 安排及參與賽事。3月首個周末將由「第五屆維港賽艇賽」打響頭炮，參 賽者以一對一形式擊敗對手繼而晉級，直至最後分出組別冠軍，相信賽 事日將十分刺激！屆時更會以晚宴為整日賽事作結，以慶祝賽事舉辦五 周年。在划槳運動方面，本會龍舟隊 Royal X 正積極為一系列比賽作準 備；包括3月28日舉行的「Middle Island Cup」。 相信大家已得悉「2020勞力士中國海帆船賽」延期事宜。現在比賽已順 延至2022年舉行，屆時將公佈有關紀念賽事60周年的細節，敬請留意。 同時，香港遊艇會發佈了「2022勞力士中國海帆船賽」的賽事公告，並 已開始接受報名。詳情請各位瀏覽網站 www.rolexchinasearace.com。 在查閱有關這場賽事的歷史時，發現不少珍貴的紀錄。「Reverie號」在 首屆賽事成功以107小時29分57秒成績，奪得「衝線榮譽」。在2018年， MOD 70 Beau Geste號」將紀錄推快至38小時30 分 07秒；幾乎每年 遞減2小時。1988年的賽事船隊飽受70海浬風暴吹襲，早在女船長 Tracy Edwards 以「Maiden號」征服以男性為主的「Whitbread號」前，「Lady Fling號」早以全女班出戰「勞力士中國海帆船賽」！ 在整理會內的歷史文件及物件時，總會發現林林總總的訪問；例如已故 會員:Pat Loseby, Hector Ross, Reg Maynard, Richard Hownam-Meek 和 Tina and Gene Yourieff。我們正進行恢復盒式磁帶的工作，稍後或以 電子檔案形式或文章形式與大家分享。在今期Ahoy!你會發現 Hector Ross 在1992年時憶述起30 年前，即1962年參加的第一場「中國海帆船賽 的見聞。 最後，我誠邀各位永久及正式會員提名合適人選加入理事會。今年的週 年會員大會將於6月10日（星期四）傍晚6時30分在 Compass Room 舉 行，屆時將會選出八名委員，包括副會長（帆船科）、副會長（會務科）、 名譽秘書及賽艇首長。提名最遲須於4月15日前以電郵方式遞交，請把 提名電郵至 commodore@rhkyc.org.hk。 3月20（星期六）是立春，即已代表春天的開始，讓我們一同展望好日子 來臨！

總經理的話

籍此機會，再次向大家拜年；恭喜發財！祝大家身體健康、笑口常開、牛年 好運！

執筆之時，我剛接獲一個大家期待已久的好消息；政府將開始重開部份戶 外運動場所，我們亦可以籌備讓我們的主項運動─帆船、賽艇及划槳運 動得以重啟。有關細節仍在安排中，但相關限制措施一旦放寬，我們便會 啟動水上運動及比賽；希望一切順利，尤如大家期望今年在水上運動方 面得以事事如意一樣。

1843年的蘇格蘭高地，「Glenmorangie」可謂威士忌酒廠中的「名物」。 在3月4日，Leo Kockvoic 公司， Glenmorangie」的香港品牌大使將帶 領你品嚐六款「Glenmorangie」最佳的威士忌，包括 2008 年出產的 Signet」。這些上乘的威士忌配以總廚 Paul 及其 Compass Room 團隊

設計的美食，互相輝映。詳細資料載於本刊第27頁。

3月11日我們將為你帶來美國加州「Orin Swift 酒窖」的葡萄酒。「Orin Swift 酒窖」創辦人 David Phinney 當年遠赴意大利求學，期間更體驗葡 萄酒釀製。及後 David Phinney 於「Robert Mondavi 釀酒廠」工作，更

於1998年創立「Orin Swift 酒窖」。此酒窖取其父母的名字而成，Orin 是 其父親的名字而 Swift 則是母親尚未出嫁時的姓氏。David Phinney 其後 更釀製了多款上乘的葡萄酒。是次美酒晚宴同樣配上由總廚及其團隊悉 心為大家預備的佳餚，請萬物錯過。

本月最後一個葡萄酒晚宴將為大家呈獻 Old World 葡萄酒。「The Côte de Nuits」及「Côte de Beaune」兩款葡萄酒一起被稱為「Côte d’Or」，更是法 國中部勃艮第歷史上的重要產物。在3月25日周四當晚，我們會為大家帶 來「Côte d’Or」葡萄酒，當中包括「Côte de Nuits」的「Pinot Noir」葡萄 酒及「Côte de Beaune」的「Chardonnay」葡萄酒。

來到本月兩個以顏色為主題的活動，一個是綠色而另一個則是白色的。綠 色的活動當然是指3月17日的「St. Patrick’s Day」，3月15至17日我們將在 Main Deck 及 Main Bar 為大家提供愛爾蘭的美酒佳餚，歡渡佳節。

白色的活動則指「French White Party」，以「Fête Blanche」形式慶祝。

固名思義，大家要以白色裝束出席派對。大家想像一下，在中途島一邊 享受法國美食，一邊享受法國美酒，與一眾悉心打扮的賓客在中途島渡 過一個開心的晚上，是多麼美好呢！這是我們首次舉辦的活動，稍後更 會成為恆常活動呢！大家緊記預留3月19日的晚上，而詳細資料可見於 第28頁。

另一個活動便是「盆菜宴」。這個活動我們在數年前推出，期後愈來愈受 歡迎。今年，我們將於3月6日周六在 Rooftop 舉行「盆菜宴」。翻閱第 32頁的照片，可見在本會 Rooftop 舉辦活動與別不同的盛況。

最後，我們剛收到「商界展關懷」的通知，香港遊艇會再度獲認可為「商 界展關懷」公司；向本公司對於社區、員工及環境的關懷予以認同。在過 往艱辛的一年，這可算是一個好消息！

展望未來數月我們將有一系列水上運動及社交活動，期望在會內見到 大家。

2022A DIAMOND YEAR FOR THE CHINA SEA RACE

IMAGES: DANIEL FORSTER AND GUY NOWELL

1962 – Reverie – Overall Winner and Line Honours

The First China Sea Race in 1962 – Hector Ross

As a boy from 10 onwards I was always around dinghies and I used to crew for older people who needed someone to sit out on a dinghy. Then I went to sea at the age of 17 and didn’t do any sailing for a number of years until I came to Hong Kong in 1954 and then I went back on dinghies. I joined the Club in 1959 and I was starting to think of going offshore because there were one or two new boats at that time and they were looking for people who could navigate and I could navigate – that’s what I did when I was at sea in the Merchant Navy.

One of the boats was Sim Baldwin’s Morasum which is the Thai word for monsoon. The other one was Chris von Sydow’s Reverie and I became a part of his crew.

Reverie was launched to the best of my recollection in 1960, about 18 months after Morasum. They were both 40ft yawls but Morasum was a centreboard boat which made her very much more practical for getting into shallow water but on the other hand Reverie with a heavy keel could stand up a little better in a blow and usually was a little better to weather. They were both built by the same designers, Sparkman and Stevens and they were considered state-of-the-art. In those days there were day races or the odd overnight race around marks in Mirs Bay and back down round Waglan and back into Junk Bay. That was the normal standard course. And then there were the day races which were quite popular like the HKRNVR Trophy Race. I did the first China Sea Race in 1962. It was novel for us all because none of us had been offshore except for Morasum which had been cruising the year before and it was that that really started it off. So you could really say that the enthusiasm of Sim Baldwin was the starting point of the China Sea Race.

There were only five boats but it was quite exciting. First of all, it started off in virtually a flat calm. A very, very slow crawl out and then fog... thick, thick fog. And it went on all night until the morning and we were still in sight of each other then. And flat calm and we

The Club has released the Notice of Race and opened entry for the 2022 Rolex China Sea Race which will see the 60th Anniversary edition start on Wednesday 13 April 2022. “When looking at the history of this event, one realises it is not short on adventures and records: Reverie took line honours in the inaugural 1962 race in a time of 107h 29m 57s – the monohull record now stands at 47h 31m 08s achieved by RP66 Alive in 2016 and the multihull record of 38h 30m 07s achieved by MOD 70 Beau Geste in 2018 – nearly a 2h improvement per year! A storm with 70kts winds wreaked havoc on the fleet in 1988. And a full five years before Maiden and Tracy Edwards conquered the male dominated Whitbread, our very own Rolex China Sea Race had an all-female crew on Lady Fling! Clearly we must ensure this unique ASIAN CLASSIC remains part of our sporting calendar!” said Commodore Denis Martinet. The Notice of Race can be found on the official Rolex China Sea Race website at the following link https://www.rolexchinasearace.com/competitors We’ve been through the archives and below you will find a potted history of the China Sea Race. Not only that, we’ve begun digitizing old cassette tape recordings of member interviews and here’s Hector Ross’s 1992 reminisces of the very first China Sea Race 30 years before in 1962.

1966 – Stormvogel – Line Honours 1968 – Snow Goose II – Overall Winner 1972 – Mamamouchi – Line Honours

were about 80 miles off Hong Kong by that time and the most memorable thing was the huge number... we were still in shallow water obviously because of the huge number of sea snakes. We were actually picking them up with boat hooks and slinging them, not throwing them, because they are very poisonous but touching them with boat hooks... and they were all basking in the sun on flat calm water. It was an extraordinary experience. I’ve not seen it ever since. There were dozens, dozens around you – sea snakes! I don’t know whether it was a ritual... you know an annual ritual dance or something, I don’t know, but they were up basking in this gorgeous weather. It was very, very good and then a little breeze came up in the afternoon and we got frisking off and going quite fast – about 6kts. The wind picked up reasonably over the next few days and we had a good old sail down – still without sighting any of our opponents because we were quite strung out. We did not have radios in those days. We didn’t know where the other boats were. In those days it was very unsophisticated in that sense. At that time the Royal Ocean Racing Club had put down certain safety standards and one or two of our members, particularly on Morasum, were members of the RORC and so they could produce the annual checklist and I am pretty sure we agreed to stick by that. The race took us five days and when we crossed the line we were told we were first. And then we waited and Morasum came in a couple of hours later. They had gone to the South more and we came in Los Capones which is a lighthouse half way up the Philippines coast. And then we had a nice spinnaker run down from Los Capones, quite a brisk spinnaker run, culminating in a beat to the finish. It was a very successful race because I remember the Minister for Foreign Affairs came and congratulated us all and we had a series of very good parties.

I missed three or four China Sea Race but won two, the first in 1962 and another in 1978 on Uin-Na-Mara III and I was well placed on a number of other occasions.

It was included by the Royal Ocean Racing Club as an RORC Race at least 16 years ago. I made a special tie to mark that – I was Secretary for a number of years and I designed, if you want, a tie which had white stripes, going down... it was actually the Rhumb line going down from Hong Kong to Manila... and there were a number of stripes, and the dragon of the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club and in the middle was the Hippocampus rorcus which was the distinguishing crest of the RORC and at the bottom, the Manila Sea Lion. It was quite popular. People would have a different one for each race (which was not as good as mine!). And that tie was to mark the particular link with the RORC.

It is now 1992 and 30 years since the first China Sea Race. Sim Baldwin has passed but there is a special trophy for him.

A Potted History of the China Sea Race

1962 – Five boats, including one from Japan and one from the Philippines set out on the first China Sea Race with one radio amongst them. Escorted for the first 100nm by the Hong Kong Royal Naval Reserve, the boats took over six days to reach Corrigedor, outside Manila Bay where they were met by the Philippine Navy. Chris von Sydow took line honours in 107h 29m 57s and engraved Reverie’s name on both the Sunday Telegraph Trophy for Line Honours and the China Sea Race Trophy.

1964 – 12 entries received for the second race. of its nearest rival for Line Honours, but only placed fifth on handicap. Japanese yacht Fuji completed her 1,500 mile maiden voyage from Tokyo during the pre-race dinner on Thursday 31 March, to receive a standing ovation. Unfortunately, in their hurry to prepare for the race, the crew forgot to take on any water and subsequently were forced to abandon the race in a state of exhaustion.

1968 – 17 entries received for the race, which was included as an event in the inaugural World Ocean Racing Championships, which were to run for three years.

1970 – Japanese entry Chita III carries off the silverware and breaks Reverie’s race record by over 2.5 hours.

1972 – Race officially recognized by the Royal Ocean Racing Club and run under IOR ratings (International Offshore Rule) for the first time. China Sea Race is incorporated in the inaugural China Sea Race Series, which includes inshore regattas in Hong Kong and Manila.

1974 – Mamamouchi takes Line Honours for the second consecutive time, in a light wind race, punctuated with thundery squalls and 30kt gusts which resulted in many shredded spinnakers.

1976 – 450 guests attend the China Sea Race Ball, where the guests of honour were the Governor, Sir Murray MacLehose and Lady MacLehose. The main concern on the night was Typhoon Marie, heading straight for Manila and the South China Sea, resulting in the delay of the start by one day. 32 entries received from five countries, including the 73 foot Australian yacht Ballyhoo, which was too large to moor in the typhoon shelter and had to be accommodated in the Naval Basin at HMS Tamar.

1980 – La Pantera – Overall Winner – Jonathan Mastland 1984 – Nirvana – Line Honours 1988 – Charley – Line Honours

1978 – Wash up notes suggest that all boats should carry SSB radio, that sea-worthiness trials should be carried out before each race and that results might be computerized in order to have them posted earlier. Uin-na-Mara III puts her name on the China Sea Race Trophy, finishing in 15 to 18kts and reporting the race highlight to be “a large (30-40ft) whale doing back-flips and other gymnastics about ¾ mile from us, over a ten-minute period”.

1980 – RHKYC celebrates the 10th China Sea Race by adding an intermediate offshore race around Pedro Blanco to the China Sea Race Series, however they didn’t anticipate the finish team getting stranded on Waglan Island in a strong monsoon – the three volunteers were airlifted off after 36 hours.

1982 – Ji Fung is the largest ever boat to enter, while Mamamouchi lifts the Sunday Telegraph Trophy for the third time – the only boat to do so in the history of the China Sea Race.

1984 – An all female crew on Lady Fling is one of a record entry list, however the silverware is lifted by Nirvana (Sunday Telegraph Trophy) and Tsunami (China Sea Race Trophy). Lufthansa becomes RHKYC’s first commercial sponsor. 1986 – Sidewinder takes Line Honours as Frank Pong gets his name on the China Sea Race Trophy for the first time with (the original!) Maiden Hong Kong. On board catering included pressed duck and caviar, with Marauder taking the Bela Vista’s manager as chef, in spite of his being in a body cast. Silk Cut sponsors for the first time, contributing the perpetual trophies which are still awarded today.

1988 – Neil Pryde etches his name on the China Sea Race Trophy for the first time with Sunstreaker, taking first place in IOR on handicap. Huge storm hits the fleet on the fourth night of the race with winds of up to 70kts, dismasting the 51’ Foo 2.

1990 – 50 footers Cyclone and Foo 2 match race in Victoria Harbour the day before the race start. Out of a list of 64 starters, Corum II lifts both the Sunday Telegraph Trophy and the China Sea Race Trophy, winning the IOR Division in the process, while Island Fling takes CHS Division on Handicap. Race quote from Cyclone? “Lost – 200nm on port tack….”

1992 – First Russian entry received and an IMS division introduced. The last China Sea Race Series prior to the inauguration of China Coast Race Week in 1993 suffered a light wind offshore race, with X-Rated claiming line honours in a ‘record’ 123h 23m 17s. 1994 – China Sea Race takes place, followed by an inshore regatta organised by Manila Yacht Club and held in Manila Bay, which was to become the President’s Cup.

1996 – In the first race to finish in Subic Bay, Karl Kwok does the double on Beau Geste, setting a new race record of 75h 53m 56s in the process. In 15kts on the first night, Bugis loses her mast before the first windward mark, Fast Company drops her rig after a broach and Boogie Flash breaks her boom.

1998 – In the year that the new Subic Bay Yacht Club opened its doors, Ffree Fire takes Line Honours in one of the slowest races on record, while Subic Centennial takes the title on corrected time.

2000 – In the first RORC race of the new millennium, Karl Kwok smashes the record on Beau Geste in 47h 43m 07s, breaking his own record of 75h 53m 56s and nearly 60 hours faster than Reverie’s 1962 benchmark.

2002 – Jelik claims line honours in just over 92 hours with only 17 of 29 entrants finishing the race due to light wind conditions. To the

2010 – Start of Rolex China Sea Race – Daniel Forster 2014 – Start of Rolex China Sea Race – Kurt Arrigo

delight of Roly Schmitt, Red Baron lifts the China Sea Race Trophy twenty years after her first win.

2004 – As the China Sea Race becomes a constituent event of the newly formed ‘Asian Yachting Circuit’, a rough first night claims Philippine entry Karakoa with a leaking rudder bearing. 2006 – Race tracking is introduced for the first time in the shape of Inmarsat D+ units sponsored by SkyWave and Purplefinder, allowing friends and family at home to follow the boats on an hourly update. Boracay, helmed by Peter Morton, narrowly beats Jelik on the water after the two RP72’s shadow each other for over 65 hours.

2008 – Rolex adds the China Sea Race to its portfolio of classic offshore races. TP52 Strewth loses her keel on the first night out, but with Cloud retiring to act as chaperone, makes it safely back to Hong Kong. Subic Centennial lifts the China Sea Race Trophy ten years after her first win, while Hi Fi takes Line Honours. 2010 – Neil Pryde takes the double with Hi Fi, taking Line Honours for the second time in succession and gets his name on the China Sea Race Trophy again after a 22 year wait. 2012 – Celebrating 50 years since the first race, the Rolex China Sea Race is now a fully fledged Category 1 Offshore Race, pre-race training is intense and all boats will be fitted with Yellowbrick trackers so that the race can be followed online. 2014 – Youngest competitors are Aymeric Gillard and Wilhelm Christensson at 17 years of age, while the oldest is Syd Fischer at 87. Veteran Neil Pryde (a relative spring chicken at 74) makes history by becoming the only skipper to have his name engraved on the China Sea Race Trophy three times. 2016 – After an unusual slow start in Hong Kong Philip Turner’s R/P66, Alive, finally breaks Beau Geste 16 year-old race record to set a new record of 47h 31m 08s, just 11 minutes and 59 seconds inside the millennium benchmark. Due to rudder and engine issues Dearg Doom is picked up by a tow dispatched from Hong Kong and arrives safely back in Victoria Harbour 4 days after the start of the race. Black Baza takes IRC Overall win and Alive Line Honours.

2018 – 18 year-old multihull record is broken by Karl Kwok’s MOD 70 Beau Geste with top speeds of 37 knots, her impressive elapsed time of 38h 30m 07s wiped 9h 31m 40s off the previous record set in 2000. First to third place in IRC Overall, boats hailed from Hong Kong Mandrake III, China’s Seawolf II and Philippine entry Standard Insurance Centennial. Father and son double-handed entry Philippe and Cosmos Grelon’s Tbs-Aya finished taking 15th overall and second in IRC Class 2.

Line Honours Winners – The Sunday Telegraph Trophy

YEAR BOAT NAME SKIPPER

1962 Reverie

C.F. Von Sydow 1964 Reverie C.F. Von Sydow 1966 Stormvogel C. Brunzyeel 1968 Green Beret R. Barhett 1970 Chita III H. Yoshida 1972 Mamamouchi R.J. Mcaulay 1974 Mamamouchi R.J. Mcaulay 1976 Ballyhoo J. Rooklyn 1978 Kialoa J.B. Kilroy 1980 Mile High J. Ma 1982 Mamamouchi R.J. Mcaulay 1984 Nirvana M. H. Green Jr. 1986 Sidewinder D. Rumble 1988 Charley J. Leet 1990 Corum L. Gelisseau 1992 X-Rated R. Strompf 1994 Millennium F. Pong 1996 Beau Geste K. Kwok 1998 Ffree Fire S. Chan 2000 Beau Geste K. Kwok 2002 Jelik F. Pong 2004 Jelik F. Pong 2006 Boracay P. Morton 2008 Hi Fi N. Pryde 2010 Hi Fi N. Pryde 2012 Genuine Risk G. Hill 2014 Ragamuffin 90 S. Fischer 2016 Alive P. Turner / D. Hine 2018 MOD Beau Geste K. Kwok

Overall Winners on corrected time – The China Sea Race Trophy (Croucher Cup)

YEAR BOAT NAME SKIPPER

1962 Reverie 1964 West Wind II

C.F. Von Sydow D.E. Westerhout 1966 West Wind II D.E. Westerhout 1968 Snow Goose II C.B. Moller 1970 Chita III H. Yoshida 1972 Mamamouchi R.J. Mcaulay 1974 Clarissa A. Briddon 1976 Ballyhoo J. Rooklyn 1978 Uin-Na-Mara III H.H. Ross 1980 La Pantera C.W. Ostenfeld 1982 Red Baron R. Schmitt 1984 Tsunami J.S. Cains 1986 Maiden HK F. Pong 1988 Sunstreaker N. Pryde 1990 Corum P. Briand 1992 Lethal Weapon H. Kaye 1994 Intrigue Dr. I. Nicolson 1996 Beau Geste K. Kwok 1998 Subic Centennial E. Echauz 2000 Beau Geste K. Kwok 2002 Red Baron R. Schmitt 2004 Ffree Fire S. Chan 2006 Mandrake N. Burns / F. Kinmonth 2008 Subic Centennial M. Fidel / E. Echauz 2010 Hi Fi N Pryde 2012 Zanzibar J. Mahony 2014 Hi Fi N. Pryde 2016 Black Baza A. Root / S. Manning 2018 Mandrake III N. Burns / F. Kinmonth