Admiral’s Cup

Louis Polson:

This was the first overseas trip for the Sharks Squad since the Australian Nationals in January 2020 thanks to Covid restrictions.

The Optimist team consisting of Kai Storey, Penelope Wilde, Felix Worthington, Caleb Pang, Louis Polson, Marcus Li, Zihan (Helen) Liu and Xinran (Audrey) Liu and Petra Plenkovic our coach were so excited to be finally allowed to go on a team trip.

We skipped a few hours of school on Friday 13 January to catch a flight to Bangkok, where we arrived and took vans down to Pattaya and our hotel that was directly across the road from the Royal Varuna Yacht Club. We arrived at the hotel around 1000hrs and went straight to bed as we had a 0700hrs start the next day.

Saturday was the first day of racing and we had to pick up our charter boats and set them up, the wind was light, and we were under AP with the first race finally getting under way around 1430hrs. We managed three races in 5 to 8kts of wind in very hot conditions coming off the water around 1800hrs. We all managed mixed results and a few of us were ill. The parents took us out to a weird place called Mermaids 3 for dinner; we ended up dancing with some people doing Karaoke!

Sunday was again a 0700hrs start as the first warning was at 1000hrs, again we were on AP until around 1300hrs with the first race getting away around 1400hrs, we again managed three races, but the wind was very light it started out around 5kts and built to 8kts but at times it dropped to 0kts which again provided us all with mixed results. The parents took us to a “normal” restaurant across the road from our hotel and we had lots of fun bottle flipping as a team over dinner.

Monday was finals day. Only Helen had managed to make it into Gold Fleet and the rest of us were in Silver. It was another 0700hrs start with a scheduled 1000hrs first warning, but again we were on AP. Some of the sailors had an earlier flight so they made the decision to pack up and head back to the hotel, leaving only Helen, Audrey, Felix and Louis left to race. The AP remained in place even once the wind came in as the Race Committee were having computer issues with the Gold and Silver fleet assignments/results! We finally managed to get on the water but with a 1500hrs cut off time for sailing and lots of General recalls on Black Flags only Helen in Gold Fleet managed to complete a race. The silver fleet sailors finally got a start but there was no time left to finish the race and make their flight so they only sailed to the top mark and headed in.

We all learnt lots especially how to sail in strong tide, so strong sometimes we were going backwards as the wind was not strong enough to make us go forward. We had loads of fun as a team and we would like to thank the RHKYC for allowing and helping us join the event and very big thank you to Petra our coach for all her enthusiasm.

Helen Liu:

The Admiral’s Cup was a memorable experience. The weather was hot and humid in Pattaya, and the sea was choppy. There was light wind on all three days and the race committee usually had to postpone the warning signal. The regatta made me realize sailing isn’t just about racing, but the experience and the things you learn from it.

The current in Thailand was really strong, pushing boats down and into the pin. The starts were difficult, but I eventually found a recipe. The first day, everyone was getting used to the different waters, and I got lucky many times. I improved every race, starting from fifteenth to top five. The first few races already taught me a lot, more than what I could learn in Hong Kong.

On the second day, everyone started to get used to the course and it was harder to sail and get good results. I tried staying in the middle and tacking with the fleets but lost places. In the next race, I learnt from my mistakes and had a good race finishing in the top ten. My strategy for the two days worked really well, especially my tactics on the first upwind. I also improved my starts. In the last race, because of a good start I was leading the whole fleet. I was really nervous and often looked around my boat. At the last leg, I forgot the golden rule of sailing against the current which made me lose three places. I learnt to check the current in relation to the committee boat’s bow every mark rounding so I would always know where the current is coming from.

On the last day, we had to launch late at 1200hrs. I was really nervous because this was my only chance of getting top ten. My first leg was good as usual and I was in the top five. I lost many places on the downwind and gate, also by tacking too far onto the left side which was the worst side that day. However, even though I came eleventh and wasn’t in the top ten at the end, I made friends with the Singapore and Thai sailors. At the end of the day, I went back to the hotel happy and content.

The trip to Thailand was enjoyable and eventful, and it made me realize that there is still a lot out there to learn.