VRC Series 9 RHKYC Paddlers Continue

RHKYC Paddlers Continue to Shine

WORDS: RYAN CHEUNG | IMAGES: JEREMY YOUNG | DOUG WOODRING | BARNEY RIGGS

here is nothing more exciting than seeing Hong Kong’s third wave of Covid-19 drawing to a close. Because for us paddlers, it means time to jump back into the water and begin racing. 2 October, was a day of many celebrations, Mid-Autumn Festival, and the Chinese National Day; but most importantly, it was the race day for the Duff and Phelps VRC Series 9, which also served as a preparation for The Bays – For the Oceans later in the long weekend.

17 RHKYC paddlers competed in the Duff and Phelps VRC Series 9 in the OC1 and OC2 outrigger canoes as well as surf skis and coastal rowing categories. To avoid large gatherings, registration was completed online, with the race starting in waves and racers submitting their results and GPS tracks online after the race to maintain social distancing.

Unlike the other races on the VRC Series race calendar, Series 9 was held on a different racecourse. The 10km course began at Tai Tam Bay, where paddlers racing in outrigger canoes and surf skis set off towards Cape D’Aguilar in an intense upwind before turning around for an awesome downwind stretch back towards Stanley Bay and turning into To Tei Wan (Hobbie Cat Beach) for the finish and short celebrations. to cross the line in the Men’s OC1 Category with a blisteringly quick time of 57hr 37mins beating out most of the OC2 outrigger canoes participating in the event. Coming in second was Ryan Lopes followed closely by Alex de Miranda, our performance coach for this season, thus securing a one-two-three finish for RHKYC in this category. The club also secured a one-two finish on the Men’s OC2,

with our Captains Barney Riggs and John McLennan crossing the line in 1st, and Doug Woodring and Ryan Cheung coming in 2nd despite having accidently extended the course by about a kilometre. The RHKYC Women’s also finished high up on the leader boards in VRC Series 9, with Sarah Wilson and Christina Park finishing 3rd and 4th respectively in the Women’s OC1. With many of our paddlers achieving great results it is something we should all be very proud.

At the end of the day, it was a fantastic day of racing and congratulations to all who participated. The RHKYC Outrigger and surf ski racing only seem to be going upwards from here. With restrictions easing up, RHKYC are excited to co-host The Bays – For the Ocean and restart training sessions in the OC6s to prepare for the upcoming Around The Island Race (ATIR) set for some time in November.