2014 Hong Kong J/80 Class Championships

(Hong Kong, China)- The fifth Hong Kong J80 Class Championships will be held on Saturday 1st and Sunday 2nd of November.  The event is organized by the Royal Hong Kong YC, one of the oldest sailing clubs in Asia with a history dating back as far as 1890.  Expected to be the biggest international J/80 event in Asia thus far, over twenty J/80's are expected to participate drawing in high profile sailors from the region.  This year a number of visiting teams will travel down from Mainland China to test their skills against the local fleet.

The event will be sailed off the southern tip of Lamma island, in open waters.  November typically offers optimal sailing conditions; East-North Easterly breezes of between 12 and 18 knots, a light swell and clear blue skies.  Add in local hospitality and the stunning location and facilities of the host yacht club - its no wonder this event is growing in popularity.

For more J/80 Hong Kong Championship sailing information
http://www.RHKYC.com.hk

J/80 JASMINE Wins Hong Kong Round Island!

(Hong Kong, China)- It's back! Hong Kong's largest and most inclusive sailing event featured 235 sailing boats, together with outrigger canoes and coastal rowing boats, that battled it out around Hong Kong Island.  It is a capricious 26nm course that would create moments of breath-taking beauty, "shock & awe" and anxiety due to currents, whirlpools and remarkably variable winds-- as any veteran "round islanders" would say, "that's all part of the fun! Makes for great sea stories and camaraderie afterwards!"

It was the proverbial "game of two halves" for the sailors, as 235 boats of all shapes and sizes gathered in Victoria Harbour for the start of this year's Tommy Bahama Around The Island Race. With 7 knots of breeze prevailing for the first starts at 0830hrs, the Pandora and HKPN 1 fleets got clear away, but the breeze then dropped to less than two knots for the later starts, leaving a flotilla of boats drifting gently towards Lei Yue Mun on the tide.

Thankfully the breeze filled in through the morning, giving the fleet a lift through the notorious Lei Yue Mun gap and round through Junk Bay to Shek O and Cape D'Aguilar. The Around The Island Race is highly tactical and a boat's light wind sailing technique possibly influences its result more than any other skill. This was the case again today, however for a change, the sticking point was Bluff Head to Stanley, while the usual parking lot of Cyberport was enjoying 15 to 20 knots of northerly, with good breeze to carry the boats around Green Island and into the western harbour approaches.

The lead boat on the water was, unsurprisingly, Frank Pong's 72' JELIK (notably, an enthusiastic sponsor of several J/80s at Royal Hong Kong YC of the same name), who reached the Green Island Mark around 30 minutes ahead of Sam Chan's TP52 FREEFIRE. Given the conditions for the last 30% of the race, Race Officer Inge Strompf-Jepsen made the decision to allow the boats to go "all the way" and JELIK took line honours at RHKYC Kellett Island after 3 hours and 43 minutes, with FREEFIRE following home just under 25 minutes later. In all, 184 boats recorded a finish at Kellett Island before enjoying a well–earned beer on the famous RHKYC decks.

The Around The Island Race isn't only about who has the biggest and fastest boat, and the overall results are calculated on an RHKATI handicap, developed using the data from years of pursuit racing. After time correction, the results for IRC 2 Class saw Nick Southward's J/109 WHISKEY JACK avoid most pitfalls, but not all, to secure a 7th in their class.  On the one-design front, the J/80s showed up in force with thirteen boats participating. Leading them all home was Ben Bulmer's JASMINE winning their class by a rather substantial margin of 6+ minutes!  Second was David Fan's SEA BISCUIT, third was Henry Wong's FOOTLOOSE, fourth was Alex Cheung's FIGURE OF EIGHT and fifth was Karen Lam's MAY 13 (she was also first women skipper to finish).  Thanks for the contribution from Guy Nowell at Asia Sail-World.com
For more Tommy Bahama Around the Island Race sailing information

Swiss Win World Police Sailing Championships

(Hong Kong, China)-  Imagine working "the beat" in your local city as a police officer on a daily basis wondering, hoping, wishing that nothing goes wrong so that as one of the chosen few in your police force you can travel half-way around the world to sail in J/80s off the magical island of Hong Kong! Wow, not only would it be a privilege to participate amongst the world's elite in law enforcement, but it would have to be one of the most thrilling experiences of a lifetime to earn your "credits/ stars" (or whatever is required) to be part of the four person team winging across the world's continents and vast expanses of oceans to sail amongst fellow enthusiasts who also love wind and water.  To be sure, target shooting skills were NOT on the agenda, just sailing, fun, beer, cultural activities and a few parties tossed in to keep everything in balance.  Who wouldn't want to participate in this event if you're on any police force anywhere on Planet Earth!?  I guess the Americans didn't heed the call, their loss, as much is to be learned from their contemporaries around the world.  Looks like the Swiss, Austrians, Germans, Dutch, English, Aussies, Irish, and Hong Kongers had a ball!  In fact, the Swiss had so much fun, they decided to win it all, with the Switzerland (St Galler) team and the Switzerland (Lucerne) team taking 1st and 2nd, respectively, on the podium!

The hosts for this year's 12th World Police Sailing Championships was the Hong Kong Police Sailing Club.  The event was held in the waters of Hong Kong Harbour and surrounding areas using the versatile J-80 Sailboats.  The seven-day long event was epic, fun, gorgeous, amazing and the schedule of both sailing events and social entertainment each night ensured the sailors had lots of war stories to tell to their mates later.  While the Hong Kong Police SC were the principal hosts, they could not have pulled it off without the enthusiastic support of the three primary sailing clubs in the area contributing their fleets of J/80s, including Royal Hong Kong YC (and usage of their Middle Island harbour facility), Hebe Haven Boat Club and the Aberdeen Boat Club.

The sailors were treated to an adventurous series of both passage races as well as windward-leeward courses over five days of racing.  Monday saw four W/L's off Royal Hong Kong YC's Middle Island with drinks/dinner at Aberdeen Boat Club.  Tuesday was a passage race from RHKYC to Hebe Haven YC with drinks at Hebe Haven BC and curry buffet dinner at Aberdeen BC on Middle Island.  Wednesday offered the sailors three W/L races off Middle Island with an evening soiree at Hebe Haven BC.  Thursday was Lay Day-- the crews needed it by now-- but the shopping was frenetic!!  Friday saw one W/L race, then a passage race from Hebe Haven YC to Royal Hong Kong YC followed by drinks/ dinner at RHKYC.  On Saturday, the last day saw a classic "Harbour Tour Race" with evening drinks, prize-giving at the Hong Kong Police SC HQ (courtesy of Carlsberg Beers!).

So, the natural question to ask is "how is it possible that anyone could combine so much sailing and entertainment in one week"??  Perhaps that question could be answered by veterans of some of the world's more renowned race weeks (like Key West, Cowes Week, SPI Ouest, Block Island, Capri, Newport, Rolex Big Boat, Palma and others).  Nevertheless, some of the world's best police officers managed to sail fast, smart and kept themselves out of trouble (on the water, that is).  Leading the pack home by a "squeaker" was the Switzerland (St Galler) team on the great yacht "JAILBREAKER" (appropriately, enough).  Their team of Geisser, Rieser, Fritsche, and Pasche won by only one point after eleven races, dropping a 14th in the last W/L and a 7th in Race 2 and winning the last race to seal the deal over their countrymen in 2nd place.  Easily sailing the most consistent score in the series was Switzerland (Lucerne) sailing JIVE with the team of Schumacher, Vogel, Koller and Oehen.  Their low point score of 33 was not good enough, since after two drops their 19 pts was just one pt back from the gold.  Third sailing JELIK 6 was the Netherlands (Team Amsterdam) team that consisted of Migchelsen, Sikkens, Derjik and Vanderveen with 23 pts.  Rounding out the top five was the top Hong Kong Team #1 sailing JOSS that had Tait, Leung, Armstrong and Lau sailing aboard in 4th and in 5th was the top German Team #2 sailing JELIK 7 with Uden, Weissenbom, Knospe and Eden as team-mates.

Congratulations to all thirteen teams that participated for making the effort to participate and travel so far to such an extraordinarily fun, exotic sailing adventure! Plus, great appreciation was expressed by all to the three sailing clubs- Royal Hong Kong YC, Hebe Haven BC and Aberdeen BC for graciously supplying their J/80 one-design class sailboats.  Finally, kudos go to the Hong Kong Police SC's band of volunteers that helped organize the event.  Everyone is looking forward to sailing next year, hopefully, with some Americans and South Americans participating, too!   For more World Police Sailing Championship sailing information

Sailing Report from Hong Kong!

(Hong Kong, China)- Dan Tullberg from J/Boats Hong Kong provided us the following exciting update from recent activities taking place in the Hong Kong/ Asian sailing world:

"For starters, we're please to announce that we have two J/70s confirmed arriving from France, and two serious contenders for the J/111 who want to (a) kick the tires on the first one arriving here mid-Nov and (b) hope to find moorings as the whole mooring market here is absolutely packed right now!  Sailing continues to grow in popularity here in Asia!

An upcoming report will be sent on the recently held International Police Worlds (13 x J/80s) and an announcement on the first formal Hong Kong-China inter-port regatta (again the J/80s) to run in Feb 2013. Also, the J/80 Class Hong Kong Championships are next weekend (3-4th Nov) off Lamma Island south of Hong Kong with 15-18 boats in what looks like a breezy weekend.

The J/80 HKG Class Association is still the only "national" class in Hong Kong that spans the interest of all three main yacht clubs here and owners take pride in that: a few weeks ago the Royal Hong Kong YC ran a "Championship Of Champions" event on J/80s between 9 different classes that was very well received by all:

1) the organizer RHKYC only had 3 of the required 6 boats available since much of the fleet was damaged in the typhoon this summer and still under repair. Three private owners offered their boats for use at this event unreservedly to make the event happen (a combination of fleet and match racing)

2) J/80 owners Andrew Moore / Nigel Welch (TIGRINA) and Jonny Hodgson (J-QI) came second and third respectively in that event, beating all but one stellar Etchells team."

A "BIG THANKS" to Dan, Joey and crew in Hong Kong for their excellent efforts in growing the J/One-design classes as well as building interest in the J/111.  We guess that a J/111 will have great fun sailing the Asian Offshore circuit!

J/80 China Rising

(Xiamen, China)- J/80s continue to expand their fleets and events across the vast shorelines and river deltas of China.  This fall there is a good chance for those who sail in Asia/Pac to hop aboard a J/80 and help grow the sport of sailing to an enthusiastic group of budding sailors.

The first event is the China Club Match Racing Championships, being held on October 1st through the 7th in Xiamen.  Currently there are 48 Chinese teams registered for the largest J/80 event in the Asian Market.  This event will be larger, in fact, than last year's Asia Games that saw strong participation from Asian sailing teams from across the region.  That's enormous growth in such a short period of time.  For a sense of perspective on the wealth and growth of this region and why the middle-class want to experience new outdoor activities that are supported by their governments (like sailing- the ultimate "green", environmentally-friendly recreation), the "Golden Triangle" is defined as Japan/ Korea to the East, China to the North, the "island nations" to the South (Philippines/ Malaysia/ Singapore/ Indonesia), Hong Kong and India as part of "the West"-- it's collective GDP of $15+ trillion far exceeds that of America or Europe--- with projections by 2025 to eclipse both USA and Europe combined (e.g. so what are 2.5 BILLION people going to spend their leisure time doing?  Sailing is cheap, comparatively speaking).  Ever wonder why Macau, China (one of the 16th century's most prolific trading ports) is the gambling capital of the world today? Hmmm. Good thing that J/80s will be sailing on Wuyuan Bay off Xiamen.  For more sailing and regatta information.

Next up on the schedule will be the J/80 Fall Regatta in southern China.  This event runs from October 14-16 and will be sailed off LiuZhou, GuangXi, China.   For more sailing information, please visit http://www.cnmcr.com (if you can't read Chinese, please contact Jim or Cindy below for an introduction on how to sail the event).

Finally, if you haven't been able to make travel plans to get to either Xiamen or Liu Zhou to sail J/80s, you can always catch up with the local J/80 sailors in Xiamen at this fall's Xiamen Boatshow from November 4th to 7th.  As Jim, Hudson and Cindy have explained many times, there is such enthusiasm for sailing locally that they're literally booking people weeks in advance to get on board the boats.  The Xiamen Boatshow is a great way to meet them all.  More Xiamen Boatshow details can be found here.

For more Chinese sailing and Xiamen show information, you can always email J/Boats Asia- Cindy Chen (cindy.cheng@hudsonyacht.com) or Jim Johnstone (jimjboats@gmail.com).

  

J/80 Best Sportsboat in China

(Shanghai, China)- This past week saw over 27,000 visitors from 70 countries attend the largest boatshow in China, the China International Boat Show in Shanghai.  Considered the most prestigious in all of China, the event also hosts the Asia Pacific Boating Awards.  With over three dozen panelists selecting the winners for each category, it was not surprising that the creme'd'la'creme rose to the top.  Winner of the this year's CIBS Best Sportboat Award was the International J/80, recognized for being the world's leading one-design sportsboat class with over 1,600 boats competing worldwide.  J/80 is also the premier sportsboat in China.  On hand to accept the award was J/Boats China's representative Jimmie Johnstone.
For more J/80 sailboat information

  

J/80 Australia Introduction

(Sydney, Australia)- "The J/80s introduction to Australia could not be going better", according to Ray Entwistle, the J/Dealer in Australia.  "In the mixed twilight division consisting of Etchells, Roberts 950, Masram 920’s and Young 88s, Ray and Sandra Entwistle’s  J/80 (with class rigged non overlapping sails) has so far scored 6 firsts on elapsed and 6 firsts on handicap after sailing 6 races.  In the weekend mixed spinnaker division, racing as the smallest boat in the division, the J/80 has scored 4th, 2nd and 3 1sts. All these results have been achieved with at least SIX different helmsman as the boat gets tested by interested parties!"

"It's incredible," said Ray, "it doesn’t matter who steers her she just gets up and goes. The weather has been as mixed as you could get during the past 6 weeks too. From gusting over 30 knots and planing past Goat Island doing 14 knots in a non spinnaker twilight to almost sucking wind, she simply leaves all in her wake. “The boat is just so easy and balanced” commented one guest helmsman, “incredibly balanced and quick” commented a seasoned Etchells 22 sailor who helmed the boat in another race, “never thought a boat this size with such strong build quality would be so fast, a dinghy feel but smooth, stable and incredibly quick” said another.  Learn more about what's happening with the J/80 debut in Australia, you can contact Ray at http://www.yachtspot.com.au  

Japan Wins Gold Match-racing J/80s

(Guangzhou, China/ Shanwei Sailing Center- Nov. 20th)- Japan won the Gold Medal in Open Match Racing of Sailing at the 16th Asian Games in co-host city Shanwei. This is a tribute to the long-term focus of the Japanese Sailing Team in the match-racing arena, no doubt helped by the presence of Peter Gilmour and his influence on the Japanese America's Cup programs over time. A surprise Silver Medalist was the Indian team skipper by Balraj Balraj.  Third was Korea getting the bronze led by Sungmin Cho.  Here are the standings for the Asian Games Sailing medalists and their crew:

1. Gold- Japan- OKAMOTO Yasuhiro- skipper, SAKAMOTO Wataru, WADA Daichi, YOSHIFUJI Hiroaki

2. Silver- India- BALRAJ Balraj- skipper, HELEGAONKAR Trunal, SINHA Atool, TARAPORE Farokh Fa, YADAV Shekhar Sing

3. Bronze- Korea- CHO Sungmin- skipper, KIM Sungwok, LEE Dongwoo, NAM Yongjin, PARK Gunwoo

Read more about their in the Sailing section here on the Asia Games 2010 site.