CRUISING
CRUISING
Cruising Comments
Is it my imagination, or has the mist and fog started early this
year? Fog…the yachtsman’s nightmare…no visibility, often no
wind and no sailing! On the positive side, it’s been a great time
of year to get down and get dirty in the engine bay and sort out
all those jobs we have been putting off.
Recent cruising events include COA Chinese New Year
Regatta, held from 19–21 February, which is one of the longest
running sailing events in Hong Kong, having taken place since
1950. This year 28 boats set off from the start near Lamma
Island in a fresh 25-knot breeze gusting 30 knots plus 2-metre
following seas. As a result there were plenty of ripped sails and
breakages on the passage down. Gambit broke her tiller and
was towed back to Aberdeen, where rapid repairs were made
before setting out again for Macau so as not to miss the party!
In IRC division, Elektra took first place (3:49:32), despite assisting
in Gambit’s rescue. Second place went to Andiamo (4:10:51)
with Redeye in third (4:19:23). HKPN Division A was won by
Amarante (4:28:33), with Wonderwall in second (4:39:03) and
Sirocco in third (4:41.59). HKPN Division B was won by La Folia
(4:10:23), with Ichiban in second place (4:29:57) and Palaemon
11 in third (4:32:13).
This year we docked at the newly built pontoons at Fisherman’s
Walk, a short distance from the fast ferry terminal. Immigration
formalities were carried out swiftly and efficiently, followed by an
excellent beer and finger food buffet party sponsored by Jeanneau
at a nearby restaurant. The new marina is right next door to the
Babylon Casino, so there was no problem netting the notoriously
elusive black-and-yellow-spotted Macau taxi in its natural habitat.
This new marina is operated by Starship Yachts and is
targeted to host visiting yachts and events such as the Macau
Boat Show. The facilities are conveniently located and well
constructed, but exposed to the wash from passing ferries,
which made it a bit uncomfortable for those staying on board.
There are plans to build a wave barrier in the next 12 months,
but this is currently awaiting planning permission. The marina
entrance was also tricky with several yachts going aground, but
this will also soon be dredged deeper. Minor inconveniences
aside, it was the perfect location and a major improvement on
previous years.
The Friday was a rest day so some crews returned to Hong
Kong by ferry, some went cycling in Zhuhai and some found hot
springs to leap into. Some of us remained in town to enjoy the
relaxed Macanese atmosphere and eat ourselves silly. Some of
us even went wild: gambling, drinking and clubbing! However
only the most reckless joined in the firefight on the Macau
30 HEBE JEBES • MAY/JUN 2015
Words
Rob Winter, Cruising Rep
waterfront where, for a handful of patacas, you could buy a
box of rockets to shoot off at your friends and enemies on the
firework battlefield. Meanwhile ambulances and medics stood
by to treat the burnt, scorched and wounded.
On the Saturday morning, crews reassembled at Fisherman’s
Wharf where we were welcomed at Immigration with hot coffee
from Starship Yachts and the fleet were quickly cleared, cast
off and motored out to the start line. In contrast to the outward
leg, there was barely a breath of wind and only one boat made
a clean start, but later retired, so racing was abandoned. The
wind picked up later and we were able to sail for a few hours,
but it was dead on the nose thus we had to motor-sail for most
of the way to get into Hong Kong before darkness.
Other cruising events include the DBYC round Lantau Race on
18–19 April, which will have already taken place by the time
you read this. It starts at Discovery Bay, passes the Sokos and
ov