The race up was quite good fun - an easterly breeze providing a fetch for most of the way. There were many holes in the wind, and places were gained and lost by being in the right place at the right time! We thought we were flying (I was back on Strewth) after using a tidal eddy out of a bay, getting a puff of breeze, and setting the code zero to romp to the last island turning mark. We were miles ahead! However, turning the corner we dropped into a hole and were almost caught by Mandrake and Jelik V.
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Port Shelter to Mirs bay - Course for IRC A. |
After a Michelin starred BBQ (What steak... It's handy to have a restaurant general manager in your crew) and a quiet drink or three we retired to the boat, to find a north/north-easterly breeze throwing 30 knot gusts straight into the harbour. If you look at the map above you can see that it's not particularly well sheltered from that direction!
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Normal Wind direction in Hong Kong in August - notice nothing from the north! |
"It's not normally like this" - and it actually isn't! However, it required anchor watches to check whether we were dragging, and to watch out for rogue catamarans sailing around their anchor chain. It didn't turn out to be a fun night, and everyone lacked sleep.
The race back the following day again gave us all conditions from zero knots on the start line to 18 knots at times, and we used every sail in the warbrobe. As downwind trimmer for much of the race, I was absolutely shattered by the end of the day - sail changes, high loads, concentration on the 25nm course, and new sail cloth materials completely wore me out.
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Mirs Bay to Port Shelter. Course for IRC A. |
Still, it was an awesome course, and we got relatively high speeds out of the boat. I wasn't really expecting the last sausage, and was incredibly grumpy by the end of the race. A beer and a 12hr sleep restored me.
good David... this is what we meant by our HK sea for good racing, always shifty always different wind angles as we're a place having hundreds mountains with 75% wrapped by the South China ocean sea...
ReplyDeleteas my sailing life started at Mirs Bay from 1995 dinghy classes, i knew the bay so so so well, it's real real good wind from E to NE around Autumn, very good for instructor class.
& if it was winter time this event taken place, it's hard hard cold Northerley gusting from China blowing straight into Wongshek bay, there we all boats all crew really would kill ourselves overnight watching our anchor & other boats... maybe better night sailing in storm main & jib on watches...
BUT, by fact last 12 year Mirs Bay races I attended was not like this weather condition at all...
It could be raining 1 or 2 hours whole night means no on deck sleeping but super hot down cabin,
OR none breeze means too much mosquito flying next to your ears on deck,
OR 3 to 4 fishermen boats punching nets at 3.30am calm calm bay for more than 2 hours before dawn (5-gun-noice each 3 minute, then rest for 15min for net-picking-up),
OR absolute peaceful none cloud blue+pink sunrise at the Sharp Peak top to our starboard of the bay...
But none like last weekend when you the new new Englishman joint,
& so weird the big Easterley gust been called for 3 hours from 1.30am to 4.30am... wow, by fact you had experienced something very very special at our HK sailing history...
so so young you absolute exhausted after such longlasting fight from our physical limit till 2nd day race finish...
there it meant you can do it & even should train to be a superman-sailor to do even more...
but it also meant your team may need to swap crew positions a bit...
just like normal ocean race, starboard team & port team at night & day racing sailing is very common... together with racing towards Philippines...
well, our little & quite light 35footer team new design racer cruiser, did reanchor 3 rounds before we fixed our mind about those boats around were fix-anchored... (actually they trawled some at the 35kt)... we little boat also having 2-men watch till morning 6am calm sea means calm sleep.
me personally training myself like the ocean-race to really awake till 4.45am, but watching our boat swinging back & forth with another boat at our boat std side, then next watch having the wind drop so much, means much less scary for our teammate...
so, we should charish such a sailor experience as now all knew weather is never can tell... maybe we'll have much stronger colder wind at our HK autumn & winter this year as the Easterley coming 2 months earlier, yes?? cheerscy