HKISC Day 2 - Backe bites back

The Hong Kong Invitational Sportsboats championships ended today with a clear winner in the mixed SBR fleet. Peter Backe on Black Magic answered his critics with a superb display of downwind speed, picking up three consecutive bullets to push the overnight leader Frank van Kempen (Fly by Wire) into second place. 

(c) Cynthia Law/HKSA

 While the wind didn't quite reach the survival conditions of Saturday, a steady 18 knots meant that huge gains were available to those willing to live on the edge downwind, and some spectacular broaches were seen at both ends of the fleet. Brace Brace Brace, sailed by Paul Murphy, was seen after some gybes with crew sitting on the keel – if it was a dinghy, it might be called “capsized”! 

(c) Cynthia Law/HKSBA

With two days of strong winds it was clear which boats had been well maintained, as gear failure started to take its toll. A broken lower shroud ended Jens-Erik Olsen's (Red Herring) quest for a top three position, and a few broken mast tracks and lifting chainplates caused varying degrees of concern. Big gains on the second day were made by Northern Light (David Knight) and Catch 22 (Mark Bennett) by managing to sail all the races. The black Longtze of Gaetan Verhegge (Exocet) continued its storming pace by beating many of the Magic 25s on elapsed as well as corrected time.

The J80 fleet continued to be close, with a single point separating the top two boats. John Hodgson (J Chi) celebrated a hard earned victory with another bottle of Grey Goose Vodka for first place, with Steve Trebitsch on Jazz not quite doing enough to sneak past him. 

Peter Backe thanked the RHKYC for organising a fantastic regatta, and proposed that the event become an annual fixture for Asian sportsboats. With fabulous windy sailing conditions (and an improved economic climate!), it is hoped that next year will see a return of the foreign contingent and the same high quality competition that this year has enjoyed.

(c) Cynthia Law/HKSBA

Overall Results:

Sportsboats

1, Black Magic, Peter Backe, 7pts
2, Fly By Wire, Frank van Kempen, 10pts
3, Exocet, Gaetan Verhegge, 22pts

J80

1, J Chi, Jonathan Hodgson
2, Jazz, Simon Blore
3, Hakwati, Dan Tulberg