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

HKISC Day 1

The Hong Kong Invitational Sportsboats Championships started with a bang with strong winds, multiple breakages, and lots of very fast downwind legs. Race Officer Russ Parker set a mixture of windward/leeward and geometric courses off the coast of Lamma Island testing the reaching (and broach recovery) skills of the fleet.

(c) Joyce Ravara/HKSBA

Peter Backe and Frank van Kempen lived up to their pre-event billing by battling for the lead in the sportsboats fleet, each winning two races and setting up a match race for the overall victory tomorrow. The J80 fleet looks like a competition between the North Sails Hong Kong loft, with John Hodgson (crewed by Tim Somerville) just edging out Steve Trebitsch and Simon Blore on Jazz.

Most of the sportsboat fleet trialled new kites provided by Zoke and with winds topping at 25 knots they were all grateful for the crispy sailcloth. 

A total of 24 boats took part in the first four races of the championships, with three more to come. The Sportsboat Association is very grateful for the organisation of the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club and the sponsorship of Grey Goose Vodka, who provided day prizes to the top competitors.

Results after Day 1:
Sportsboats
1. Fly by Wire, Frank Van Kempen 6pts
2. Black Magic, Peter Backe 7pts
3. Exocet, Gaetan Verhaegge 19pts

J80
1. J Chi, John Hodgson 5pts
2. Jazz, Simon Blore 8pts
3. Hakwakti, Dan Tulborg 12pts

HKISC - Northern Light preparation...

Right, off to prep my boat by putting the stickers on - it's all about the photos. I promised ages ago to put up the new boat graphics, but things have beeen a little downgraded since then - anyway, here they are:

This is on the back of the t-shirts, but boat graphics are purely red tape! 

Team this weekend should be pretty fast, but we're rather hoping for 8-10knts as we're 70kg under weight. Given the forecast for 18-20knts, we may be a little slow upwind! The problem with the Lamma racetrack is that is purely a boatspeed venue with very constant wind direction and pressure, so no chance to shift hop as we normally do in Port Shelter! Still, I can't wait: 18knts downwind in a swell will be awesome, however light the crew, and we've got about 15 downwind legs to do. With a brand new kite.

HKISC - the excitement mounts

So while it's not quite what was planned (no shipping deal so few (no?) overseas entrants) we're still looking forward to a awesome weekend (13th/14th) of sportsboats racing. With the promise of sponsored kites for the mixed SBR fleet we've got 13 Magics racing, 2 Longtzes, an FT10 as well as the Hugh Welbourn/DSS "Brace Brace Brace".

Possibly the best Magic fleet turnout worldwide since the heyday of the HK fleet in terms of numbers, there is also some talent at the top end of the fleet. The favourite has to be reigning HK Magic Champion Frank van Kempen on "Fly by Wire", but he can expect to be pushed very hard by Peter Backe ("Black Magic") who has been pushing the envelope of sail development and Steve Bourne ("Merlin") who has finally quit complaining about the holes in his sails and brought a new set. Dark horses (literally - who would order an entirely black machine and then sail it in the HK summer sun?!) are the guys on "Bracex3", who have finally started showing some serious pace in strong breeze. Helmed (I think) by HK 470 Olympic contender Sam Sakai, the innovative horizontal lifting foil might prove to be the weapon it was promised to be. Or will it be difficult to handle in the expected 1m swell and fail to correct out the 5mins it gives to most of the rest of the fleet?

Reduced to a weekend event, with 7 races in forecast 17-20knt winds on the "world's" race  course off Lamma in the South China Sea, there should still be plenty of excitement. Oh yes, there are also some J80s racing in a one design fleet as well - almost forgot...

Results online here:
http://www.rhkyc.org.hk/article.aspx?c=2&a=1577
and tracks will be published here asap:
http://www.rhkyc.org.hk/article.aspx?c=2&a=1522

MR1: Mr Aggressive

The yacht club has traditionally organised a year long Match Racing regatta, which involved two boats on a Saturday morning, and some pretty fierce competition. However, with the purchase of six (!) brand new J80s and forming a match racing "class association", this year promises to be something special - no hanging around for the two boats to finish a one sided race, the chance to finish a regatta in a weekend, and a boat that is a little less tender to sail in a breeze.

To find crews for the extra boats, we had a training session last weekend aimed at beginner match racers, with a pre-seminar, drills on the water, racing, and excitingly a video debrief. I've put a team together for the season (I've been pretty excited for a while!) and jumped at the chance to try it out. Having never helmed in a match race before, it was a little nerve wracking but ultimately great fun. It turned out that having a team racing/small boat background was a great help - I seemed to adapt better to the large rudders and small turning circle of the boats, and perhaps had a bit of an advantage in the situations during the prestart. Still, we had some good racing, and managed to win every race apart from against the Singapore national team, who were in Hong Kong practicing! Not too much shame in that...

I learnt a huge amount match racing - the rules are the easy bit, it's the execution of them that matters much more.

• It's all situations, situations, situations - you must know going into a manouvre  how you are going to come out, and what you hope to gain from it. 
• Once you know what a situation should involve, execution is even more difficult. For instance, the dialup (which I'd assumed was just a simple head to wind move) involves a large amount of skill in judging your speed going into it, so that your position relative to the other boat allows you to hold them where you want them/get out of a port side trap.
• Time on distance - if you don't know how far away you are from the line, the final approach is near on impossible.
• Speed. If you've got it, even a bad start can be overcome and you can get back in touch - it gets you out of a lot of trouble! Luckily, I had an excellent main trimmer, and could rely on him to get the boat going fast upwind.
• On the short courses we do, there has to be something really special going on the left side of the beat to make it worthwhile to go for the pin. It's close to impossible to make up enough distance to cross the starboard tack boat at the top mark!
• I need to tell my crew what I'm up to prestart...

The race against the Singaporeans was a fantastic challenge. While I didn't cover myself in glory (penalty on entry for port/starboard, over the line at the start, and passed on the way to the finish line) there were a few glimmers of what is possible against challenging opposition! I managed to escape from a controlled position in the prestart and chose to lead back to the start, and also managed to gain enough on the first beat to almost cross at the top mark - probably helped by being over.

The other exciting bit was the video debrief - there is nothing like having a cameraman on the back of your boat, watching your team's every move and recording every conversation, and then having it replayed and your mistakes analysed in front of everybody afterwards! Luckily, I didn't swear/shout at my crew/fall out of the boat, but I did get a reputation as "Mr Aggressive" for the day - always chasing penalties!

Hopefully, the video should make it onto the internet pretty soon, and the season should have quite a good media presence if the sponsorship deal comes off...

Anyway, must get back to some bedtime reading with the Call Book.

RN7: How to ignore your own advice

The sailing season has finally started, and with a bang! Autumn Regatta this weekend, and after being depressed for most of the week about the forcast 0 to 2 knot westerly, I was pleasantly surprised by a variable 0 to 8 knot breeze on Saturday, which increased to around 10-15knots for a two race blast on Sunday.

Westerly winds are pretty rare in the harbour, and most of the accepted ideas about what to do go out of the window. Coupled with this, we were racing on the plateau of an odd diurnal tide pattern that meant the tide was fairly slack for most of the day - so it often became about finding a band of pressure and staying in it.

TIde Patterns, Quarry Bay, Hong Kong Harbour - www.hko.gov.hk

We didn't have a spectacular event, but there were a few moments of note. Firstly, most of the mark roundings were to starboard, meaning that you could barrel in shouting for your rights, but it was more often an exercise in risk management. Especially in the light winds of Saturday, starboard didn't mean much if the guys on port couldn't get out of the way! I had to make this call at one point - starboard to four Etchells who had just rounded and were going nowhere, or carry on? I carried on and had to turn back downind to the upwind mark - I should have seen the problem earlier and not put myself in that position.

Sunday's heavier winds were fantastic fun. Especially the second race, where we were planing consistently downwind - a fairly unusual occurance in Hong Kong, and something I haven't had a great deal of experience with. Fleet management was much more an issue when planing, as you had to think much further ahead than usual and at greater speeds to prevent yourself being stuffed to windward and broaching and/or forced to leeward and falling off the plane by the boats in front. Both were slow!

Annika looking casual downwind. I'm at the back, screaming. (c) Guy Nowell/RHKYC

Still, we had excellent speed downwind, but there is still work to be done upwind. We weren't helped by being at least 80kg underweight, but I was the main culprit - completely ignoring what I wrote about last week (RN6) and also experienced at the similarly heavy wind 2010 Spring Regatta. Also known as - take the inside of the bend! I went right up the beat and forgot about the wind bend you get around North Point. As I was constantly being lifted, it felt great, but everbody inside me sailed a much shorter course and disappeared. All our downwind theatrics were a little wasted...

A great weekend though, and a couple of good photos, including a brief appearance on the front page of the SCMP. Yes, that's my mast on the extreme left.

Front page of the SCMP 20th September 2010.

Tack Tracker link is here - we're the one without a name (pink I think). Not all the Sportsboats fleet seem to have handed in their tracker.

Results (don't look...)

RN6: Harbour Rustiness

My first post for almost a month - mainly due to a holiday in New Zealand, but also a general lack of sailing! However, the Hong Kong "season" has now started in earnest, with class racing back in the calendar and hopefully the stronger and more consistent monsoon winds to come in the autumn.

As there was no Magic racing, I was coerced aboard an Etchells for racing in the Harbour. Now, I haven't raced in the harbour for six months, and even then I never really knew how to read its confused tidal/wind patterns. Hence, a race at the front of an Etchell was always going to be a challenge.

Wind direction and guesses about tidal flow

The prevailing wind in the habour comes from the east, and is channelled through the Lei Yu Mun Gap and onto the regular racecourse alongside the old Kai Tak airport.This means that W/L races are generally a beat against or with the tidal flow, with all the classic decisions this creates! Left or right on the beat? Tidal flow over wind strength? Are the eddies in the bay worth chasing? Are there permenant lifts/headers around the headlands?

This weekend was an incoming tide, and a nice 5 to 8 knots of breeze with the tide. The regular understanding is that the left (the Kai Tak side) doesn't pay against the tide as you usually you also get the wrong side of beneficial wind shifts and stay in the tide for longer. However, we took a choice to go left as it looked like there was more windstrength, and we managed to get off the pin end of the line in good shape! This worked very well for the first beat, rounding third, and gaining a place down the run.

The second beat unfortunately was very different - we went left again, and most of the fleet went with us. And we all got stuck in a hole at the top, while the back markers (who'd gone right) sailed past us. From second to sixth in one easy step!

We gained a few downwind again, but lost them again as we miss-read the course, set off to the right side for a no-existent third beat, and then hurried back accross the tide again to the finish line. Sixth overall - one way to brush off the rustiness.

Sunday was spent back on Strewth, but it was nothing to write home about - a race officer set a 25nm in a dying breeze, so we got most of the way round and then abandonned after about an hour sitting desperately trying to get a kite to fill.  Next weekend is back on my Magic - hoping for a good fleet and a breeze.

RN5: Anchor Watch

Last weekend was the annual Mirs Bay race, run by HHYC as part of the Typhoon series. It's essentially a coastal race, running from Port Shelter into Mirs Bay on the Hong Kong/Chinese border and stopping at Wong Shek Pier in Sai Kung Country Park for a barbeque and prize giving. Generally people anchor overnight then race back again the next day, though after this year some people might rethink that...

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.

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! 

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. 

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.

RN4: Mark rounding photos

Thanks to the awesome photography of Joyce Ravara (Chaos Photos - some great shots! Apologies for borrowing this sequence...) here is the leeward mark rounding from last weekend!

Behind Merlin (we have the blue kite)

Coming into the leward mark rounding, and going wide - only just got mark room on Barnstormer outside us.

Rounding inside

Ahead!

And this is what I meant about bigger boats - that's me in the middle, with an 79ft yacht on my lee bow.

All photos (c) Chaos Photos

"Do stop giggling like a school-girl"

Because I have a new boat, and therefore am physically required to sail it at every available moment, we took it out for another cruise on Saturday. With me this time were Greg and Kien, both of whom had had a bit of experience of sailing dinghies. However, this was a little step up in excitement...

Giggling like school-girls. (c) DFK

A nice force 3-4 and bright sushine meant there was some comical sunburn afterward.  Destination was again Pak Ah, for food and a swim. Swimming off the beach was like getting in a bath.

Note tongue out, concentrating on not spilling any beer.  (c) KH

One lesson we learnt was on the sensitivity of the keel to stall - I had to take two attempts at coming up to the dock at lunchtime. Given that it only has a chord length of about 8 inches, as soon as you stop the flow over the keel you start to go sideways. Running into wash at low speed (with only the jib up) was an admirable way to do this!  I managed it eventually.

I've still got a list of jobs to do on the boat, but it's gradually getting smaller. A few bits of line in key places, a self-return system for the pole, and (still!) an engine service. The major change will be the new name and new decals, which will be announced soon...

RN2: Shenanigans, or how not to cross the start line...

Saturday was the first race in the new boat, and it was a day of mixed results. There are lots of areas to improve on!

The two races were being run by Hebe Haven Yacht Club, as part of their regular club racing. The particular difficulty with this series is that all fleets start at the same time, which means anything from 25ft (i.e. us) to over fifty are looking for the same part of the start line. This wasn't my first experience of it, but it was my first attempt at a good start in such a fleet. Unfortunately, it defined the races for us.

The first race was a two lap windward/leward race. I started somewhere in the middle of the line, but was a little late pulling the trigger so was quickly buried by some bigger/faster boats, and struggling to get clear air. So we tacked off to the right hand side of the course.

























Saturday's tides and wind in Port Shelter. With apologies to GoogleMaps.

Unfortunately, this meant we were in tide for much longer than those that went hard left. They punched through the tide (and also got a little more pressure) so rounded a little way ahead of us. We were sixth out of eight, and it stayed like that!

Race two, and I had a spectacularly bad start. We decided that the only way to get to the favoured left hand side was to win the pin. I know, kind of arrogant for only my second start in a fleet of 40 yachts! There were two of us out there, both with the same idea. The other was the eventual winner (Black Magic) so at least it was the right place! I was a little early for the start, luffed a little, slowed too much, and was suddenly below the layline. Right - time for a quick tack. Tack - oh bugger, now I'm on port with three forty foot yachts bearing down on me. I tack back, failing to complete in time and hence fouling Avantgarde. Then I ran into the pin.

Time to disentangle myself from the anchor chain and do some turns! We managed to gain one place in the race, but ended with a seventh.

However, far from being a total tale of woe, there were lots of good points. One was my crew - it was pretty top notch, with Ollie, an ex- 18ft skiff sailor, being the new addition. Secondly, downwind speed was good, and once we'd made the first mistake with the tide we were generally going in the right direction at the right times. It was a shame that once we realised that it became a procession - there was really only one way to go (upwind and down) and therefore very few passing lanes. The other great point was that there were 8 Magics sailing, with two to three regulars still on the dock. Hopefully that will continue next season.

Same again in two weeks time. I have a similar crew, so here's hoping that I discover some starting skill in the meantime!

RN1: Trimming lessons on Strewth

One of the other boats I sail on currently is Strewth, a first generation TP52 (formerly Trader). Having previously never raced anything over 38ft*, it is a big step up in terms of loads, complexity, and crew work. She is currently being worked up for the Hong Kong-Vietnam race, and then (maybe) the whole calendar of blue riband Pacific offshore races in 2011.

I'm very new to the boat, and so am taking whatever chances are thrown at me. This weekend included a huge (and probably un-merited) promotion to main jib trimmer, and as one of two downwind trimmers. The adrenalin was pumping as I took the kite sheet for a tight reach down to Basalt Island!

Upwind trim is where I have most to learn. Points to remember:

1. Oversheeting = slow. We only started hitting our target numbers once the jib was cracked off to the 3rd mark on the spreaders. In my defence, it's difficult to trim a jib that big and that new at first glance! However, it did mean we lost a lot of time on the first beat to the Ninepins
2. Percentage calls help tell the driver how near he is to being in the grove. 100% trim should only occur when you're at target speed, at target headings, and at a constant boat speed. Once it does, trimmer is probably best up on the high side until something changes. At which point, he'll probably be shouted at!
3. In-haulers close the slot. Sheet must be eased at the same time, or see 1.
4. Jib car forward reduces twist and adds power to the foot. Use as breeze gets lighter.
5. Jib car back flattens sail, and increases twist. Use as breeze builds.
6. The back of the boat is always right.

Downwind:

1. Face backwards to talk to grinders or they can't hear.
2. Code 0 trim is like a jib with a flexible luff - be prepared to let it roll.
3. Having a good foredeck means the back of the boat think nothing of sail changes.
4. Inside gybes and outside gybes need to be communicated, and speed of turn altered. 

Other things to note are:

1. There was a massive lift and better pressure under Table Island and the CWB Golf course.
2. Suncream needs reapplying at any quiet moment, otherwise your nose gets a layer of skin shorter.

Sorry, no pictures on this post. Maybe next time!

*Incidentally, the difference in length (14ft) is just about the length of the first boat I ever owned - a leaky Laser, purchased for all of 50 pounds sterling. It seemed like a lot of money as a student, but wasn't all that bad value given it was sold for a profit!

New boat, new blog

So, I've finally started a blog. Who'd have thought? Not entirely sure what to write about (hence, of course, the title) but will probably chart progress on my new boat, and maybe a few bridge pictures and reviews. Mixing business with pleasure!

So, the new boat.

Photo credit: unknown, but via JP. Let me know if it's yours.

We (Elisa and I) have just bought Magic 25 hull number 62. Called Shenanagins (a very odd spelling, with an unknown vintage) she seems to have been sailed extremely well in Hong Kong for the last decade or so. Four Class Championship wins, Round the Island Record holder... This boat has a pedigree. Which was part of the appeal, as well as being well maintained and nicely set up. She doesn't seem to have been sailed for a while, so there are a few little niggles to work out before she is in racing trim.

We took her for a maiden sail on Saturday, just to try out the cruising sails and enjoy the perfect Hong Kong summer weather (southerly force 3-4, sunshine). Destination - Pak Ah for icecream and beer. Here is a photo of me looking pleased with myself.

Photo credit: Fran Knight

The next steps include refitting the pole, servicing the engine, and getting her certificated. And then (hopefully!) we'll take her out for a first race. We have someway to go before we can hope to match her previous results!