Narrow lead for Pryde

RHKYC Hong Kong to Hainan Race sets off across the South China Sea

After a last minute withdrawal of Moonblue 2 (due to the most common of Hong Kong complaints, work commitments) eleven boats took to the South China Sea in a steady 20 knots of wind at 1200hrs today.

First across the line was record holder Ffree Fire, followed by Mandrake – Quest also got a cracking start, crossing the line ahead of Hi Fi Team Pryde who hugged the committee boat end.

Race Officer, Jimmy Farquhar, had elected to lay a windward mark that Mandrake was first to round, followed by Ffree Fire, Hi Fi and Hocux Pocux 2. Most boats took a few minutes to get their kite under control. Hocux Pocux 2 hoisted, only to suffer a major spinnaker rip, losing her valuable time on what promises to be a very fast offshore race. She later reported holing a second kite, while Drumstick lost time due to an altercation with a drift net.

At 1800hrs when the boats reported their positions for the first time, Hi Fi Team Pryde was a mere 2 nautical miles ahead of Ffree Fire on the water, both boats expected to finish inside Ffree Fire’s existing record of 29h 55m 03s. Mandrake was also well in touch with the front runners, only 6nm in arrears. Apart from Quest, bringing up the back of the fleet (which was to be expected for a boat with the lowest IRC handicap in the race), the rest of the fleet were in a chasing pack about 20nm back from the leaders.

The next reporting schedule is at 0800hrs on Friday, when the fleet is expected to have strung out overnight – occasional Force 6 has been forecast by Hong Kong Observatory, so all bets for a new race record are still on!