249 sailors from Cambodia, China, Indonesia, India, Italy, Macau, Malaysia, Qatar, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, United States and Hong Kong were greeted with over 12kts of breeze as they descended upon Middle Island for the first day of racing which took place across three race tracks located in Repulse Bay and Stanley Bay on the south side of Hong Kong.
When the Lasers, 420s, 29ers and RS Fevas reached their race course in Stanley Bay there was plenty more breeze at 20kts+ which resulted in a substantial number of capsizes even before the first gun. Most sailors however were able to get hold of the conditions once racing got started. The fleets in Repulse Bay did not benefit from the stronger wind and were the first to experience the breeze softening which resulted in a few APs. Once racing got away there were big shifts in pressure and plenty of light patches to contend with across all race tracks.
The breeze kept the fleets on their toes throughout the day and continued to weaken – the sailors who were able to corral the shifty conditions pulled ahead in their divisions. Coming out on top of the day were Hong Kong’s 420 sailors Chun Ho HO and Ka Ho LEE who took two bullets in their races.
With females representing more than 30% of the fleet this year it’s fantastic to see Hong Kong sisters Nancy and Molly HIGHFIELD on top of the Radials with both sisters taking a first place today and Nancy sitting on top of the ladder with consistent top 3 results.
India’s Chitresh TATHA is ahead in the Laser 4.7 with Indonesia’s Roger WARDOJO and Hong Kong’s Pei Tsun YIP hot on his heals only one point behind.
「2018香港帆船賽週」開幕禮昨晚於香港遊艇會中途島會所舉行，當中包括舞獅表演和主辦單位致開幕詞。第六屆賽事，分別有12個國家共248名帆船手參賽，當中包括來自：柬埔寨、中國、印尼、印度、意大利、澳門、馬來西亞、卡塔爾、新加坡、中華台北、美國和香港。
今天早上，中途島附近海域吹起每小時12節風力，比賽分成三條線路在香港以南海域進行，途經淺水灣和赤柱。當Laser、420、29er和 RS Feva型帆船到達赤柱時，風力增強至每小時20節以上，導致在第一次鳴槍前出現多宗翻船報告；然而，各選手在起步後均有不錯的表現。船隊駛至淺水灣時並沒有因為強風而取得優勢，反而因風勢轉弱而需多次發出AP旗。當地們駛離上述海域時，賽情逆轉，選手需面對海面上更多不同的挑戰。
微風一直跟隨著船隊至今日比賽結束，直接削弱了一些善於在強風下比賽的選手。目前為止，由香港代表Chun Ho HO 及Ka Ho LEE的420型帆船以2分領先其他選手。
很高興看到女選手在「2018香港帆船賽週」中的比例佔超過30%，香港姊妹Nancy和Molly HIGHFIELD在Radials型帆船組別中暫居第一位；來自印度的Chitresh TATHA在Laser 4.7型帆船分組中領先，印度代表Roger WARDOJO和香港代表Pei Tsun YIP則以一分之差緊隨其後。
Provisional results for the remaining divisions can be found at http://www.hongkongraceweek.com/results
The second day of racing starts tomorrow with three races held for all divisions weather permitting.
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