The 6th edition of Hong Kong Race Week got off to a cracking start last night with lion dancers launching golden flying pigs into the crowd as a nod to the start of the Chinese New Year of the Golden Pig.
Speeches were heard from Hong Kong Race Week Chairman Peter Davies, Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club Commodore John Woo, HKSF President Tong Yui Shing, Secretary-General of the China Yachting Association, Liu Wei Dong and Clean Regatta Ambassadors Enzo Cremers from the Laser Radial fleet and Douglas Leung from the Optimist fleet.
245 sailors are competing in this edition which is a constituent event of the ASAF Youth World Cup. 10 nations are racing including China, Cambodia, India, Macau, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong and first-time entries Guam, Myanmar, Norway and Sweden.
Eight classes are competing on two race tracks and will sail up to 16 races over the Race¬ Week. The classes include 2.4mR, 29er, 420, RS Feva, Laser 4.7, Laser Radial, Optimist and Optimist Green Fleet.
Principal Race Officer Barry Truhol commented on today’s racing, “After no wind for the practice race yesterday, we have been rewarded with absolutely cracking conditions. The Optimists were initially scheduled to go out to Stanley, but it was just too windy - above 20kts and white caps - so Race Officer Inge Strompf-Jepsen brought them into Repulse Bay. The conditions are absolutely stunning, we have a nice breeze, great light and no big swells.”In the Optimist fleet, the biggest fleet of the regatta with 96 sailors, the girls are on top with 11 girls in the top 17 and India’s Uma Chouhan in the lead.
Truhol added, “Out at Po Toi, where the Lasers, 420s and 29ers are racing, the conditions are 14 to 20kts. There is a bit of a short, sharp swell and they've also got some white caps. It’s a little bit on the extreme side for some of them, but everyone looks as if they are having fun. It’s a good day!”
Leading the 420 fleet, and winner of the 2017 and 2018 Hong Kong Race Week Optimist fleet, is Duncan Gregor with crew member Matthew Clark. In the Laser 4.7 fleet its India’s Rammilan Yadav leading one point ahead of Hong Kong’s Patrick Ziteng Feng.
Tomorrow looks to be an exciting day with stronger breeze forecasted across the track.
第六屆香港帆船賽周昨晚以金豬醒獅表演正式揭開序幕。香港帆船賽周主席Peter Davies, 香港遊艇會會長胡祖榮先生，香港帆船運動總會主席唐裔盛先生，中國帆船帆板運動協會秘書長劉衛東先生，雷射輻射型帆船及潔淨帆船賽大使Enzo Cremers，和樂天小帆船代表Douglas Leung 分別在開幕典禮上致詞。
香港帆船賽週是ASAF青年盃的其中一個比賽，本屆共有245名運動員參加，參賽隊伍分別來自中國、柬埔寨、關島、印度、澳門、緬甸、挪威、瑞典、中華台北和香港。
8 個組別 2.4mR, 29er, 420, RS Feva, 雷射4.7, 雷射輻射型帆船, 樂天小帆船主隊及樂天小帆船初級組將會分別以兩條賽道進行多達16 場賽事。
總裁判長Barry Truhol 在今天的賽事後表示「雖然昨天無風，但今天天氣狀況十分良好。」
樂天小帆船組別有96 名參賽者，當中11位是女運動員。來自印度的Uma Chouhan暫時領先。
2017 及2018 年香港帆船賽周樂天小帆船冠軍得主 Duncan Gregor 今年伙拍Matthew Clark 出戰420 型帆船賽，他們在分組中暫時領先。另一印度參賽者Rammilan Yadav 在雷射4.7 型帆船組別中以一分力壓同場香港選手Patrick Ziteng Feng, 暫時領先。