We are an active racing class based in Sai Kung's Shelter Cove with races nearly every week. Boats include Magic 25s, Longtze and other similar boats with sport boat ratings from the Sailing Federation. The Class Rules are simple and formulated to increase participation and strong competition at less cost and no need for intensive boat preparation. We foster class growth to ensure that racing is exciting and personally rewarding - on the water and off!
Class Championships 2009
by: Peter Hammond 11/12/09
I wanted thank all involved in a great Sportsboat Class Championship.
Gareth and my recollections follow:
It was a brilliant Class Championships over the two weekends with good
weather and steady winds of 9 to 12 knots increasing to 15 late on the
first Sunday. The chop and the swell, as well as avoiding ships as we
crossed the shipping channel, provided added challenges.
Unfortunately only 9 boats made the start line in the form of Wild at
Heart, Monsoon, Fly By Wire, Exocet, Sidewinder, Merlin, Freefire 69,
Good Vibrations, and Black Magic. Gaetan sailed single handed around
from Shelter Cove on the morning of the first race to pick up his crew
off the start boat 10 minutes before the start and gave a brilliant
display of single handed spinnaker dousing in a blow.
The schedule of racing was two Sundays of a grueling 4 races each day
and the Saturday race was 2 races. All courses were windward / leeward
either 2 or 3 rounds with a couple of finishes on the Saturday on a
shortened windward leg. The first Sunday proved challenging as it
followed the SBR party at Sam's the night before and it sure took its
toll on the fleet. Some crew (name protected) were heard to be throwing
up during the races. Steve claimed everything was such a blur that it
was unfair for anybody to ask him to think about avoiding them in a port
and starboard situation. Peter tried every sort of crew/skipper
combination to get the best weight-on-the-wire combination from his 3
"man" crew on the first Sunday.
The noticeable thing about the series was the speed that Frank achieved
from his Magic. He and Steve dominated the Magic series separated only
once when Sidewinder posted a second place in Race 5. Wild at Heart
showed good results and boat speed particularly dead downwind when she
wasn't getting her spinnaker into artistic shapes. The quick starts
after each race were great but occasionally a little startling with some
of the fleet sailing a bit too far away after their finish so that they
missed the next start! Monsoon came good in the last two races with a
second and third on handicap and on each occasion beating a Magic across
the line.
The mid fleet boys had some very close racing with some exemplary, if
not rather dubious, mark rounding from the Sidewinder team. Black
Magic, Vibrator and Sidewinder continually changed positions in
virtually every race with the now expected overlapped finishes between
them.
Results were as follows:
Overall:
1st: Fly By Wire
2nd Wild at Heart
3rd: Merlin
4th: Exocet
5th: Monsoon
6th: Sidewinder
7th: Black Magic
8th: Good Vibrations
9th: Freefire 69
Magics:
1st: Fly By Wire
2nd: Merlin
3rd: Sidewinder
4th: Black Magic
5th: Good Vibrations
6th: Freefire 69
24 Hour Charity Dinghy Race
by: Dion Houghton 10/12/09
This last weekend was the HHYC 24 hour Charity Dinghy race. The race
started in good breeze and SBR team - Team Gromit, in their Laser Bahia
was off to a great start leading for the first couple of laps. The
breeze was light which favoured the lighter kids teams in the Laser
Stratos who were able to get through after a couple of laps. The breeze
slowly died through out the evening and it was a painful couple of
hours (even if the mood was lifted when our team put on a capsize
demonstration in front of all of the crowds assembled on the dock! Not
once but twice we saw the bottom of the boat within the space of 50m in
0 knots of breeze!). By mid night the wind had started to play game
again and the lap times were falling fast. The lighter conditions in
the last couple of hours did not pay the team any favours and we had
dropped to 4th place when the wind picked up. However, some wind in the
sails and lard on the rail let us put up a fight and soon we were back
in to 3rd position overall and still lapping the other Laser Bahias in
our class to open the lead! The wind stayed through the night and
Sunday morning brought gusty and shifty conditions to the HHYC bay. The
team was fighting hard and racking up the laps, however so were the
HHYC and KGV teams who in the end took the 2 top spots over all, both
breaking the 100 lap barrier, something that has never been done
before! Team Gromit fell just short of the 100 laps, but managed a very
credible 97, a couple of rounds ahead of some other very well crewed
teams!
The main part of the event was not really the
sailing or the partying, it is really raising the money for the
charities. This year the beneficiaries are the Children’s Cancer Foundation receiving 70%, Enlighten for Epilepsy
20% and the Sunnyside Club 10%. It is still possible to donate money
now. Last night in the prize giving the spokes person for the
Children's Cancer Foundation said that the money raised by the 24 hour
race alone, in the last 6 years had helped treat 25 children, who are
now able to walk again and with out the money may not even be here
today, so these are definitely worth while causes. More information
about the race and raising money can be found here
(HHYC 24 Hr Race) if you
would like to donate this can be done straight from your YC account
number. You can also send
Cheques to HHYC. They need to be made payable to "The Hebe Haven Yacht
Club" on the back please include your name, the team name (Team
Gromit), your contact number, and "24 Hour Charity Dinghy Race 2009".
Thank you for your support and thank you to all who sailed and helped out with the team.