Into the mist of the South China Sea
11:00, 17 April 2003
by Colin de Mowbray

The eight Clipper race boats started as planned at 1220 HK time this morning but instead of racing to San Fernando they are going direct to Singapore. The RHKYC boats that should have been on the San Fernando Race, but were refused entry due to the present SARS problems, started 20 minutes before the Clippers on a short coastal race ending up in Macao.

As ever it has been a busy and eventful morning. The boats sailed at 0930 to do a parade of sail up the harbour, led by Justin Taylor in Hong Kong Clipper. Unfortunately, as is often the case in Hong Kong at this time of year, the visibility was bad and the dramatic skyline was lost in the mist. Ross Daniel had a worrying morning when all his wind instruments failed but due to some great last minute work by the boat yard the problem was solved and New York sailed on time to join the others for the start.

The spectators were given a great treat by being offered a ride in Wingsing, one of the three remaing sailing junks in Hong Kong. This was kindly provided by Hillary King and Tristan Stewart. The Clipper Sailmaker, Tim Keogh of China Sails, provided a magnificent banner saying 'Good Luck Hong Kong Clipper'. Our thanks to him for this and all the servicing on the Clipper sails.

The start took place in the eastern entrance to Hong Kong Harbour just outside the busy shipping channel. The conditions were light for the start of RHKYC fleet but there was just enough breeze to carry them away into the mist. 20 minutes later the Clippers started in fine form and New York got the best start followed by Bristol, Cape Town, Liverpool and Hong Kong. London was next with Jersey and Glasgow chasing. Initially they had spread out trying to find the wind but after 20 minutes they then started drifting together. In fact Bristol and Jersey both lost steerage way and literally did drift together and the crews were manning the fenders. Bristol seemed in a sociable mood and then drifted into Glasgow. Amazingly after 45 minutes all the boats were in a perfect close formation looking like synchronised swimmers.

There were many different thoughts on how to get the boats moving. London hoisted her spinnaker while others put up wind seekers. Then Liverpool, with her No 1 Yankee hoisted got an edge on the others. She pulled out a lead of some 50 meters and started accelerating. The wind filled in from the front and by the time it reached the others, Liverpool had disappeared into the mist with a mile lead. Those few yards made all the difference and maybe this race has got Liverpool's name on it.

The fleet will be racing down the east side of the South China Sea and their first way point will be to the NE of the Macclesfield bank. The forecast is for force 4 easterly winds and so they should enjoy good reaching conditions. The Hong Kong Observatory gave a detailed weather briefing to all crews, including the predictions for Typhoon Kujira (the Whale). This is presently in the Pacific and is expected to veer to the north over the next few days and pass to the north of the Philippines. The Clippers should not be affected by it other than to have a good northerly breeze to speed them on there way south. Like all tropical storms, Kujira is being very closely tracked and any developments will be closely watched.

Without doubt this visit has been made by the wonderful facilities at the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club. But our visit here is much more than that, as it is a club that opens its arms to the Clipper fleet and many friendships have been made between the crews and the members. On behalf of everyone in the Clipper Fleet, a very big thank you to Commodore Alan Lau and everyone involved in the Club. Your hospitality has been second to none and we are all most grateful to you, the members and the wonderful staff.

Colin de Mowbray

Source: Clipper 2002/2003 Round The World Race Official Site