Hong Kong Race Week - Day 2
by Lindsay Lyons 19 Feb 2016 10:58 GMT
16-21 February 2016
"It was a mixed day today – it started off with very strong winds that were unpredicted. There was of course some excitement at the beginning trying to get out of the channel and then the wind died down and we ended up with virtually no wind at the end of the day. There were three races for the Lasers, 420s and 29ers and only two races for the windsurfers and one race for the Optimists. A good, tiring day for all!" Principal Race Officer Charlie Manzoni.
The Green Fleet went out for their first day of racing today. RO Alex Hill said "when we started out on the water heading out to Deep Water Bay we had about 15kts of breeze; however things calmed down quite a lot." He added, "we managed to have three races in about 2 to 5kts of breeze and sometimes it went flat to zero but mostly it stayed in the correct direction. The Green Fleet got off three clean starts; no one was over early and they had some pretty good racing. Said Hill "It was very very light air but most of the sailors managed to get around the course and we had a pretty good time today. We had 10 sailors today and I think we'll have a couple more tomorrow being the weekend - I think we lost a few being a school day but I think they had a good time and we had a nice race area all to ourselves".
It was a difficult day for the 100 Optimists on the B course. "We started at Repulse Bay - our first start was at 1135hrs and we had a 30-minute race but that was the only race we managed to get in" said RO Sofia Mascia. "After that the boats were dangling on the water for three hours and we were unable to get a race. We had wind shifts of more than 50 to 60 degrees, and races were abandoned because they would not have been fair. " she added.
At 1400hrs the Optimists' race course was moved to Stanley Bay but by the time they were ready to start, the wind had started shifting to the west. "We started at 60 degrees and went all the way to 278, at which point it started raining. We waited for about 45 minutes to see if the westerly was going to come in and be steady in order to get some more racing in but then the wind just died and we had to postpone all the racing for the day at 1530hrs" said RO Mascia.
RO Brenda Davies and her team at Area C were met this morning with an average of 20kts gusting 25kts in Stanley Bay and a very steady 060. They set a course for Race 5 of 0.65 long and 0.55 short and started on time with the Laser Radials doing three laps of the long course and the 4.7s and 2.4mRs being set three laps of the short course. Davies said "there were clear starts for the first races however there were many capsizes and a few boats retired with broken kit and the 'V' flag was raised to ask the coaches to come and offer assistance where needed". Nonetheless they had good racing for those who could cope with the conditions.
Race No. 6 got underway as quickly as they could with the Laser Radials being sent off on the same long course and by now the wind had subsided to an average of 15kts. The 4.7s again raced on the short L3 course and the 2.4mRs set off on two laps of the short course as they had struggled somewhat in the earlier conditions. Davies reported "one OCS on the Radial Race 6 but all the others were clear in the very competitive starts."
In Race 7, the wind was now an average of 12kts; still from the same direction although there were a few left hand gusts. The RO left the course as it was apart from pulling in the top mark of the long course to 0.6nm given the down pressure. The Laser Radials sailed long course L3, the 4.7s short course L3 and the 2.4mRs short L2. All had clear starts and the wind continued to subside, averaging 10kts. The Radials and 2.4mRs sailed their full courses and the 4.7s were shortened at the top mark on their third rounding. Said Davies "It was a great day; much more challenging for the sailors and now the wind is dying away. Let's see what tomorrow brings."
"It was a tough day" according to RO David Norton out at Area D, "with cold, choppy conditions". The wind was generally 11 to 12kts. Only six of the nine 420s and five of the eight 470s raced today. Also, only two of the seven 29ers made it to the start and finally it was only GBR2214 that was able to complete that class' two races.
There were three good races for the 420s and 470s with very close racing, especially in the 420 class. By 1330hrs, the wind had dropped – as had visibility. "We're hoping to see the sun shine on Hong Kong Race Week over the weekend – despite what the forecast says!" said Norton.
Provisional results at www.hongkongraceweek.com/#!results/c17ko