B&Q arrives in Hong Kong to secure record number 7

The 75ft trimaran B&Q gently nosed her way into Hong Kong in the early hours of Sunday morning after crossing the line at 04:16:32 GMT in a light southerly wind. The strong downwind breeze at the start of this 465-mile leg from Taipei, Taiwan, became a very distant memory for Ellen and the crew as the wind decreased and turned upwind in the final stages across the Taiwan Strait to reach the shore of mainland China. It took 8 hours to cover the final 25 miles to cross the finish line off Hong Kong to establish record number 7 in a time of 2 days, 16 hours, 46 minutes and 37 seconds. It was a frustrating finish to a leg that up to that point had proved less stressful than the previous legs in these busy Chinese waters.

“Sailing out here - calm sees, downwind full main, gennaker - few ships and fishing boats so far - nice way to pass a morning. If any one was trying to sell sailing this is the kind of demo sail they would wish for – its been a lot less stressful and we are seeing a lot more wildlife as we head into much warmer climes… In fact, it’s very hot now and sweaty! We have seen a few dolphins which is nice to see - as so far on the trip we haven't see very much wild life - this is mainly due to the waters still being cold from the winter, and the migrating animals are sticking where it's warmer!!! From here on the waters are tropical - so we are hopeful for more life - flying fish, dolphins, turtles and birds.” [Extracts taken from Ellen email during the leg.]

Arriving in Hong Kong SAR marks the final mainland Chinese stopover port of the eight-week Asian Record Circuit which began on 25th March from Yokohama, Japan. B&Q sailed to the massive industrial port of Dalian on the north-east coast of China before heading down to 2008 Olympic sailing venue of Qingdao and then onto China’s largest city and financial centre, Shanghai which provided the team with their toughest arrival as they navigated 55 miles along the Yangtze River to their berth in the centre of Shanghai: : “The tour so far has been an amazing experience which has given us many challenges both on and off the water,” said Ellen. “We are here to establish records which we are doing so that others in the future can have a go at trying to break them, and also have the opportunity to sail to parts of Asia that are rarely visited by professional sailing boats. We have been given an unbelievable welcome wherever we go. It was quite a culture shock reaching Dalian – it is a big industrial city, 100% Chinese, and we felt a bit out of place next to this massive shipyard, and I think the workers there were a bit perplexed to see us. In Qingdao, we really had a great reception and their enthusiasm as the sailing venue for the next Olympics is plain to see. We had a great time meeting many kids who hope to represent China in sailing in 2008 and they seemed fascinated by the trimaran and wanted to hear all about the world record attempt. We had heard so much about Shanghai but nothing really prepares you for this city – it’s full on, all the time. But, again, we made a bit of a splash, lots of media interviews, and once again communicating our project to schools and businesses there. The Chinese take a lot of pride in doing a job well and trying to do their best and I think they appreciate what we have achieved . ”

So far B&Q has covered nearly 3000 miles since the Asian Record Circuit began, establishing seven new records so far via Japan, South Korea, China and Taiwan, with another 1500+ miles to go before the tour ends mid-May .

New records established so far:

1. Yokohama-Jeju Island 5d 11h 10m 51s (906nm)
2. Jeju Island-Dalian 1d 15h 57m 28s (418nm)
3. The Manchu Record (Yokoham - Dalian) 7d 3h 18m 19s (1324nm)
4. The Marco Polo Record (Dalian – Qingdao) 1d 0h 2m 53s (265nm)
5. The Cotton Record (Qingdao – Shanghai) 1d 5h 25m 33s (308nm)
6. The Old Tea Record (Shanghai – Taipei) 3d 0h 1m 55s (580nm)
7. The Colonial Record (Taipei – Hong Kong) 2d 16h 46m 37s (465nm)

Remaining Schedule:

24-30 April
Stopover: Hong Kong
1-7 May
Leg 7: Hong Kong to Sanya (Hainan Island)
Leg 8: Sanya to Nha Trang, Vietnam
Leg 9: Nha Trang to Terengganu, Malaysia
8- 11 May
Stopover: Terengganu
11-12 May
Leg 10: Terengganu to Singapore
13-17 May
Stopover: Singapore

Click on www.asianrecordcircuit.com for more information 10 record legs, 6 countries, establishing 12 new records