Please select your home edition
Edition
Ocean Safety 2021 - LEADERBOARD

Rolex China Sea Race 2023 - Day 1: A gamble of heading south or east

by Vivian Ngan 6 Apr 14:23 BST 6 April 2023
Swan 53, Athena - Rolex China Sea Race 2023, day 1 © RHKYC

The first night of the Rolex China Race 2023 went well with the fleet continuing to beat upwind in their first 24 hours, in a fair south-easterly breeze.

With the weather predicted to be influenced by the northeast monsoon filling into the South China Sea, the routing for the start of the Race saw the majority of the fleet heading up east towards Taiwan and then working down to Philippines. Jinn reported early on that they had "Lovely wind of 15kts from SSE. Going along nicely in good weather."

Philippines entry Standard Insurance Centennial 5 has held onto the (Line Honours) lead and at around 2130hrs last night, was the first to break away from the main pack and head south and for much of the day was south of the rhumb line. As of HKT 1515hrs, they were traveling at 8kts and have 361nm left to cover. Whilst they are currently lying first for Line Honours they are 9th in IRC Overall.

At 0200hrs this morning the crew onboard Swan 53, Athena, reported "All's well onboard Athena. Consistent 13 - 15 knots wind. Sea state is 1m. Boat speed 8-9 knots." 14 hours later, Athena is currently 1st in IRC taking over the spot from Whiskey Jack.

When the sun came up, Sun Odyssey 42ds, Pacific Sunrise, aptly shared "We are on our way to Taiwan and enjoying the beautiful, sunrise. No fish yet. All well."

The update mid-morning from J122e, Jinn, was "Weather forecast still shows a hole forming south of Pratas, which is our general direction. We hope to get the easterlies sooner than the forecast since the model has been wrong from the beginning."

Behind Standard Insurance Centennial 5 in the race for Line Honours are the three TP52s Happy Go and Rampage 88, followed by Standard Insurance Centennial 3. Currently leading in the HKPN Division is Sense 46, Generations. Figaro 3, Simpson Marine, is leading in the double-handed and a very credible 4th in IRC.

Race action is being tracked by Yellowbrick Tracking here and is being shown live at www.rolexchinasearace.com - the Race can also be followed on the YB Race Viewer App.

Related Articles

13 boats so far for Rolex China Sea Race 2020
International entries from afar entered into the 30th edition Of the 13 boats currently entered into the 30th edition of Rolex China Sea Race, six international entries hail from as far afield as Russia, Philippines, Japan and the United States and mark the first sign ups for this biennial blue water classic. Posted on 12 Dec 2019
Rolex China Sea Race overall
Event wraps up under idyllic conditions in Subic Bay The 18 year old multihull record was broken by Karl Kwok's MOD 70 Beau Geste with top speeds of 37kts and her impressive elapsed time of 38h 30m 07s wiped 9h 31m 40s off the previous race record set in 2000. Posted on 1 Apr 2018
Rolex China Sea Race: Mandrake III wins overall
Half the fleet now finished, and half hit winds too light With half of the fleet finished and the other half of the fleet succumbing to light breeze off of Subic Bay, the Rolex China Sea Race leaders have been decided. Posted on 31 Mar 2018
MOD Beau Geste smashes multihull record
In the Rolex China Sea Race Karl Kwok's MOD Beau Geste crossed the finish line early this morning, 30 March, at 01h 50m 07s in Subic Bay, Philippines - smashing the 18 year old multihull record set by Benoit Lesaffre's Crowther 50 Catamaran, Atmosphere, by an incredible 9h 31m 40s. Posted on 30 Mar 2018
Rolex China Sea Race: And they're off!
Hong Kong's iconic skyline provided the perfect backdrop The start line, located in front of Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club's Kellett Island Clubhouse, was a bit hectic with most boats favouring the committee boat end of the line Posted on 28 Mar 2018
China Sea Race: Father and son Double-handed entry
30 entries have been received from eight territories, including double-handed entry With just under a month to go before the start of the 56th Anniversary of the Rolex China Sea Race, 30 entries have been received from eight territories, including one double-handed entry. Posted on 18 Mar 2018
First time entry Shanghai seeks crew
For Rolex China Sea Race The third Chinese entry in the 2018 Rolex China Sea Race has been received from Hanse 575, Shanghai. Posted on 19 Aug 2017
Famous Classic Yacht takes on Asia
Dorade set for the Rolex China Sea Race The 12th entry for 29th edition of the Rolex China Sea Race has been received from the famous classic yacht Dorade. The China Sea Race was established in 1962 with five yachts racing from Hong Kong to Corrigedor, Philippines. Posted on 11 Jun 2017
Rolex China Sea Race
Best Asian Regatta In less than a year, the Rolex China Sea Race will take a competitive fleet 565 nautical miles across the South China Sea to Subic Bay in the Philippines. Posted on 23 Apr 2017
Rolex China Sea Race entries are open
Starting in Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour in March The 2016 Rolex China Sea Race will start on Wednesday 23 March at 13:20 hours (HKT) in Hong Kong's iconic Victoria Harbour and will finish 565-nm later in Subic Bay in the Philippines. Posted on 23 Oct 2015