Let the games begin at the inaugural Eastern Asia Offshore Race
by Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club 28 May 08:17 BST
29 May 2025
Gusty - Eastern Asia Offshore Race © RHKYC / Guy Nowell
Anticipation is high as the 14 teams registered to race, gather at the docks of Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club for last-minute preparations before the start of the Eastern Asia Offshore Race on 29 May 2025, taking competitors on a 350nm journey from Hong Kong to Tainan.
Nicolas Cohen-Addad, Race Chairman of Eastern Asia Offshore Race welcomed all competitors, "Very excited that the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club is organising Eastern Asia Offshore Race, we have 14 boats so it's a good outcome for our first edition. We are still uncertain about the weather and if we're going to be upwind, downwind or reaching, but we'll have a lot of fun and we'll look forward to welcoming competitors in Tainan. "
All of the participating boats have Category 1 offshore experience and most have actively participated in the Coastal Race Series which incorporated a series of Category 3 races in Hong Kong Waters.
IRC Racer 1
Competition in the IRC division will be fierce, with three boats having successfully competed in the Rolex China Sea Race 2024. Nicolas Cohen-Addad's J122e Jinn, Line Honours and IRC Overall winner of the Volvo Hong Kong to Vietnam Race 2023 and 2nd place holder in the Rolex China Sea Race 2024 IRC Division 2, will have head-to-head battle with Stefan Fillip's Neo 400+ Neo One, who placed 2nd in IRC Division 1 in the Rolex China Sea Race 2024.
They will be competing against Chinese Taipei entrant Mondher Latiri's Pogo 36 Gutsy (Rolex China Sea Race 2024 IRC 2 3rd place) and father and son Philippe and Cosmas Grelon on board Pogo 10.50 AYA Cleanmax. Dennis Chien's Mat 1245 Arcturus+ making its debut in an offshore race, they took 3rd place overall in RHKYC Coastal Race Series 2024-25.
IRC Racer 2
Another division with strong competition, with three close rivals in recent local regatta and offshore races. Rolex China Sea Race 2023 IRC 3rd place overall winner, Andy Pidden's J99 Juice, will battle it out against Henning Mueller's competitive Sunfast 3600 Zesst, the 2nd place winner in IRC Division 3 of the Rolex China Sea Race 2024. Hugues de Saint Germain's A40 RC Ocean's Five, which took Hong Kong to Hainan Race 2025 IRC 2nd place Overall will also be close in contention.
These yachts will be pushed to the limit by Hojun Song's Catalina 400 Random(). Although Amanda Cheung's Sunfast 3600 2Easy has less offshore experience, they had been horning their skills in Coastal Race Series 2024-25 taking 4th place Overall in IRC division.
IRC Cruiser
In the IRC Cruiser fleet, Franco Cutrupia's Solaris 60 Fenice took both Line Honours and IRC Overall title in 2025 Volvo Hong Kong to Hainan Race. They are facing challenges from Laurence Hillyer's Swan 56 Parnassus, who took 1st place in Rolex China Sea Race 2024 Premier division. Meanwhile, Carl Wilkinson's Bavaria 56 Lisa Elaine will compete against fully crewed entries as a double-handed entry.
PHS
This fleet welcomes Johnson Yuen's Hanse 370 Zoe, who claimed PHS division 1st place in recent Volvo Hong Kong to Hainan Race.
This Category 1 offshore race is a fantastic opportunity for the sailing community to end their sailing season on a high note, with participating yachts taking advantage of joining the Taiwan Ryukyu Regatta, another popular offshore race in the region, which will start on June 8.
Racing is set to begin on Thursday 29 May at 1120hrs. Follow the action on www.hktaiwanrace.com or on Facebook www.facebook.com/RHKYC. or on the YellowBrick tracker under 'Eastern Asia Offshore Race'.