China Coast Regatta 2025 - Day 1
by Vivian Ngan 10 Oct 2025 11:07 BST
10-12 October 2025
The 2025 China Coast Regatta kicked off with a fantastic opening day, setting the stage for the Club's most competitive big boat showdown. A steady 10kts easterly breeze welcomed sailors to the racecourse southeast of Lamma Island, offering ideal conditions for the start of this prestigious annual event.
Now in its 33rd edition, the regatta is organised by the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club and features a fleet of 20 yachts divided into four IRC Racer divisions, each grouped by their unique characteristics. The day began with a windward/leeward course to get crews warmed up and dialed in.
As the breeze built to 15kts during the first race, the fleet enjoyed close and tactical racing. Race Officer Inge Strompf-Jepsen kept competitors on their toes by sending all classes on an island course to wrap up the day. A new set of island courses was introduced this year, offering a wider variety of lengths and directions. Courses ranged from 8.5 to 19.5nm, taking sailors around scenic islands such as Sung Kong and Po Toi.
The regatta continues to attract top international talent including sailors from Sweden, Australia, Thailand and the UK flying in especially.
In IRC Racer Division 0, Nie Hua's Happy Go, helmed by Match Racing World Champion Nick Egnot-Johnson, faced off against fellow TP52s Rampage 88 and FreeFire, along with Fast 40+ entries Seawolf and Unicorn. Happy Go tied with Noel Chan's Rampage 88 in the first race, but Rampage 88 took the division lead with a bullet in the island course.
IRC Racer 1 proved to be one of the most competitive divisions, featuring seven of Hong Kong's most active and accomplished big boat teams. Nick Burns, fresh off a historic podium finish at the New York Invitational Cup, claimed two bullets to top the leaderboard on Witchcraft. He was followed by Dennis Chien's Arcturus+, tied with Henning Mueller's Zesst, both sitting four points behind.
IRC Racer 2, composed of five Cape 31s, delivered some of the closest racing of the day. Olympians Nicholas Halliday (Out of Africa) and Lily Xu (Rampage 38). Capitano, owned by Denis Martinet and Drew Taylor, dominated with two bullets, followed by Rampage 38 in second and Out of Africa in third.
In IRC Racer 3, Nick Southward's J/109 Admiralty Harbour Whiskey Jack secured two bullets to lead the division, with Rita Yau's Dexter II in second and Andy Pidden's Juice in third.
The IRC Premier division was given a single long island course, beating up to North Ninepin. Parnassus, helmed by Tom Attenborough, leads the division, followed by Thomas Wong's DBX2 and Franco Cutrupia's Fenice in third.
Reflecting on the day, Race Officer Inge Strompf-Jepsen shared: "It was a great day. The windward/leeward course was a bit short due to a container ship occupying part of our space, but we hope to extend the leg tomorrow. We had 10kts gusting up to 17kts throughout the day, with consistent direction, and we were able to finish both races early. I hope everyone is having fun."
Racing continues tomorrow with nine boats from the PHS class joining the action. The starting procedure is scheduled for 1030hrs, with the Racer Fleet set for three windward/leeward races.
Keep up with the latest news on the China Coast Race Week visit: www.chinacoastraceweek.com
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