The Air Canada Asian Open Regatta was held on the 27th and 28th of October under clear skies. The weekend looked promised with 55 beach cats entered and good steady winds all week. As the boats headed out for their first race on day 1, boats were fully powered up and quickly reached the course location, just outside of Peng Chau. Race Official, Bo Fussing, soon got us underway with the Hobie 16s and Dart 18s in the first start and the Open class, primarily composed of Hobie Tigers, in the second start 10 mins later.
Within moments of the first of our four starts on the day the wind dropped dramatically and all boats were struggling for speed. The second race saw the winds become even lighter, and Bo Fussing caught a number of boats by surprise with an early start to race 2, while a number of boats were still out on the course, not having yet finished the geometric course. Races 3 and 4 saw dramatic wind shifts which required the course to be complete reconfigured.
In the Dart class, Allen Christiansen led the first race from the start until the final downwind mark where he was finally pipped before the line by Tom Nunan, ending with a margin of victory of only 4 seconds.
Pietro Poma sailed very well in the final 2 races to take a second and a first. On the day, Tom Nunan & Michele Felder proved consistent enough to take a strong lead on day 1.
The Hobie 16 class was not nearly as close, as Jimmy & Iris Shum dominated the day, winning all four races. Daniel Choi showed flashes of promise, as he threatened but never could manage to beat the leaders across the line.
In the Open class, Hamish McNicol took race one, but Tong Shing, who missed race one, dominated race two. As the breeze diminished, Peter and Brenda Davies made their move, with 2 wins in the final 2 races of the day.
Day 2 started similarly to day 1, with the wind almost disappearing once racing got underway. Race Officer Fussing elected to run 2 geometric course before the longer distance Enzo Islands race. Unfortunately, after the 2 initial races the breeze vanished completely With light breezes and tricky currents the fleets spread themselves across the course in search of some advantage.
In the Dart class, Tom & Michele led start to finish in race one, shadowed by Al & Kim Doherty. In race two, Al exercised his experience to take an early lead. Tom & Michele closed the gap considerably at the leeward mark, but Al & Kim saw victory as the race was shortened due to failing winds.
The Hobie class saw a reversal of domination, as Daniel Choi outsailed the fleet to win both races on the day. Jimmy and Iris raced consistently, and Frankie Lui and Gavin Shum stayed in contention with some top-quality starts. Surprise contenders Ho Chun Kuen and Poon Cheuk Pun made a very good showing.
The Open fleet looked ripe for a shakeup with Mike Scantlebury easily taking race 1. However, Peter Davies showed how to win a regatta by taking a second and another first on the day.
After waiting for the breeze to fill in for more than an hour, Race Officer Bo Fussing finally had to call an end to the day's racing and the Enzo Islands race was unfortunately abandoned.
In the end, it was Tom & Michele winning the Dart 18 division, with Al & Kim Doherty in second and Thomas Cheng & Alex Yeung in third with some excellent, consistent racing. 3rd, 4th and 5th were separated by less than 2 points!
The Hobie class was won by Jimmy & Iris Shum, Daniel Choi & Andy Ngai in second, and Frankie Lui and Gavin Shum in third.
The open class saw Peter & Brenda take the win. Second and third came down to a tie-breaker, with Tong Shong and Kimberley Lo edging Hamish McNicol and Samantha Butler for second place.
