Dragon Boat Festival 2011 Macau Race
Written by Eric Doguet
Leg 1 : Hong Kong to Macau, 4th June - Results
Leg 2 : Macau to Hong Kong, 6th June - Results
Combined Races Overall Results by Division
Combined Races Overall Results under HKPN
Dear fellow Sailors,
With perfect Pearl River crossing conditions predicted for the long Dragon Boat Festival weekend – southerly Force 4 – 35 boats romped off to Macau under kites the morning of June 4th. Leg 1 Race Officer Philippe de Manny sent the boats, divided into Classes IRC and HKPN A and B, on the southerly Course 2 to Macau. Conditions were steady for the reach across the Pearl River and the fleet enjoyed champagne sailing to the finish, although bucking an ebbing tide the whole way. Stella was the first boat to finish followed by Frangipani Girl. Due to confusion amongst some competitors about the location of the finish line the Race Committee decided to calculate the results on the basis of the third cut off at Dalu Dao. All the boats finished before the 18:30 cutoff and headed into Clube Nautico de Macau for a welcoming dock party and immigration. The wine and beer were free flowing, which helped take the sting off the delay experienced by having to clear immigration with a sole (albeit cheerful) immigration officer! Snacks were also provided from O Porto Restaurant, which was a welcome change from past dock parties.
The first leg prize giving was held on the lawn of the Miramar Restaurant in Coloane on Sunday June 5th, where there was more free flowing wine and beer as well as Portuguese snacks.
Conditions for the second leg on June 6 rivaled those on the first leg with more steady Force 4 southerly winds, but this time sailing with the ebbing tide most of the day. Course 2 was again chosen by Leg 2 Race Officer Jon Galbraith of the Macau Sailing Academy. Although two immigration officers graced the fleet clearing out of Macau, the start had to be delayed 30 minutes to allow the boats to reach the start line, set south of the ferry entrances to Macau. Again, all boats finished before 18:00, well within the 20:00 cut off time, off Cheung Chau Rock. The first boat to finish on the sail back to Hong Kong was Talkinghead, followed by Rampage.
The leg 2 and overall prize giving party was held at the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club on Thursday June 9th. All in all a memorable weekend with some of the best sailing conditions in a long time.
Thanks to all, and fair wind.
Jon Z
COA Chaiman
*****
A big thank you must go to Philippe de Manny for starting the race from Hong Kong to Macau and to John Galbraith who started the return Race from Macau to Hong Kong and last but not least Peter Tse who donated the use of his boat as Finish/start boat in Macau.
To Matthias and Hermie from CNdeM for all their invaluable help with berthing and leasing between COA and Macau Immigration and Marine departments, to Jon our Chairman and to Myrna for dealing with all the late entries, incomplete forms and for making the event happen.
The Prize giving at the Miramar restaurant was attended by a total of 121 sailors and friends, great foods and lots of drinks thanks to Antonio Peralta for having us there.
*****
Diamond Queen was the best HKPN boat on the water this week-end. Congratulations.
*****
Respectable and respected Skipper and Crew Members of Outrageous have been spotted on the beautiful Frangipani Girl.
*****
And Diamond Queen...again, but they deserve it !
(more pictures in the Pictures section)
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The Macau Race celebrating the Dragon Boat Festival will be held the 4th, 5th and 6th June 2011.
You can now download the Notice of Race, the Entry Form and the Sailing Instructions .
We draw your attention on Sections 9.2, 9.3 and 10.2 : on the Declaration Form, you shall report the actual GPS time and position you are at the Cut-off or at the Finish, and NOT the position you wish you were at the time you wish you had been there. If you are not within the SI requirements at the Finish, then tack or gybe and try again. Also, please double check the position you report on the Forms. If you find yourself a few kilometers east of Tamanrasset it may be time to reset your instruments...or change your glasses. A boat visited Mongolia while passing the First Cut-off during the last race. Fortunately, she made it to Macau on time.
Talking about Declaration Form, please also note Section 14, which is clear enough.
Download the Macau Immigration forms and the Hong Kong Marine Department and Immigration Clearance forms so you can prepare these in advance or gather all necessary documents to fill these in with the help of the Custom Officers.
The dinghy fun race afternoon was a great success during the Chinese New Year lay day, so make sure you let us know soon enough if you want to register a crew. John from the Macau Sailing Academy, also racing the HK to Macau race with his lovely Katie J, will have lots of dinghies ready on the beach, but needs to know if he should prepare extras. Thanks.
Once you are back in Hong Kong, we would love to receive two of your best pictures (2meg max each) shot during these three days to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . The two best pictures of all will be posted on the front page of the website until the next Macau Race. Thanks !