It was a thoroughly enjoyable weekend for the sailors of the COA Midsummer Rally. With a wide range of wind conditions, from the very light breeze of Day 1 to the stiff blow on Day 3, our boats, crews, and skippers were tested in a variety of circumstances.  The pursuit format appeared to work well with several owners reporting that they enjoy this type of event. I found myself head to head right to the finish with boats of similar capability, which is of course, what a pursuit race is all about. At each party the participants made new friends and strengthened connections with those they had not seen in a while. The competition and the conversations were lively throughout the long weekend!

I want to personally use this opportunity, on behalf of the COA, to thank each and every one of the skippers and crew for your support and participation in this inaugural event.  The rally may have taken you to parts of Hong Kong you may not normally sail, and that we have helped you to test and expand your seamanship skills.

Detailed results from the entire Midsummer Rally are attached.

As this is a brand new format for the COA, we would welcome your feedback regarding what aspects you liked or not, along with any suggestions or ideas on how we can add to the Rally experience.  Did you like the pursuit format? Was the timing and format well managed? How can it be enhanced?  Did you enjoy the parties and other arrangements?  We have received a lot of positive comments about the rally and encouragement to run it in the COA calendar again next year.

Naturally, as with any new venture members have made some suggestions, not the least was about the cost of the weekend. The COA confirms that the events operate at cost and to reduce them we would need to cut back on what is provided.  So if you have suggestions about the food or the standard of the food, the sampan services or other arrangements were unnecessary or required, then please let us know.     

As you will appreciate, an event on this scale requires an enormous time commitment from council members, all of whom are volunteers. These volunteers have to balance this with their day jobs and family commitments. We always love to entertain new volunteers and if any of you are willing to join the Council, or support our local events, you would be more than welcome to talk to the COA, so do please get in touch. The COA Council wish to thank the volunteers from the DBYC without whom we could not have run the first part of the Rally so smoothly.  We also wish to thank the management and staff of the Silvermine Beach Resort, the Aberdeen Boat Club, especially the staff at the Middle Island, and everyone at the HHYC who helped us with a great final party.

We must also thank the sponsors of our new “mobile rewards card” (which is in your email box awaiting collection) including and especially, Liquid Asset, who kindly sponsored the opening beers, featuring London Pride, which enabled us to collect over HK$9,000 for the various charities supported by the Clubs that we visited.

The COA HK is probably the largest independent sailing organisation in Asia, with members drawn from all the Hong Kong yacht clubs.  The COA is a great way to meet yachtsmen & women from all over Hong Kong and Macau, share local knowledge, and make full use of Hong Kong's fabulous cruising grounds.