Wind shows up on the last day...
By CCIR Media

There was 15 to 20 knots of breeze blowing through the harbour at the Shenzhen Maritime Sports Base in Daya Bay as boats were being rigged and readied for the last day of racing. Boats were in such a competitive mood that there were collisions in the harbour even before the boats were on the water. Top spots in several classes were left to be decided on the last day, and the tension could be felt up and down the docks.

The first race of the day got underway in 15 knots, with the Race Committee hoping to capitalise on the wind with three races. However, the wind soon died, and the Race Officer cut the course down to two laps for the IRC and Beneteau First 40.7 class classes and one lap for the rest of the fleet. By the time the last boats crossed the line the wind was down to 5 knots, with boats wallowing in the chop left behind by the earlier wind.

Beijing Sailing Center won the first race in the Beneteau First 40.7 class, with Jelik II taking the honours in IRC A while Team ThinkPad Authority beat the rest of the IRC B class.

The J80 class was won by Hainan Freedom Community while the Far East 26’s were led by Turquoise sailing team. HKPN was won by Team Snail.

By the time the starting sequence began for Race 8, the Audi Islands/Geometric Race, the wind was back at 12 to 15 knots. The Race Officer sent the fleet off on the longest island course available in the sailing instructions, at 22 miles long. The fleet threaded their way through a giant figure 8, passing Xiaolajia Dao, Zhongyang Dao, Chizhou and Dalajia Dao, with the wind keeping the boats at top speed the whole way.

By 1620 the entire fleet had crossed the line and were on their way into port to enjoy cold beers. Once again, the final race offered the crews a lovely spinnaker run into the setting sun, with strong breezes keeping them busy to the very end.

The final race of the day was won by The Beijing Sailing Center in the Beneteau First 40.7 class, and they took the overall honours for the weekend as well.

Red Kite II won the final race for the IRC A class, and Jelik II won the regatta. Team ThinkPad Authority won Race 8 to take the weekend for IRC B.

Hainan Freedom Community won the final race for The J80 class, putting them in first place overall. Constant Wind led the Far East 26 class across the line in the final race, and Constant Wind took the top position for the weekend. Team Snail won their second race of the day in the HKPN class, but were piped by Shan Tou Shuang Jun for the overall win.

At the end of the day everyone returned to Sheraton Dameisha for more cold beers and the chance to bask in the glory of their wins and congratulate their friend on their success.

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