bc magazine

Dongfeng Win Spectacular Cape Town In-Port Race

Vestas 11th Hour Racing and Dongfeng Race Team traded blows throughout the first half of the Cape Town In-Port Race course on Friday afternoon, before the Chinese-French team grabbed the lead midway through the race and stretched away for their first win in the series.

The victory vaults skipper Charles Caudrelier’s team to second place on the leaderboard for the In-Port Race Series, just behind MAPFRE who retained the overall lead with a fightback second place finish on Friday.

“The team did a fantastic job, very nice boat handling and good speed, so well done to the full team,” Caudrelier said after the race. “Our start was not fantastic, but after that we made a good call to tack a bit earlier and put pressure on Vestas and then we found some good speed. That was a key factor.”

Conditions were spectacular on the waters off Cape Town, with wind near 20 knots, under bright, sunny skies. Boat handling was at a premium in the fresh conditions and on the first two laps of the course, there were several very close crosses as the boats approached the turning gates.

Near the end of the second run, Vestas 11th Hour Racing were sailing on an awkward wind angle to the mark and had difficulty furling their big A3 downwind sail in preparation for the rounding.

It didn’t hurt them immediately but when they next tried to deploy the sail at the final top mark, it wouldn’t fully unfurl, and the team was very slow for most of the final run.

“We started well,” said navigator Simon Fisher. “At the second top mark Dongfeng did a great job, pushing us to the less favoured side, which pushed us back into the fleet, which put pressure on the downwind drop, which meant we didn’t have a great furl, and that hurt us on the last run. It’s just a great example of how things can snowball.”

The mistake cost the team two places, as both MAPFRE and team AkzoNobel raced past on the run to the finish.

The second place finish represented a tremendous comeback for MAPFRE who were forced into a penalty turn just before the start, leaving them them the last to get across the line.

But the Spanish team kept pushing its way up the fleet, finally forcing team AkzoNobel away with an aggressive luff near the final top mark, setting the table for the pass of Vestas 11th Hour Racing on the final run.

Further back, Brunel and Scallywag engaged in a luffing match early on the first run. The Umpires penalised Scallywag for an infraction and following the penalty turn, David Witt’s team were trailing the fleet.

At the finish, a hard-charging Brunel nearly stole a place from Turn the Tide on Plastic. But Dee Caffari’s team, who had a very strong start to the race, held on for fifth place.

Cape Town In-Port Race Results
1. Dongfeng Race Team
2. MAPFRE
3. team AkzoNobel
4. Vestas 11th Hour Racing
5. Turn the Tide on Plastic
6. Team Brunel
7. Sun Hung Kai / Scallywag

Volvo Ocean Race In-Port Race Series Leaderboard
1. MAPFRE – 19 points
2. Dongfeng Race Team – 18 points
3. Team Brunel – 13 points
4. Vestas 11th Hour Racing – 12 points
5. Team AkzoNobel – 11 points
6. Scallywag – 6 points
7. Turn the Tide on Plastic – 5 points

Additional reporting and images: Volvo Ocean Race, Pedro Martinez, Ainhoa Sanchez

Tigers Look to End Valley Streak As Kowloon’s Good Form Continues

In the Women’s Premiership this weekend HKFC Ice will be looking to parlay their strong performance against Valley Black last week into a result when they take on Gai Wu Falcons (18:00, KG V). That’s directly after Valley look to remind USRC Tigers why they are unbeaten in 50 games (16:30, KGV).

Kowloon Ladies and Tai Po Dragons are the two sides atop the Women’s Premiership Development league and they meet at Shek Kip Mei (18:00), each having played and beaten the other two teams, Comvita City Sparkle and SCAA First Pacific CWB Phoenix, who face off at 17:30 at Education University Hong Kong.

The Kowloon – Tai Po game should be competitive with both sides winning twice in the Premiership Development. Earlier this season, in the opening game, newly promoted Tai Po prevailed 12-10.

Kowloon coach Jonathan Ho believes his side are ready to rise to the occasion this time. “We’re definitely out for revenge [after losing that first match] and this is a must-win if we are going to top the Premiership Development,” he said.

“It definitely won’t be an easy match but everything is looking according to plan for us. The last two games and our overall performance recently have really boosted confidence and raised atmosphere in the team. If our players are able to maintain that confidence, we can win this round.”

“We [the two teams] play a quite similar style, aiming to play for the wings, with not so much of a forwards game. So it will be about possession and speed down the line and on the wing. I think it will be close,” adds Ho.

Ho has some injury and availability concerns. Fly half Victoria Wong Ching Hei is recovering from a twisted ankle, and remains doubtful. Full back Fung Wai Man and prop Chan Sin Ying are both unavailable. “Every match is a tight game. Our girls are rising to that and we’re building our confidence. We know we are improving but we have to keep working because we don’t have the chance to play with the top teams. When we get to the Grand Championships, I hope we don’t have a rude awakening,” Ho added.

Tai Po coach Tsang Hing Hung has ambitions to challenge the top of this league, and sees the earlier win over Kowloon as one in the bank and wants to defend that success this time out. “If we can win this game, we’ll be top of the bottom group, and that is our immediate goal,” he said.

“We’ve focused on our defence in training. Kowloon have a pretty good, multi-functional attack, with Cindy Yuen as a playmaker. She is a very skillful and smart player but didn’t play in the last game against us, so we are preparing for that. But We are also really confident in our attack and if we can organise our defence, we can win this game,” continues Tsang.

The Premiership was perhaps a tougher challenge than Tsang had anticipated. “We were a little bit disappointed to end [the first part of the season] in the bottom four. Our target was to be top four but we lost a close game against Football Club while we had players away on national duty. But being in the bottom four is good for our development. The level here is quite close, and allows us to develop some of our young girls. Now our aim is to be top of this group,” he observes.

Tsang will be without key players as youngster Lam Tim Yeung and veteran Ivy Kwong Sau Yan, as well as Poon Hoi Yan and Chan Tsz Ching are all away on national duty.

In the Women’s National League 2, leaders SCAA CWB Lammergeier will hope to take home the WNL2 Challenge Shield for a fourth consecutive week when they play eighth-placed City RFC Twinkles (4pm, HKIED). Revolution SRC, who last week took possession of the WNL1 Challenge Shield, are on a bye this week.

Additional reporting/images: hkru

Joey Yung and Twins – All, Hands Up and Dance

Celebrating their long friendship Cantopop diva Joey Yung and pop duo Twins, two of the biggest names in local music over the past twenty years, are releasing a song together entitled All, Hands Up and Dance.

“It’s thrilling that we have finally been able to join together for our first-ever musical collaboration after 20 years,” said Joey Yung. “It took us all back to some of the amazing times and sweet memories we have shared over the years. This song is a tribute to our 20 years of friendship.”

A three-day shoot at the Golden Reel in Macau saw the ladies create a music video, which will officially launch in January 2018. The song marks the first time that Joey Yung has worked with Gillian Chung and Charlene Choi despite knowing each other for 20 years.

Hong Kong secure World Cup Qualifier Berth With Win Over PNG

Hong Kong sealed their place in the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifiers as captain Babar Hayat helped his team to 23-run win over Papua New Guinea.

With the top four teams from the World Cricket League Championship progressing to the qualifiers in Zimbabwe next year, Hong Kong knew that a victory over PNG in one of their two matches would be enough to book their ticket.

They did that on the back of inspirational skipper Babar Hayat, who backed up his marathon unbeaten 214 against PNG in the First Class game last week with a match-high top score of 77 from 120 balls.

He shared 50-run partnerships with Anshuman Rath (37) and debutant Scott McKechnie (29) as Hong Kong built a strong platform at 177-3 with eight overs to go. But some accurate PNG bowling at the death restricted HK to 230 from 50 overs on what was a good batting surface.

In reply, Hong Kong got a dream start with Nadeem Ahmed (2-31) striking in the very first over. Tanwir Afzal (2-32) then struck twice more and Aizaz Khan (1-37) picked up a wicket with his first ball to reduce PNG to 4-30 in the 10th over.

But Mahura Dai and Sese Bau rebuilt the PNG innings with a 98-run stand to get the Hong Kong heart-rates rising. Nadeem provided the crucial breakthrough and Hong Kong continued to chip away through the lower order with PNG keeping the required rate under control deep into the chase.

Though eventually two run-outs in the 46th over sealed the contest and Hong Kong will now play PNG in their final World Cricket League Championship match looking to potentially finish as high as second on the ladder.

Simon Cook said after the match, “End of a long journey which started over two years ago, so to culminate now in our qualification is fantastic and we look forward to try and finish as high up the table as we can in the last game. The roller coaster nature of this game meant it was quite relieving to get off the field with a win.”

“It’s great to get qualification but there is still one game to go and there is still a chance to finish second, which is important for the sports institute points so there’s still something on the last game, ” added Cook.

“The achievement is huge, this is our first year in the top division and to come from where we were in Division 3 to where we are now, we are up there challenging, and if results went our way in the other game we would have had a shot at first place. All of the losses that we’ve had were within our control at stages and a win in one of those and that’s the difference between potentially winning this league.”

“With the population and facilities we have, this is unbelievable what the players have done against countries with far more resources and facilities. We have a young nucleus of a side and we have now retained our World Cricket League spot for the next cycle as well, which will allow them to kick on further.”

“The total we got was probably 30 runs light, we were very slow in the middle of the game in rotating the strike and the boundaries didn’t come.”

“Having the good start with the ball was crucial and then the partnership in the middle started to take the game away from us but a rush of blood from Dai saw him get caught on the boundary and that was the turning point to get us back in it and put the screws on.”

“Babar’s getting runs consistently, it was a little bit slow but it shows where he is at now in that he makes 77 and he is still a bit critical of himself so that’s an indication of how far we’ve come and that we need to do more than just making scores.”

Hong Kong 230/8 beat PNG 207 all out by 23 runs

Women’s Rugby Fixtures – 9 December, 2017

Women’s Premiership Super Saturday @ Shek Kip Mei

Unbeaten Valley Black will look to shake off the rust after the bye week when they take on City Sparkle in the finale of the first Women’s Premiership Super Saturday of the season.

The Valley – City clash will be preceded by Kowloon versus HKFC Ice (13:30), Tai Po Dragons versus USRC Tigers (15:00) and CWB Phoenix versus Gai Wu Falcons (16:30) in a showcase of women’s rugby at Sheki Kip Mei.

Despite the top versus bottom of the table match-up, Valley coach Bella Milo is taking nothing for granted as she puts her charges back to work in the women’s premiership.

“Coming back after the break we need to get a few things right,” said Milo. “Against Causeway Bay we struggled with some of our plays. Our handling and our combinations were not going right, so we’ll be using this game to get those set as we’ve got a big game next week [against HKFC].”

Milo’s estimation of struggling in last round’s 58-0 win over Causeway Bay demonstrates the relentless attitude that has seen Valley run the table for three seasons running – and that fiercely competitive approach will be on display against City.

“We’ll put out our strongest squad, based on their performance in training,” Milo confirmed. “There will be places for one or two newer players to replace a couple of injuries and we are pleased to have “Frenchie” [Amelie Seure] back from sevens duty. I want to use this game to get a better gauge of the players.”

Valley currently top the table on 15 points while fellow undefeated side Gai Wu Falcons are a point off the pace in second, and four points ahead of Tigers. The Falcons will play fourth-ranked Causeway Bay, whose scoring has been prolific this season but who have let themselves down in defence, scoring 79 points but conceding 76.

The Tigers can leap up the table if they can dispatch sixth-ranked Tai Po Dragons but with Valley and Falcons playing in what are potentially mismatches they may find themselves treading water in third place come Sunday.

Kowloon will be hoping that their offense can fire after a series of close-run affairs, as they hunt for their first win of the season against Football Club after scoring just 10 points across the opening three matches.

Entry is Free! There are also Women’s National League 1 and 1 games taking place. Support women’s rugby!

Additional reporting: hkru
Images: Takumi Photography

Mamamoo @ Kitec – 2 October, 2017

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2017/Mamamoo-Kitec-2-October-2017/i-g749kwh

Mamamoo held their first party in Hong Kong to an enthusiastic crowd at Kitec on the 2 October, 2017
Click on any photo for the full gallery of images

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2017/Mamamoo-Kitec-2-October-2017/i-nbGsGKv

Hilda and Sophia Talk Pizza in Pink October

In this the final round of the Cook Off 2017, PizzaExpress collaborated with the Hong Kong Cancer Fund to raise awareness of breast and prostate cancer as part of Pink October.

As Celebrity Chef & Founder of Flavor Mart Hilda Leung took on the winner of the last Cook Off round, Chef Sophia Cheng, Product Development Manager of PizzaExpress in a challenge to create three innovative dishes including one pizza for the “Pink Menu” we spoke to both women about their love of pizza and cooking.

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2017/Pizza-Express-Cook-Off-3-Times-Square-28-September-2017/i-V9k5Znp

What for you makes a great pizza?
Hilda: Fresh ingredients come first! Crunchy crust topped with colourful ingredients combing with perfect sauce, simply tasty and attractive.

Sophia: Freshly baked pizza with right combination of fresh ingredients will certainly bring out the best flavour in a harmonizing way.

What’s your favourite pizza style: Romana, Neapolitan, Sicilian, Deep dish/Chicago and why?
Hilda: I always love thin and crunchy crust, with a perfect balance of thin tomato sauce and LOTS of grated mozzarella cheese.

Sophia: Depending on the toppings. If it’s seafood toppings, I will go for Romana style’s thin & crispy crust, while for burrata mozzarella I prefer the Neapolitan style.

Best combination of pizza toppings?
Hilda: Tomato, cheese and basil.

Sophia: Burrata mozzarella, basil, olives and cherry tomatoes.

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2017/Pizza-Express-Cook-Off-3-Times-Square-28-September-2017/i-Rkk8DJh

How would you describe your approach to cooking?
Hilda: I focus on flavour matching, I love trying different combination of ingredients, fresh herbs and spice together. I have no boundary in using food elements, if it goes along, I will put them together and use the most perfect cooking method and create a perfect dish.

Sophia: Based on the seasonality, I will choose different ingredients and cooking methods. For example, I tend to create warm dishes with chilli, cheese and fulfilling ingredients during Winter, while I will use more seafood and fruits to create refreshing dishes during Summer.

For the PizzaExpress Cook Off 3, how did you go about creating your pizza?
Hilda: Using healthy and fresh ingredients that are suitable for everyone and the cancer patients. I’ve used lots of vegetables and fruits, as they are colourful and full of nutrients.

Sophia: Matching the theme of Pink October, I blended beetroot with béchamel sauce together and graced the pizza with a pinky look. Together with buffalo mozzarella, capers, cooked salmon chunks, fresh cucumber shreds and lemon oil, I want to add more vibrant colour and flavour to the pizza. So, people can enjoy the pizza when looking at it as well as tasting it.

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2017/Pizza-Express-Cook-Off-3-Times-Square-28-September-2017/i-59VnQNf