bc magazine

From Broken Mast to First Place, Dongfeng Win Leg 6 of The Volvo Ocean Race

Dongfeng’s American dream became a reality just after dark local time, winning leg 6 of the Volvo Ocean Race in Newport, USA, beating their arch rivals Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing by just 3 minutes and 25 seconds after 19 days of racing.

Skipper Charles Caudrelier immediately dedicated this leg win to his shore team: “I would like to dedicate this victory to the shore team. It started in Ushuaia with the shore crew, when first they delivered the boat to Itajai and then fixed the boat and put in a new mast in less than one week. They worked so hard to have the boat ready – I am very proud of them. Everyone on the boat for this leg did a fantastic job and that was the key to winning, for sure. All the team deserves this victory. All the crew have improved, the Chinese improve, we get stronger and stronger each time. To beat Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing shows we have become a great team.”

In many ways there was more at stake for Dongfeng – Abu Dhabi were going to be happy with a 2nd in terms of overall points. But for Dongfeng the energy gained from the comeback was worth more than just the points of victory.

The leg from Itajai, Brazil to Newport, USA has been by no means straightforward. A broken water maker 24 hours into the leg nearly threatened the team’s hopes and dreams, but the indefatigable Kevin Escoffier (Mr Fixit) managed to make a repair that lasted. Then it was head back into the race and by day 7, the Chinese team were in the lead with 3,364nm to go: “It was a complicated leg, we had a big advantage in speed sometimes, not easy to make the right tactical decisions all the time, so speed was so important. We had something like 10 lead changes. We gained slowly a small advance but every time the other guys came back. Abu Dhabi sailed very well – we made a mistake one or two nights ago – we were 10 miles ahead but they got ahead again and we lost a lot. And then they were ahead of us just two or three hours ago when we hit a light spot. It was just crazy but we had a nice fight with them!”

It was always a question mark as to whether Dongfeng could bounce back after being forced to retire from Leg 5 with a broken mast. “I have never seen the gang so focused and intense,” said American Onboard Reporter, Sam Greenfield. “When we won leg 3 into Sanya our lead was comfortable. This time Abu Dhabi was right over our shoulder and breathing down our dry-seals [necks].”

In one of the most intense finishes the Volvo Ocean Race 2014-15 has ever seen, the identical boats and sheer determination of both teams ensured it was a neck and neck battle lasted right up to the finish line. It was clear that both teams were giving it everything they had with every ounce of energy they had left as they approached the finish.

With only three short legs remaining, and a commanding points lead, the race is Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing’s to lose. “Now we still have to push hard – this was the first step to come back in the race after the 8 points we got breaking the mast,” said Kevin Escoffier. “We still have three legs to come back on Abu Dhabi and I hope they will do a mistake and we can be better than them. For sure they have not made many but statistically they can. Its not over.”

Source: Dongfeng Race Team, Editing: bc magazine
Photos: © Billie Weiss, Ainhoa Sanchez / Volvo Ocean Race

Summer on the Terrace Launch Party @ Spasso – 5 May, 2015

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After weeks of sunshine, summer announced it’s arrival with a splash or three of rain… but in true Hong Kong weather it was raining on the island and dry in TST East as Spasso celebrated Summer on the Terrace.
Click on any image to access the full gallery of photos

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ISCM-Musicarama 2015: 31 May – 3 June 2015

Contemporary music’s annual International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM) World Music Days Festival will be held in Hong Kong this year from 31 May to 3 June 2015 and features four concerts and a one-day Composers’ Forum to share the composers’ musical ideas with local audiences.

Presented by the Hong Kong Composers’ Guild, the ISCM-Musicarama 2015’s four concert programmes showcase the world’s contemporary composers and feature 28 compositions including five pieces written by local composers.

The first concert will feature Global Symphony Orchestra under the baton of conductor Mak Ka-lok. In 2011, Maestro Mak returned to Hong Kong with an aim to build an orchestra of the best local musicians, hence the Global Symphony Orchestra. His vision is to nurture and support local young talented musicians with a mission of popularizing classical music in Hong Kong. The programme includes The Green Vision by Indra Riše (Latvia), two works by Belgium composers, Lettre Soufie: L(àm) by Jean-Luc Fafchamps and Monolithe by Jean-Marie Rens, Critical Mass by Tomasz Skweres (Austria), Nachtsicht II by Peter Gahn (Germany) and Dai Pai Dong by local composer Cheung Pui-shan.

The second concert will be performed by the Taipei Chamber Singers (TCS), a vocal ensemble dedicated to modern choral music. Founded in 1992, TCS has become one of the top vocal groups in Asia performing at several music festivals. Chen Yun-hung will conduct the concert. The concert programme on June 2 will feature nine works, including Two Years Later by Alex Taylor (New Zealand), Sujechon by Lee Il-joo (Korea), Strange was the World by Victor Chan (Hong Kong), The Somnambulistic Girl by Pan Hwang-long (Taiwan), two works by Swedish composers We Know Not Where The Dragons Fly by Mattias Sköld and Urworte. Orphisch by Anders Nilsson; Für Viele by Kurt Bikkembergs (Belgium) and two pieces by composers from Latvia Sonnet Nr. 28 by Oskars Herlins and Light Seeking Light by Gundega Šmite.

The Festival includes a concert of mixed ensemble music for Chinese and Western instruments,with the aim of presenting contemporary music that goes beyond the cultural boundary. Performed by the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra (HKCO) Ensemble and the Hong Kong New Music Ensemble, this third concert will be conducted by the Resident Conductor of HKCO, Chew Hee-chiat and feature six works by composers worldwide. Programme: Four Gentlemen by local composer Lam Lan-chee, Zusammenflusses by Lee Chihchun Chi-sun (Taiwan), Wu by Klaus Hinrich Stahmer (Germany), two works by Austrian composers Seized by Wolfgang Liebhart and NUR ICH by Wang Ying, and In the Year of the Dragon by Marcel Wengler (Luxembourg).

The last concert will be performed by Japan’s Ensemble Kochi conducted by veteran composer and conductor Isao Matshushita. Works to be presented at this concert include O poveste by Alin Gherman (Belgium), Dry Tears by Yau May-kay (Hong Kong), Reverberation by Stephen Yip (Hong Kong/USA), Gealach Chríoch Lochlann by Ryan Molloy, Intim by Santa Bušs (Latvia), Persephone by Chris Adams (New Zealand) and Summer Echoes from the Valley by Janet Chen Jie-ru (Taiwan).

Admission to the Composers’ Forum on June 1 at the Central Library Lecture Hall is free of charge on a first-come-first-served basis. Audience will hear the visiting overseas composers introducing their compositions one by one in paper presentation format. Tickets for the rest of the concerts range from $100 to $180 and are available at URTBIX outlets. The four concerts take place on May 31 at City Hall Concert Hall, and June 1 to 3 at City Hall Theatre. Tickets from URBTIX.

Source: Hong Kong Composers’ Guild : bc magazine

Hong Kong 18th at Touch Rugby World Cup

The 2015 Touch World Cup has come to an end in Coff’s Harbour in Australia, and Hong Kong’s first ever participation has ended with an extremely creditable 18th ranking in the Mixed Open Division with a record of played 9, won 4, lost 4 and 1 draw – full results below. Although the tournament was hit by torrential rain storms which left pitches resembling swimming pools on more than one occasion, it was a great experience for this young side who will now look forward with greater confidence to the next World Cup which will be held in Malaysia. The Mixed Open Cup Final was contested by traditional touch powerhouses New Zealand and Australia, with the hosts taking the honours and the World Cup trophy.

Hong Kong’s campaign got off to a tough start as they faced the mighty English side, but although it was a steep learning curve they managed to get on the score sheet, with vice captain Lai Yiu Pang getting in the history books with Hong Kong’s first ever World Cup try! After the completion of the pool games the team were ranked 3rd in their group and moved into division three, where they next faced 6 games against Chile, Middle East, Germany, Holland, China and Italy. A record of 3 wins, 1 draw, and 2 losses meant a return match against Italy on the final day’s play-offs, and a convincing win left Hong Kong ranked 18th at the conclusion of their first World Cup adventure.

“Even against the big name opponents our team wasn’t overawed and played with aggression and increasing confidence, and thanks to our preparation our energy and fitness levels were of a good standard,” explained coach Zanio Yong. “We achieved a ranking of 18th on our debut, but with seven different try scorers throughout the competition I feel it showed we played as a team rather than individuals, and I’m very proud of all the squad members. Our thanks to our sponsors ANZ as well as the HK Touch Association and the HKRFU for making this possible.”

Day 1 – 29th April
England 8 v Hong Kong 1 (LAI Yiu-pang)
USA 6 v Hong Kong 2 (AU Chi-wai, NG Chok-shing)

Day 2 – 30th April
Chile 6 v Hong Kong 2 (WAN Kwok-kwong, LAI Siu-hong)

Day 4 – 2nd May
Middle East 1 v Hong Kong 1 (KWOK Kak-ah)
Germany 0 v Hong Kong 3 (LAM Ka-lok, NG Chok-shing x2)
Netherlands 2 v Hong Kong 3 (LAM Ka-lok, WAN Kwok-kwong x2)
China 2 v Hong Kong 1 (NG Chok-shing)
Italy 0 v Hong Kong 1 (LAI Yiu-pang)

Day 5 – 3rd May
Play-off
Italy 2 v Hong Kong 5 (FONG Chun-sin x2, LAI Yiu-pang x2, WAN Kwok-kwong)

Hong Kong final World Cup ranking – 18th

Full results www.touchworldcup.com

Asia Rugby Championship 2015: Japan 41-0 Hong Kong

Hong Kong didn’t win the war, leave alone the battles, yet head coach Andy Hall was pleased that his side had made progress by claiming “mini-victories” over Japan in the Asia Rugby Championship in Tokyo on Saturday.

“This was a much-better performance than against South Korea last week. We won quite a few mini-victories unfortunately we didn’t have enough of those mini-victories to affect the outcome,” Hall said.

Japan ran in seven tries and kept a clean sheet to register a 41-0 victory over Asia’s number two team, Hong Kong. After keeping their unbeaten record intact Japan stormed to the top of the three-team standings with 12 points. South Korea is second with six points while Hong Kong are in third place with two points.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ui2cYH6a0Kc&feature=youtu.be

Japan v Hong Kong Highlights – ARC 2015 week 3 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ui2cYH6a0Kc&feature=youtu.be)

All three teams have played two matches with South Korea travelling to Fukuoka, Japan for Round 4 next Saturday (9 May).

“We wanted a reaction from last week’s (poor) performance against Korea and we got that today. Unfortunately we didn’t have a platform to exert pressure on Japan. We didn’t win enough ball and when we did, we failed to keep hold of it. When this happens it makes life difficult,” Hall said.

Hong Kong, who began with lock Adam Butterfield making his debut, troubled Japan in the scrum but couldn’t hold their own in the lineouts allowing their opponents to dominate.

But it took 17 minutes for Japan to breach the line against a determined and dogged Hong Kong defence with winger Akihito Yamada completing a quickly taken tap to cross over by the left corner flag.

It didn’t open up the floodgates with Hong Kong slowing the game down cleverly in a stop-start affair resulting in a large crown of nearly 9,000 at the Prince Chichibu Stadium remaining subdued.

Japan led 19-0 at the break with two more tries from centre Karne Hesketh and lock forward Luke Thompson with fullback Ayumu Goromaru converting two.

Hong Kong lost openside flanker Matt Lamming to the sin-bin soon after the game resumed and in his absence Japan scored twice with centre Yu Tamura and Yamada completing his brace.

Midway through the second half Hong Kong was reduced to 14 men again when winger Charlie Higson-Smith failed to roll away from a breakdown. Japan again capitalised with No.8 Ryu Holani scoring from a five-metre scrum before substitute winger Yoshikazu Fujita completed the victory-march by dotting down near the right corner flag.

“We showed good intent today,’” said Japan head coach Eddie Jones. “But our handling let us down”.

Source: HKRTU; Editing: bc magazine

Occupy Prince Edward – Buildings Department Eviction Protest

Occupy Prince Edward just started outside Pioneer Centre in protest at the Building Department’s eviction of Tsuen Wan families from a sub-divided industrial unit two days ago.

There’s lots of people showing up in support outside the Pioneer Centre Mall, passing sleeping mats and supplies through the cracks of locked doors to the protestors camped out on the ground floor.

The building management have blocked the lift from stopping at the Buildings Department on the 18/F essentially trapping those protesting the evictions there, and also turned off the a/c to that floor.

For some background on the same issue of sub-divided industrial units ‘converted’ into flats, see this 2012 Varsity article http://varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk/index.php/2012/05/industrial-buildings-subdivided-units/

https://www.facebook.com/socrec/videos/vb.160696287290644/1132024046824525/

Photos and video courtesy of SocRec and LostDutch

Hong Kong Heroes

A retired couple’s mission to prove 17-year-old student Ho Pak-hei innocent of assaulting a police officer during the Occupy protests…

Helbert Lau believed the happy ending was only part of the story – the case proved the truth in the allegations of abuse of power by police and he called for a review of the issue.

His wife, who is in her fifties, voiced concerns about some of the negative comments made on social media following her testimony. “Does that mean there aren’t enough people who are willing to do the same thing?” Yeung asked.

The couple hoped they will inspire more people to come forward “to tell the truth”.

Hong Kong 27-33 South Korea @ HK Football Club – 25 April, 2015

South Korea claim away win over Hong Kong in Asia Rugby Championship

A brace of tries each in the first-half from powerful fullback Jang Seong-min and speedy right winger Jegal Bin set the foundation for a 33-26 victory for South Korea over hosts Hong Kong in week two of the Asia Rugby Championship on Saturday.

The dangerous backs found holes in the defence to silence a sizeable crowd at Hong Kong Football Club and give South Korea an invaluable victory in their campaign to win back the number two slot in Asia currently held by Hong Kong.

Hong Kong desperately tried to claw their way back from a 25-7 deficit at the break but Korea hung on for a crucial victory in the home-and-away competition, which has been revamped to a top three format, including seven-time Asian Five Nations champions Japan.

“We weren’t good enough on the day,” conceded Hong Kong head coach Andy Hall. “Our execution was poor and to give away four tries in the first half and concede a bonus point is disappointing.”

The powerfully-built Jang, who scored a brace against Japan in the tournament opener last week in Incheon – Japan winning 56-30 – was once again in superb form as he easily sliced through to score the first of Korea’s five tries in the fifth minute.

Winger Bin Jegal then added a second a few minutes later when he rounded opposite number Salom Yiu Kam-shing to dot down to give his side a 12-0 lead.

Hong Kong who looked slow and a bit rusty had to thank sevens star Tom McQueen for their first points on the board when a solo effort saw the winger touch down under the post – having taken a quick tap and chipped and chased successfully.

But that was about the only success for the home team as Korea dominated the breakdown and the set-pieces to provide good ball to their dangerous backs with Jegal and Jang scoring again.

Korean fly-half Oh Youn-hyung could have put the result beyond doubt if he had his kicking boots on but he only managed to convert one try and a penalty as the visitors led 25-7 at halftime. Oh added a second penalty soon after the break but the sin-binning of Korean tighthead Kim Kwang-sik for a shoulder charge set the stage for a comeback by the home team.

Loosehead prop John Aikman smuggled the ball over the line from a driving maul and substitute fly-half Niall Rowark added the extra points to make it 28-14.

A lapse in concentration resulted in one of many turnovers by Hong Kong and Korea gratefully accepted the gift with left winger Chang Yong-heung scoring a try against the run of play to push the lead to 33-14.

But with Korea wilting fast, and with Hong Kong bringing on their bench, the tide began to turn. Fullback Alex McQueen spotted a hole and was through in a flash to score Hong Kong’s third try and make it 33-19.

With time running out, winger Salom Yiu Kam-shing then dotted down making full use of a long cut-out pass which created room for him to round the last line of defence. A successful conversion by Rowark brought Hong Kong within reach, 33-26, but time had run out.

“We have a lot of work to do now. It will not get any easier,” Hall said. “We had targeted both the Korean games but life is difficult with two games away now.”

Hong Kong travel to Japan and South Korea over the next two weekends before hosting Japan at home in the final round on May 23.

“Korea took their opportunities and credit to them. But it was all about what we didn’t do today,” Hall added.

A delighted Korea coach Chung Hyung Suk commented on the win, “It was truly a team performance and I think that was the difference today. We played as a team with a lot of heart but also very smartly. We implemented certain changes from how we played Japan, particularly in our defensive patterns and where we wanted to play on the pitch and that helped us create space against Hong Kong.”

The win brings South Korea’s series points total to six after today’s bonus point win. Hong Kong are on two points after collecting their own four-try bonus point and another for a loss within seven. Defending champions Japan are atop the table on six points after their opening win and with a game in hand on South Korea.

Additional reporting and photo HKRFU.