Category: January

Scallywag Strikes For Home

Scallywag, continues its charge towards the finishing line as skipper Dave Witt says the next 24 hours are the most vital of Leg 4 as they close in on an historic home leg victory.

Witt’s crew were sitting on a lead of almost 100 nautical miles to their closest rivals Vestas 11th Hour Racing with around 800 miles to the finish line.

Despite the healthy buffer, Hong Kong is still a day and half away, and to get to the finish they must first thread their way between Taiwan and the Philippines and avoid any patches of light wind in the area.

“For me the biggest concern is from here to the top of the Philippines,” he Witt. “Once we get around the corner of the Philippines to Hong Kong it’s pretty easy, I don’t think we can get passed there. The most danger lies between here and there so the next 24 hours are the most important.”

“If we can get through the next three scheds without a loss there won’t be enough runway for anyone to catch us. We’re going to push really hard for the next 24 hours, and hopefully ‘sign the deal’. Basically the only way we are going to lose it is if we park up and stop, and I’ll make sure we won’t do that.”

A moment of panic set in when Scallywag hit a patch of light airs, halting progress. But thankfully for them the breeze that was forecast to fill in ahead of them materialised, and by 1300 UTC they were back up to speed.

“I don’t think anyone really understands the magnitude of this if we manage to pull it off,” Witt added. “There are so many firsts: first Hong Kong team ever, first time to Hong Kong… hopefully we will have plenty of time in Hong Kong over beers to let it sink in – but we have to get there first.”

Second-placed Vestas 11th Hour Racing were seemingly sitting pretty thanks to a 70-mile gap between them and team AkzoNobel in third on the leaderboard.

However Dongfeng Race Team had been in third place some 50 miles behind Vestas before opting to go in to stealth mode, hiding their position from the fleet for 24 hours.

Charles Caudrelier’s crew will reappear on the tracker at 1900 UTC – and only then will anyone know what strategy they’ve been employing and whether they’ve closed the gap at all.

Sixty miles behind AkzoNobel were overall race leaders MAPFRE, with Team Brunel in fifth and Turn the Tide on Plastic in sixth.

Brunel skipper Bouwe Bekking, the most experienced Volvo Ocean Race sailor in the fleet, admitted his team have struggled for speed.

“Everybody is giving a 100 per cent, there is no doubt about that, but at the moment that’s just not enough,” he said. “We’ve made a mistake twice, once at the beginning of the leg and once in the Doldrums.

“With lower wind speeds and when we’re sailing closer angles to the wind we do alright, but when it’s like this, with more wind and coming more from the back, we barely manage to keep up with the rest of the fleet. It’s frustrating, but the only thing we can do on board is remain positive and trim and steer the boat as well as possible.”

Additional reporting and images: Volvo Ocean Race, Konrad Frost, Yann Riou

Women’s Rugby Fixtures – 20 January, 2018

All Night Fong – Khalil’s Journey

Ahead of his concert with Diana Wang under the Big Top at the Great European Carnival bc magazine spoke to musician and entrepreneur Khalil Fong.  The singer-songwriter and producer, who started his own label Fu Music a couple of years ago, is renowned for his innovative style onstage and off.

Who is Khalil Fong today? How would you describe yourself… musician, entrepreneur? Musically how do you think your sound has evolved over the years?
I started off introducing the genre of soul and R&B to the mandarin market. Eventually I adapted a more eclectic and experimental mentality. Nothing too unusual or avant garde but just about reflecting my personal background and experiences in life and music. I guess you could say I’m one of the people in the industry trying to break boundaries and promote creativity.

Growing up who were the artists you listened to, inspired you and why? Who do you listen to now?
In my younger years I would listen to Ritchie Valens, Buddy Holly, John Lee Hooker, Fats Domino, Charles Brown, Eric Clapton, Eddie Jefferson, Chet Baker, John Coltrane, Ivan Lins, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Stevie Wonder, EWF, James Brown, Little Richard, Elvis, Jimi Hendrix, MJ, Prince, Bill Evans, Steely Dan, Boyz II Men, Babyface, D’Angelo, Musiq Soulchild, N.E.R.D to name a few. These days I listen to Haim, Frank Ocean, Childish Gambino, John Mayer, Gary Clarke Jr., Chris Dave, Robert Glasper and the list goes on.

Of the many songs you’ve written what is your favourite and why? Which song would you most like to cover?
Don’t really have a favorite song. I enjoy the experience of making music but I never enjoy listening to my own music since I’m heavily involved in the production and arranging of it all, there are no surprises left in it for me. I’d much rather listen to someone else’s material. There are an array of songs I’d love to cover someday. I have always had a plan to release an album of jazz standards later on.

https://youtu.be/IJR2IW_qvYs

You were fairly prolific in releasing songs and albums (and concerts) in the early part of your career, but they’ve dried up recently with almost nothing for two years. Why’s that?
I have maintained an average of releasing an album about every 1-2 years. The last LP, Journey To The West, was released at the end of 2016. It was a double album of 20 plus songs that marked the start of a temporary hiatus from releasing full albums of original material. I had just established my own label Fu Music and wanted to focus on fostering our own artists. For the past year and a half I have been working on Diana Wang’s second LP which was just released in November. She herself is a talented songwriter and we worked closely on her album with two of the other producers within Fu Music, Derrick Sepnio and Fergus Chow. She is a Dutch born Chinese who like me grew up with a passion for R&B music and through her latest album you can hear where we are going with Chinese R&B and the fusion of different schools of thought.

Do you see the Fringe Backer campaign as a success or failure? You were targeting $10m but after two years you’ve been backed for barely $350,000?
I went in to it with a totally experimental mentality. I thought well, Jessica Alba gave it a try as well as a few others and why not have a go at it. I thought it would be a fun way to celebrate and announce that I was starting my own label. If I got the funding, great, if not at least I tried. In some ways it would have been romantic if all the fans and music lovers hopped on board and made it easier for me to accomplish my label goals but I’m also a realist so I never had any expectations. I do want to thank the fans that believed in the project and supported it to the best of their abilities. In case anyone is wondering, that campaign ended long ago. As for my label, nothing is too easy and nothing is too difficult to accomplish but I think in the last year, it’s obvious to people that we are serious about what we are doing.

Do you think the relatively small amount of backing relative to your target shows a lack of appreciation for your music, or a lack of confidence in the viability of the business?
At the end of the day, not everyone who loves listening to music are passionate about making music or are aware of the current challenges that face artists and musicians. I ask myself everyday, why am I still in this business that is suffering in so many ways? Because it’s my passion and it is what I believe in.

Is writing new songs a very organic process with the music and lyrics coming together smoothly or do you find one easier than the other?
Writing and producing, is just like being in the kitchen. If you enjoy it, it’s rewarding, if you don’t it can be taxing and tedious. I enjoy both songwriting and cooking. I don’t write all of my lyrics as it is a common practice for Chinese music that there will be a designated lyricist for the task. Chinese lyrics are much more poetic and sometimes require more finesse than English.

Have you found the creative process easier or harder since you set up FU Music? Can you truly release what you want as you aspired when you set the company or are you even more commercially sensitive about what you release?
Definitely easier. I want every artist or producer at Fu Music to collaborate and contribute their own ideas and be a part of creating the Fu brand.

Live, will the songs be much as you recorded them, or are they written and structured to be open for interpretation live?
It really depends. There is no rule of thumb but often times the live versions are upgraded for a more colorful interpretation on stage.

With music having fully embraced digital distribution do you get the same sense of completion from releasing a digital only release, or is there a more satisfying feeling from having a physical release in your hand and seeing people buy a cd/cassette of your music?
I will always love the thought of buying the latest record in a record store. However, as traditional as I am in that sense, I am absolutely aware of the implications and the actual reality of where things are headed. My only hope is that digital can evolve to be a more sustainable model for the music creators. Every album I have listened to in recent years is an album I have purchased digitally.

What can readers and fans expect from you show in the Big Top?
Khalil Fong x Diana Wang and a unique carnival experience.

You can listen and follow to Kahlil Fong here:
facebook: www.facebook.com/soulboykhalilfong
instagram: www.instagram.com/soulboykhalilfong
website: https://fu-music.com/ http://khalilfong.com/en/

https://youtu.be/iHOrA8Ihk74

Khalil Fong & Diana Wang
BillBoard Radio Live in Hong Kong
Date: 8pm, 20 January, 2018
Venue: Central Harbourfront
Tickets: $850, $750 from HKTicketing

Volvo Ocean Race HK Village Opens at Kai Tak

The first ever Volvo Ocean Race Hong Kong stopover is officially underway following a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Runway Park. It’s the first time that the Volvo Ocean Race fleet have visited Hong Kong – and with local team Scallywag currently leading the Leg 4 fleet, there’s an extra frisson of excitement.

Hong Kong Stopover.Getting ready for the Opening of the Race Village. 16 January, 2018. Photo by Ainhoa Sanchez/Volvo Ocean Race

The Race Village is open from 9am to 10pm from 17-31 January and entry is is free. The fleet is currently due to arrive on 19 January – and the stopover is packed with on and off-water action and activities.

Hong Kong Stopover.Getting ready for the Opening of the Race Village. 16 January, 2018. Photo by Ainhoa Sanchez/Volvo Ocean Race

For more information, including daily schedules in the Race Village, visit www.volvooceanracehk.com

Hong Kong Stopover.Getting ready for the Opening of the Race Village. 16 January, 2018. Photo by Ainhoa Sanchez/Volvo Ocean Race

For details of how to visit the Race Village click here.

Images: Volvo Ocean Race, Konrad Frost, Ainhoa Sanchez

McLaren Parade 2018

McLaren Hong Kong kicked off the year with their annual McLaren New Year Parade on 14 January 2018, with the largest group of local McLaren owners ever. The line-up featured cars from the McLaren Sports and Super Series including the latest 720S and limited editions of McLaren 675LT, 650S Can-Am and 650S Le Mans.

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2018/McLaren-New-Year-Parade-2018-14-January-2018/i-3w2QCbr

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2018/McLaren-New-Year-Parade-2018-14-January-2018/i-kcThzvG

Click on any photo for more images

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2018/McLaren-New-Year-Parade-2018-14-January-2018/i-RsRRV2Z

Unbeaten Streak Ends, Gai Wu Falcons 22-15 Valley Black

After several close games recently Gai Wu Falcons ended Valley Black’s unbeaten streak at 51 games with a 22-15 win over the three times defending champions.

The win puts the Falcons on top of the Women’s Premiership table on 16 points, one ahead of Valley, with two weeks remaining in the regular season.

In the other Premiership matches USRC Tigers beat HKFC Ice 44-12,  CWB Phoenix returned to form with a 24-10 win over Kowloon while Tai Po Dragons beat City Sparkle 47-0.

Ahead of the clash with Valley, Gai Wu coach Sailo Lai Yiu-pang had commented that the lengthy lay-off for both teams could be a factor,and predicted that the result would come down to the team with the superior intensity.

It was his side that came through in the end, with a massive defensive effort keeping the Falcons in the match for the full 80 minutes and putting them in position to score two tries in the dying minutes, turning a 15-12 deficit into the eventual 22-15 win.

Lai was ecstatic with the result, which has been a longtime coming for the Falcons, who have finished as league runners-up and lost the Grand Championship finals to Valley for the last three seasons.

“It was amazing. Our defence was massive. We won this game because we defended well. We held out not just once but twice on our try line. Mentally, we were spot on and kept a high focus for the entire 80 minutes. We lost momentum once, but then we got it back and were able to maintain it for the full 80.”

Lai hailed the effort of the entire squad, saying, “We played as a team, which you can see from the scoring–two tries from the backs and two from the forwards. It was a true team effort.”

Valley went all-out in attack early on with No.8 Aroha Savage scoring in the opening minutes with fullback Zoe Smith converting to give the defending champions an early 7-0 lead.

Gai Wu mustered some impressive rear-guard defence to keep Valley from extending its lead by holding them up twice on the try-line, before they were able to mount their own forays into their opponents half.

When they did they made them count. Christy Cheng Ka-chi opened the scoring for Gai Wu in her first game of the season after returning from an injury suffered in the World Cup. Showing her sevens versatility, Cheng forced a gap in the Valley defence close to the line before charging over for the score.

Falcons’ second try came off another line-break with the ball wending its way to centre Greer Muir who outpaced two defenders in a 40-metre sprint for the line to give Gai Wu a 12-7 lead after the conversion heading into the half-time break.

Valley player-coach Bella Milo willed her side back into the affair with an early second-half try to level the scores at 12-all, before Smith gave Valley back the lead at 15-12 after a successful drop goal.

That lead looked to be secure when Gai Wu lock Wong Ka-yin was yellow carded after 70 minutes, but Falcons found another level to close out the game with two tries in the right corner from Hong Kong standouts Aggie Poon Pak-yan and No. 8 Chan Ka-yan to seal the win.

After the game, Lai cautioned his charges to maintain not just their perspective, but also their performance.

“We have to take it game by game. If we can maintain our level of play like this we have a good chance of winning the league, but it’s down to how we perform weekin, weekout. We can’t let down now,” said Lai.

“But this win certainly gives us a lot of confidence. If we can defend like we did today, we can beat Valley again. It is a huge boost for us to be able to play against world-class players like Bella (Milo) and Aroha (Savage) and come away with the win. It’s the first time I’ve seen the girls so happy,” Lai added. “It’s the best game they’ve ever played, and they deserved that win.”

Milo agreed with Lai’s estimate in the final analysis saying, “They played really well. The game was won at the breakdown, which is where they came out faster and we couldn’t slow them down, but it just means we’ve got to work a bit harder. We’ve got to go back to the drawing board.”

Milo was intent on refocusing her side after the end of a winning streak that had extended for three full seasons– and very nearly a fourth – and is unlikely to be equalled in the annals of Hong Kong women’s rugby.

“It’s not the end of world. The streak had to end eventually and in that sense it is good that it happened now and not in the Grand Championships. At the final whistle there was disappointment for sure, a few tears in there, but it was a good kick up the bum, and will make us hungrier for the next games,” Milo warned.

In National League 1, Revolution SRC overcame Tai Po Dragons 2 36-5, to take home the NL1 Challenge Shield for a third time. While in National League 2 saw Police Sirens scored a feisty 20-17 win over CWB Lammergeier to take possession of the NL 2 Challenge Shield and end the league leaders’ five-match run.

Additional reporting and images: hkru

Scallywag Leading the Fleet Towards Home in Hong Kong

Following one of the longest and most painful doldrums crossings in memory, the Volvo Ocean Race fleet is now in the northeast trade winds and speeding towards the finish line in Hong Kong, some 2,700 nautical miles to the northwest.

The fleet finds itself in three distinct groupings, with Dongfeng Race Team leading team AkzoNobel and Vestas 11th Hour Racing in the northernmost triumvirate. And it’s in the north where the stronger winds should be as the northeasterly trades winds get established.

“I think we are in a strong position,” said Dongfeng Race Team skipper Charles Caudrelier. “We have just left the doldrums and we should be the first ones to catch the trade winds… we hope. We are very close on the ranking with Scallywag but we prefer our position for the future.”

While that northern option may turn out to be the correct one, at the moment, it’s David Witt’s Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag who are stealing a march on the opposition.

Contrary to many weather routing predictions, Witt and his crew have managed to craftily cut the corner, turning west before the rest of the fleet and gaining valuable miles towards the finish.

“The weather has helped us for sure,” Witt said. “It’s a balance between making decisions based on what the weather files tell you and what you can see in front of you… Anything can happen, it’s a pretty volatile situation still, but I’m pretty sure this group of people can deal with whatever happens.”

The Scallywags make up the middle grouping on their own, with MAPFRE leading Turn the Tide on Plastic and Team Brunel in the final triad, some 150 nautical miles directly east (and further from the finish line) compared to Scallywag.

For the trailing group, it’s been 24 hours of immense frustration. One final cloud in the doldrums grabbed these three and wouldn’t let go, while the other four boats were speeding away.

“We thought we’d be fighting at the front and now we’re fighting at the back which is not where we wanted to be,” said Dee Caffari, the skipper of Turn the Tide on Plastic. “Really disappointed. But we have nearly 3000 miles left to make it up.”

Additional reporting and photos: Konrad Frost, Volvo Ocean Race, Brian Carlin

Women’s Rugby Fixtures – 13 January, 2018