University 0-20 City Twinkles
@ Shek Kip Mei, Kick-off: 16:30
Tin Shui Wai 0-7 Kowloon
@ Tin Shui Wai, Kick-off: 16:30
Police Sirens 29-0 Tin Shui Wai
@ Police Boundary Street, Kick-off: 19:30
Images: bc magazine, Phoebe Leung
Lunar New Year Cup
Date: 4pm, 5 February, 2019
Venue: HK Stadium
Tickets: $480, $280, $180 from Cityline
More info:
4pm – Shandong Luneng Taishai FC v Auckland City FC
18:15pm – Hong Kong CNY Selection Team v Sagan Tosu
Lunar New Year Cup
Date: 4pm, 7 February, 2019
Venue: HK Stadium
Tickets: $480, $280, $180 from Cityline
More info:
4pm – 3rd/4th Place Playoff
18:15pm – Final
CWB Phoenix 13-3 City Sparkle
@ HKIED, Kick-off: 16:00
Gai Wu Falcons 79-0 HKFC Ice
@ KG V, Kick-off: 16:30
Tai Po Dragons 20-0 Kowloon
@ HKIED, Kick-off: 17:30
USRC Tigers 20-38 Valley Black
@ King’s Park, Kick-off: 18:00
National League 1
Valley Red 5-34 Gai Wu Fawkes
@ King’s Park, Kick-off: 13:30
USRC Tigers v HKCC
@ King’s Park, Kick-off: 15:00
HK Scottish Kukris 5-7 Revolution SRC
@ King’s Park, Kick-off: 18:0
CWB Lammergeier v Kowloon
@ HKIED, Kick-off: 14:30
University 5-46 Gai Wu Hawks
@ Tai Hang Tung, Kick-off: 16:30
Tin Shui Wai v HKFC Fire
@ KG V, Kick-off: 18:00
Police Sirens 30-0 City Twinkles
@ Police Boundary Street, Kick-off: 18:00
Images: bc magazine, Takumi Photography
It was a challenging, if grey day for the Volvo Ocean Race fleet as they tackled the Around Hong Kong Island Race with a reasonable sized spectator fleet on hand to cheer them on.
The light and variable wind shortly after the start allowed the leading boats to break away as they found the new wind pressure first. But it didn’t mean opportunities for passing later in the afternoon were completely closed off.
Three teams broke the line early and needed to restart, with Team Brunel, Turn the Tide on Plastic and Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag all turning back leaving MAPFRE with the best start in the fleet and they eked out a lead in light breeze.
It put them at an immediate disadvantage, but while Brunel had the best re-start, it was Turn the Tide on Plastic who moved up the fleet to challenge the leading pack over the next 20 minutes.
However as the race progressed, MAPFRE and Dongfeng Race Team found the new favourable wind first and built a commanding lead over the others.
“With these inshore races you never know, because just as you can have the advantage one moment, the next you can lose it,” said MAPFRE navigator Juan Vila. “Fortunately today it was more of a race in which the one in front always seemed to have better pressure. The transitions have also gone a little better for us and of course, the start and the moments afterward were key.”
“It was very tricky conditions today but we had a lot of good advice from local sailors and it helped us a lot,” said Dongfeng Race Team skipper Charles Caudrelier. “So I think we prepared it very well and the result is there, so that’s good.”
Behind the leading pair, it was team AkzoNobel and Turn the Tide on Plastic battling for third place early. But a the teams rounded the southern shore of the island, Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag and Team Brunel slipped through in the middle of the channel with better wind.
Local favourite Scallywag went from being last across the starting line to a third place finish with Team Brunel just a couple hundred metres back to take a popular podium result.
That left AkzoNobel, who won Saturday’s HGC In-Port Race Hong Kong to take fifth place in front of Turn the Tide on Plastic, who had a frustrating weekend trailing the fleet in both races.
Sunday’s results mean Dongfeng Race Team has the best overall score on the weekend after two second place finishes. The team will claim a full 7 points from the Hong Kong series which pulls it into a tie on the overall In-Port Race Series Leaderboard with MAPFRE, both sitting on 25 points. Dongfeng Race Team is ranked first based on winning the most recent series in Hong Kong.
“It is a very good result for us,” Caudrelier continued. “We are in the same position as the MAPFRE crew which is full of inshore specialists, so I think we can be proud of the team’s performance.”
Dongfeng Race Team – 25 points
MAPFRE – 25 points
Team Brunel – 17 points
team AkzoNobel – 16 points
Vestas 11th Hour Racing – 12 points
Sun Hung Kai / Scallywag – 9 points
Turn the Tide on Plastic – 7 points
Additional reporting and images: Volvo Ocean Race, Ainhoa Sanchez
Congratulations to Gai Wu Falcons, winners of the Women’s Premiership 2017-18!
photo: Takumi Photography
Team AkzoNobel took the win in the Hong Kong In-Port Race on a dull grey afternoon on the waters of Victoria Harbour.
It was a typical harbour race. The wind was a 6 to 10 knot Easterly, quite shifty and puffy, and with a strong tide running crews needed to keep concentration levels high.
For spectators while the grey backdrop was dull, the puffy nature of the breeze allowed all those watching to fully appreciate what a beautiful boat the Volvo 65 is. Graceful on the water, picks up speed on the slightest puff and nimble on the tack. A much stronger breeze and the fleet would have had to be more circumspect on their tacks and crossings, as it was boats were tight to the transom – just as you would race in a dinghy.
“We had a fantastic race, pretty exciting. We planned to sail our own race today. It was tricky enough with the tide and the windshifts,” said team AkzoNobel skipper Simeon Tienpont. “The team sailed an unbelievable race and the guys in the back of the boat played the tactics very well… It’s good when things come together. It’s a nice reward for all the effort the team has put in.”
Dongfeng Race Team finished in second place, with Team Brunel third. The two swapped places on the third lap of the course after a solid upwind leg by Brunel gave them the lead, but the Dongfeng crew fought back on the run to secure second place.
A fourth place finish on Saturday by the series leader MAPFRE means Dongfeng vaults to the top of the table. But it’s a tight leaderboard and it could compress further following Sunday’s Around Hong Kong Island Race, when results of the weekend of racing will be combined to assign the points from this stopover.
Hong Kong’s hometown heroes Scallywag had a fantastic start, but fell back and battled to a fifth place finish over Turn the Tide on Plastic on Saturday. Both teams will be determined to move up with a better result on Sunday.
Watch a full reply of the Hong Kong In-Port race here
The Around Hong Kong Island Race is scheduled to start at 11:30am on 28 January. There will be live coverage of the start and finish of Sunday’s race on www.volvooceanrace.com
Dongfeng Race Team – 24 points
MAPFRE – 23 points
team AkzoNobel – 18 points
Team Brunel – 18 points
Vestas 11th Hour Racing – 12 points
Scallywag – 9 points
Turn the Tide on Plastic – 7 points
Additional reporting and images: Volvo Ocean Race, Ainhoa Sanchez, Pedro Martinez
