San Fernando Race 2013 – strong line-up of entries

The San Fernando Race is a 480nm Category 1 offshore race from Hong Kong to the Philippines. Supported by the Philippines Department of Tourism and proving ‘it’s more fun in the Philippines!’ twenty four boats will gather on the start line in Victoria Harbour for the 19th edition of the San Fernando Race, which starts on Wednesday 27 March.

This 480nm Category 1 offshore race attracts a sector of the sailing population committed to blue water offshore racing, with Hong Kong sailors being joined by their peers from Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Norway and Holland, among many other countries, making it a truly cosmopolitan event.

The current race record of 49 hours 55 minutes and 12 seconds was set by Sam Chan’s FfreeFire in 2001. Unfortunately Sam Chan is out of contention this year as his ‘new’ FfreeFire lost her rig competing in the recent Subic to Boracay Race.

Red Kite II’s Anthony Root is out to make history by being the first boat ever to win IRC Overall three times in a row. Tipsy Easy is out for the first time – her predecessor, Tipsy Frenz sank during last year’s Taiwan Strait Race and the new boat is named after commercial vessel Easy Success which picked up all the crew. Sixteen year old Aymeric Gillard is looking forward to crewing on Shahtoosh after being promised a place for the Race when he was only 12. We also have members of the Philippine National Team on board Judes Echauz’ TP52.

Some of the boats entered for this year’s San Fernando Race are detailed below.

Shahtoosh
Sixteen year old Aymeric Gillard, recent winner of the Tom Lamour Award for ‘Young Sailor of the Year’ will be amongst the 13 crew on Shahtoosh, a Warwick 75 owned by Peter Cremers.

The San Fernando race will be Shahtoosh’s first ever race, having been launched in June 2012, so Peter says that as it’s the first opportunity they have had to use the ‘new’ Shahtoosh competitively, they’ll be taking it easy, also bearing in mind that she was built for cruising in the first place. Peter is looking forward to “benchmarking the two Warwicks in the fleet (Shahtoosh and Moonblue 2)” and his daily morning fresh espresso!

Tipsy Easy
When Tipsy Frenz sank in June 2012 whilst competing in the Taiwan Strait Race, her entire crew was saved by a cargo vessel called Easy Success and it was therefore obvious to her owners, the Tipsy Syndicate, to name their latest boat Tipsy Easy after their saviour. A Beneteau First 50, Tipsy Easy is but a baby at five months and five of the 11 crew from the ill-fated Tipsy Frenz will be on board for the San Fernando Race which starts on 27 March. Whilst this particular boat has no offshore experience, this is the fourth Tipsy Syndicate boat to make the trip – the first was Tipsy Too, the second Tipsy Free and the third, Tipsy Frenz. The crew are looking forward to sailing the ocean again as usual “with no fear” and Leon Chan says they are hoping for “a fast and pleasurable trip on the deep blue sea and to say “good morning South China Sea” on our new boat”.

Red Kite II
A boat with a special history with the San Fernando Race (and a lot to play for this year!) is Anthony Root’s Archambault 35, Red Kite II which won IRC Overall and IRC Racing in both the 2009 and 2011 editions of this biennial Race. In 2009, Anthony was also awarded the “First Time Skipper” prize. This year, Anthony has a crew of seven on board ranging in age from 30 to 62, half of whom are friends who are flying in especially for the Race. Red Kite II also won their division in the 2010 and 2012 Rolex China Sea Races. They were fourth overall in 2010 and fifth overall in 2012.

In one year, the difference between them and the next better boat was four seconds out of 96 hours. Anthony recalls his 2009 and 2011 Races… “The first race was a wild ride, with winds up to 3kts and averaged over 8kts during the entire race. I was overcome with emotion and disbelief at the finish to learn that we had won our first offshore race ever. The second race was less physical due to lighter winds. But it was very tactical and we caught the sea breeze on the final approach. We were thrilled to be surfing at 12kts, knowing that we were positioned to win overall a second time against stiff competition from TP-52s and other larger boats.”

Anthony says the San Fernando Race is one of the great races of the year and he and his crew are looking forward to the “high energy offshore champagne sailing that the San Fernando Race regularly delivers.” There is also something else at stake he says… “Russ Parker mentioned to me that only two boats in history have won the San Fernando Race twice in a row. Freefire and Red Kite II. We hope to make new history this year. Of course, we recognise that it will be a major challenge to overcome stiff competition and fickle winds, particularly in the last 75 miles when the race is typically won or lost.”

EFG Bank Mandrake
Mills 41 EFG Bank Mandrake, co-owned by Fred Kinmonth and Nick Burns, has the usual suspects on board for the forthcoming San Fernando Race starting in just under three weeks – Peter Fletcher (Fletch), Fred, Clem, Warwick Downes, Suzanne Downes, Ailsa Angus, Angel, James, Simon and Gilbert. EFG Bank Mandrake has been close to winning the San Fernando Race before and came second in the 2012 Rolex China Sea Race. Fred says that highlights from previous Races include “blue water racing and arriving safely” and they’ve entered again this year because the San Fernando “is a blue water classic”.

Fred himself hasn’t missed a San Fernando or China Sea Race in 10 years and is looking forward to “the start and the exit from Hong Kong, passing the oil rigs, moving into deep, deep water, the excitement and camaraderie of the race, smelling the Philippines and a pint of beer on shore. Offshore racing is one of the best ways of feeling alive!”.

Crystal
The forthcoming San Fernando Race will mark Bernd Hanemann’s 8th China Sea crossing in successive years. He’s aiming for 10 successive crossings and this is the third time he’s done the San Fernando Race on Crystal, his Beneteau First 44.7 which he has had for seven years. There will be a total of 10 crew on board, four of whom are coming in from overseas. Of the Race, Bernd says: “it is a very well organised cat one race. The whole concept with the San Fernando Charity Dinner, the Race itself, the party on the other side, and to see the kids from the orphanage which we support – the Crystal crew just loves it. We have put a lot of effort into preparations this year and we have learned a lot. The crew and boat are fit and we do expect to have better results than in previous years.”

Talkinghead
Tonny Chung’s Sydney 36, Talkinghead, will have eight crew on board (a well mixed team of young and old and five men and three women) when the San Fernando Race starts on 27 March. Talkinghead were first runners up in the COA Championship IRC Division and have had good results in recent Macau races. In the last Around the Island Race, they came second in IRC Division 2. In RHKYC’s 2012 Rolex China Sea Race, Talkinghead were happy to have a mid-fleet position and this time around they are hoping to climb up to the upper first quarter in IRC handicap. Tonny is looking forward to “plenty of sunshine on the way and plenty of alcohol at the location party”.

Sea Monkey
Sea Monkey is a Sense 50 owned by Emmanuel Pitsilis who, along with 7 other crew (totaling 2 women and 6 men) will be at the start line for the San Fernando Race on Wednesday 27 March.

The Race will be Sea Monkey’s first China Sea crossing and the same can be said for some of the crew. It’s “a new experience on a new boat” says Emmanuel, adding that they’ve entered “ to have fun, to experience something new and exciting, and to take part in one of Asia’s top blue water races, with a great destination at the end. We are looking forward to the nights with the moon in the background, the stars and dozens of boats crisscrossing the South China Sea. Eric and Grace Doguet have promised us fine dining all the way to San Fernando (and, with a nearly all French crew, standards are high) so we are also looking forward to the journey as much as the arrival!”

Sell Side Dream
Sell Side Dream, Simon Powell’s three year old Archambault 40 is another entry in the forthcoming San Fernando Race that starts on 27 March. Amongst the crew of nine are American, Jack Harvey, a veteran of more than 15 Newport to Bermuda Races (and at age 68 is the oldest crew member), and Australian, Jim Hutchinson. This will be the second time that Sell Side Dream has entered the San Fernando Race but it’s Simon’s fourth Race. Says Simon “This is a technically challenging race in terms of weather and working out final approaches to the coast – the first night out of Hong Kong always tests people and boats and it’s nice to get the chance to get out early in the season – if we are lucky, we might get some good wind and wave action. We always look forward to the bash bash of the first night, then if we are lucky, the sun comes up on day two in time for us to drop off the shelf into the ultra deep water of the South China Sea.”

Hedonist
Hedonist, a Jeanneau 409 owned by Richard Barnhust for less than a year, will have a crew of seven on board for the San Fernando Race starting 27 March. Richard himself is not new to the Race, having taken part in two previous editions of the Race on other people’s boats, remembering going fast on Strewth and the infamous Banka races on the beach in San Fernando. This time, he says of the San Fernando Race “it’s time to enter my own, and skipper my own” and he’s most looking forward to some San Miguels and a few Tanduays with his mates.

Moonblue 2
Moonblue 2, a 12 year old custom designed cruiser-racer owned by Pete Churchouse is one of the entries in the San Fernando Race which starts on 27 March. This year, Pete will have 10-11 people on his crew (all of whom he says are noteworthy!) including one from the NZ armed services, one from France, one from Australia and one from England. Pete “can never remember results” so can’t recall how well they’ve done in previous China Sea crossings and says “who cares anyway”! He says highlights of previous San Fernando Races include “catching big Dorado and spinnaker runs under a full moon in modest breeze and flat seas – and a delicious rum calamansi in the bar on arrival.” And what is Pete looking forward to the most? “Spending time with mates, and most looking forward to the cruise back via Pratas reef and some hopefully successful game fishing.”

Wonderwall
Wonderwall is a Beneteau Oceanis 45 which has been owned for the past eight months by David Harari. David and his skipper, James Kinloch will be joined by another seven crew for the San Fernando Race including two very experienced crew from Canada who have, between them, raced in excess of 30 cat one races. Just to clarify, Liam Gallagher, is not making an appearance. David tell us he’s entered “for the adventure and experience” and is looking forward to “seeing how the boat reacts to such a race, the camaraderie and banter with the team going down, a learning experience, the risk, the challenge, being out in the ocean for the first time in my life, to cap off a fab eight months so far sailing on the new boat with fun people and the great time I’ve enjoyed with good mate and skipper James Kinloch!”.

Krampus
When her new coat of paint has dried in time for the San Fernando Race, Niccolò Manno’s Anteros 36, Krampus, will have just completed a full two months’ refit.

Niccolò comes from a background in smaller boats but wanted to try offshore racing – he’s had Krampus for less than a year and has only raced her twice. He’s looking forward to his first offshore race and “being able to to surf down some nice bigger waves if the weather gods are with us”. He adds “We haven’t yet been able to get to grips with Krampus, but we are entering this race with a young and mostly French crew. We are very excited! The boat is a 36ft full carbon race/cruiser and only few were produced, so we have to learn to tune the boat whilst racing. Winning chances?… not a lot considering the semi-professional crews we will be facing, but let’s have fun and enjoy the sailing!”

Niccolò has also shared the the meaning behind the name… “Krampus is an Austrian pagean monster that comes on 6 December to punish children/people who weren’t nice that particular year. I was always very scared of Krampus when I was a kid. Now I am trying to get to grips with it!”

Allegro
If she makes it to the start line for the San Fernando Race, Allegro is already a winner.

The Beneteau Oceanis 40 was purchased just THREE weeks ago so as you can imagine, owners Thomas Wiesinger and Markus Ibele are working hard to get her ready – if they manage it, that’ll already be a major achievement! Thomas, who will be Skipper on this Race, has two San Fernandos under his belt and has also taken part in the Club’s Rolex China Sea Race – making the China Sea crossing every year since 2008. If the weather falls flat, which Thomas suspects might happen on the afternoon of Day 2 or at the latest the morning of Day 3, he’ll be in his swimming trunks but admits he has to be careful at that stage not to confuse the race there with the delivery trip back! Whatever happens, he’s looking forward to “void horizons, warm, balmy weather and blue water”. Whilst a win would be nice, they’ve entered the race simply for “the sake of sailing first and winning, third. Having a good time in good winds, a memorable chat on the windward rail eating sloppily prepared cup noodles is a close second.”

Kei Lun
A former Swedish commando, a Norwegian tunnel driller and six Dutch descendants of the sailors involved in the Raid on the Medway in 1667 are amongst Kei Lun’s crew of eight for this year’s San Fernando Race starting 27 March. Skipper/owner Richard van den Berg has had Kei Lun, a Beneteau First 45.5 since 2008 and says that she’s “always amongst the best and would be a sure winner were it not for his inability to find wind”.

This is Richard’s fourth San Fernando Race and has ‘fond’ memories of previous editions including “stargazing, bilge pumping, vomit scraping and sleepwalking…” He says you “need to race if you want to win” and what he looks forward to the most is “finishing in time to attend the prizegiving, cloudless skies and avoiding the holes Crystal [another boat] gets into”.

Back to his crew – at 68 years, Bowman, Knut Garshol, is the oldest and Frans Biegstraaten, the trimmer, is the youngest at 37. We’re not sure if Knut (or Frans!) is the commando, the tunnel driller or the descendant – Richard isn’t saying.

“This year is the first time we have opened up participation to ‘non-cloggies’ by allowing two Vikings on board. They are difficult to understand normally when they are sober (which is a rarity) so imagine what it’s like when on board. The last time when they invaded a Dutch boat was in the dark ages and we have learned our lessons from history and kept our women far away from them. In case of light winds, we also have drilled some holes on the side of the hull where long oars can be placed so that our Scandinavian friends can show us that they have not lost the skills of moving ahead with no wind. A final warning to the mothers in San Fernando, keep your daughters at home since the Vikings are coming to town.”

Whiskey Jack
Whiskey Jack, a J109 owned by Nick Southward since 2008 is another entry for the San Fernando Race starting on 27 March. The six crew includes three managing directors of local companies and this year, for the first time, only one lawyer. “Unfortunately we have made a serious tactical error and this year we have no young whippersnapper, who would otherwise be changing sails as required throughout the race. This means that some of the more statesmen-like members of our crew will have to go forward of the cockpit, something that is unusual to say the least.” says Nick who has one San Fernando under his belt – “we had 30kts for two days and a steering gear failure which meant spending three hours upside down in the bowels of the boat trying to fix the relevant parts” he recalls.

Whiskey Jack has entered the San Fernando “for the pleasure and fun of offshore racing, combined with a decent excuse to get “off the grid” for a few days where there is no email or mobile phone coverage” says Nick and adds that he’s looking forward to “the first night, which will blow out the cobwebs, and then two more days of spectacular sailing including a visit from the dolphins, when we get closer to the Philippines, tuna sushi (the weight watchers have allowed a special dispensation of fishing gear) and the party on the Sunday night, and we do hope we will get there in time!”

Whiskey Jack’s previous results in offshore races include 2nd IRC Div 2 in the 2012 Rolex China Sea Race, 2nd in IRC in the 2011 Taiwan Straits Race and 4th IRC Div 4 in the 2010 Rolex China Sea Race.

Zanzibar
Singapore entry into the San Fernando Race is Zanzibar, a Humphreys 42 owned by Jonathan Mahony. Most of the 7 crew are based in Singapore including a father and son team in Simon Simmons who, at 54, is the oldest member of the crew and his son, Alex, who is 22.

Zanzibar has never competed in a San Fernando Race before but did rather well (!) in last year’s Rolex China Sea Race, finishing first overall – “we seem to do okay in these sorts of races” says Jonathan who is looking forward to “getting back offshore with a good bunch of friends on a fast boat”.

Diamond Queen
Diamond Queen, a Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 49 belonging to Charlie Lam is one of the three HKPN entries in the San Fernando Race starting on 27 March. Of the 8 crew, we asked if anyone on board was particularly noteworthy and the answer back was “we think we all are individually!” As the only HKPN entrant in the 2012 Rolex China Sea Race Race she won her division and Charlie says of the San Fernando “This year we are aiming for a repeat but this time with two competitors.”

This is Diamond Queen’s second San Fernando Race and Charlie says the reception party is a highlight and he has entered again because he “always enjoy offshore sailing and its challenges.” He’s “looking forward to the challenges of open sea sailing, the competition, and comradeship….And the fun and party getting there.”

Dearg Doom
Dearg Doom, a Bavaria 39 Cruiser has been owned by Kevin Greene for over five years. Kevin describes his crew of six as ‘mature’ with the oldest at 63 years and the youngest at 49 (still a good 33 years older than the youngest crew on Shahtoosh!). This year’s Race will be Dearg Doom’s third San Fernando and she “always finishes, never retires, and is a contender for the Mandalay Trophy for biggest fish caught” says Kevin who remembers previous Race highlights such as “sailing under spinnaker with a full moon in the warm air off the Philippines and the beach parties at Bauaung.”

Kevin adds “The Race is a good opportunity to keep the boat up to a good standard and it gets you across the China Sea to do some cruising in the Philippines – it has become an annual outing for my regular crew. We anticipate being on the water a bit longer than the other boats so our chances of catching good size fish are high. This year we have an international crew, (British, Irish, Italian, Portuguese), our Italian sailor is an excellent chef and wine merchant so we are planning a menu to compliment the fish we will catch.

Our planned menu consists of: “eggplant parmigiana” with Morellino di Scansano, “lasagna bolognese” with Chianti Classico, “porcini mushroom lasagna” with Amarone for the first few days when the weather is rough, then “yellowfin tuna carpaccio” with Ribolla Gialla, “risotto with dorado”  with Pinot Grigio, “yellowfin tuna tartare” with Sauvignon Blanc, “linguine with dorado, cherry tomatoes and capers” with Tocai Friulano, “risotto alla parmigiana” with Soave Classico. All depends on what we catch.”

Explorer
“The first cool beer on the beach generally tastes pretty good” says Ant Day of his previous experiences of the San Fernando Race. This year, Ant is racing on his relatively new boat, Explorer, a XC50 that he has had since 2011. She was in fact built “strictly for cruising” and so this is her first offshore and Ant is looking forward to “stretching her legs” and finding out how she performs.”

“Like many in premier cruising we are hoping for solid breeze. Closing the Philippines coast in light conditions always presents a interesting challenge.” he adds.

Whilst the 2013 edition of the Race is Ant’s sixth, the “legendary crew which is up for the challenge” has more than 40 San Fernando Races between them! Nick Atkinson is the “nipper” at 33 and Arnie Lunty at 66 knows his way around for sure. Andy Pilcher is coming up from New Zealand. San Fernando Race Chairman, Gerry Daughton, is also on board.

Ant says it’s “always good to get offshore with good mates” and adds that “Gerry Daughton and Arnie Lunty did their first Race together 25 years ago on Sidewinder – and have not raced offshore together since then – hmmm.”

 Clove Hitch
Another first-time entry into the San Fernando Race is Clove Hitch, a Bavaria 55 owned by Alex Yu. There will be 10 sailing friends and regular crew on board for the Race ranging in age from 42 to 55 (“middle age sailors” as Alex describes). Amongst the crew are three ex-mariners and Alex says the “trip will allow us to recall our good memories of sailing across the oceans some 20 years ago. We are now going to be on a small little boat enjoying the lovely sunshine on the deep blue sea with no engine noise and dirty exhaust from the funnel. ”

Clove Hitch competed in last year’s Rolex China Sea Race, coming first place in IRC Premier Cruising.

Orient Express
Orient Express is an X41 owned for the past two years by Andy Lam. They’ll have at least seven on board for the San Fernando Race and everyone on board is noteworthy “especially Mark Whitehead and Andy Lam” so say they! Gray Gibson is known to many and he’s flying in from New Zealand to join the crew.

Orient Express has taken part in the 2012 Taiwan Strait Race and the 2012 Rolex China Sea Race, winning the former and retiring from the latter.

We asked them “if you have taken part in this Race before, what have been the highlights?” and the simple reply? “Finishing”. They are in the Race “to win” and what they are looking forward to the most is “the team spirit on the boat, the determination and will to complete and hopefully win…. and the avoidance of Easter holidays in Hong Kong!”

Standard Insurance Centennial
Several members of the Philippine National Team make up the 14-strong crew of TP52, Standard Insurance Centennial (formerly Jelik 5).

Skipper Judes Echauz makes the introductions and tells us more… “we have Allan Balladares and Rommel Chavez, our 470 team who won the Asian Sailing Championship in 2008. 1st runner up in the last Mirror Dinghy World Championship, consistent top three in the last three Seagames and most recently last year, 1st in the Hong Kong International Dinghy Regatta last October. Tutoy Villena/John John Escalante, our former 420 team who also won the Asian Sailing Championship in the class in 2008, consistent top three in the 420 in the Seagames until their upgrade to the 470 where they have been the back up 470 team for the Philippines. The most recent win was 2nd to Balladares/Rommel in the last Hong Kong International Dinghy Regatta last October.

Ruben Cruz, our top Laser men sailor, who has been one of the top laser sailor in the last two Seagames and the most recent was placing 1st in the laser men’s class in the last Hong Kong International Dingy Regatta. In the clinic held by ISAF Solidarity last June, 2012 in Bantam Island, Indonesia among some Asian countries, he placed 1st.

Our oldest is myself, the skipper, at 65 and the youngest is John John Escalante at 17 years old.

The first time the yacht competed, it placed 3rd in the last Rolex China Sea Race, 2nd overall in the China Coast Cup and the 2nd also in the last year’s Hong Kong to Hainan race.

Under the old yacht, Centennial II, with, more or less, the same team there had been plenty of championships including twice in the Rolex China Sea Race.

This will be the first time that we shall be entering the San Fernando Race, then we will compete in the Commodore’s Cup in Subic immediately after. After these big boat regattas, the team will focus on the training for the Seagames in Myanmar this coming December.

We are the only team or yacht from the Philippines consistently entering offshore races in Hong Kong. We enjoyed competing with the top yachts in Asia and especially hosted by the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club, not only for its excellence in organisation but its distinct friendliness with the Hong Kong the sailing community with whom we have been familiar with.

We are looking at a better position than our 3rd last time primarily with a more complete sail wardrobe especially with the relatively new spinnakers and definitely a more experienced routing strategy.

Our gracious host in Hong Kong who has been assisting us a lot and making our races possible, especially with the TP, has been Frank Pong to whom we are very much thankful for.”

Other boats participating include Antipodes and Peninsula Signal 8.

For more details, visit www.sanfernandorace.com.