Hong Kong, 12 March 2018: Glorious sunshine and breezy conditions ensured a weekend of thrilling racing at the Boase Cohen & Collins Inter-School Sailing Festival.
The two-day regatta at the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club’s Middle Island facility featured 24 teams from 18 educational establishments fighting for honours. The teams battled through a total of 126 short-course races in two categories – Division A for Feva dinghies and Division B for Pico dinghies.
The Feva competition was closely fought with three schools tied on four wins each at the finish. French International School – winners in 2016 and runners-up last year – emerged victorious on a countback ahead of West Island School in second and Island School in third.
Jockey Club Ti-I College were popular winners of the Pico class, reward for their perseverance after finishing runners-up in 2016 and third last year. ISF Academy were second and Hong Kong Schools Sailing Association third.
Boase Cohen & Collins Senior Partner Colin Cohen, who presented the trophies and medals, plus sailing scholarship grants to the winning schools, commented: “Our congratulations go not only to the winners but to all the teams for showing such enthusiasm, effort and sportsmanship, resulting in a wonderful weekend of racing.
“Once again, the Yacht Club has done an outstanding job in organising this event. On behalf of everyone at Boase Cohen and Collins, I would like to thank all the club’s staff and the large number of volunteers who helped make the festival such a success.
”This was our third year as title sponsor and we are delighted that this regatta continues to grow with more and more young people being given the opportunity to experience sailing for the first time. As well, we hosted more than 50 business associates, friends and family members in the clubhouse on Saturday afternoon, making it a memorable weekend both on and off the water. We look forward to returning next year.”
Saturday saw all teams racing against each other in a round robin format. In the Pico Division, Tai Po Regional Squad and ISF Academy took wins in all their races, pushing them into the Gold fleet going into the final day of racing. Due to a breakage in the Feva Division only 16 races were sailed on Saturday so the remaining races were sailed on Sunday morning to decide the Gold and Silver fleets.
In preparation for the competition, many of the schools competing participated in a number of RHKYC sailing programmes throughout the year to get ready for the festival.
The event was also designated a Clean Regatta by Sailors for the Sea, a non-profit organisation dedicated to conserving and protecting the ocean. Around 1,000 sailing events worldwide are registered with the Clean Regatta programme, which encourages sustainability and limiting environmental impact.
BC&C INTER-SCHOOL SAILING FESTIVAL RESULTS
Feva Division: 1-French International School, 2-West Island School, 3-Island School, 4-King George V School.
Pico Division: 1-Jockey Club Ti-I College, 2-ISF Academy, 3-Hong Kong Schools Sailing Association, 4-French International School.