South African team shines on 1st day at China Cup

SHENZHEN: South Africa's Sheraton team, with former Team Shosholoza skipper Mark Sadler at the helm, won the opening passage race from Hong Kong to Shenzhen making a strong start to the third China Cup International Regatta on Friday.

In the streaky Easterly breeze which produced a testing, tricky beat Sheraton started cleanly on the pin end of the start line and were able to benefit to the left of the long upwind beat in the early stages of what was scheduled to be a 32 mile course. The highly experienced team which includes former Fireball world champion and 470 Olympian Martin Lambprecht on mainsheet and Paul Wilcox calling tactics were able to change gears smartly as the breeze rose and fell, extending to win by over three minutes after the course was shortened.

The South African crew formed by co-skippers Robbie Dove, the South African Beneteau dealer and principal of the Ocean Sailing Academy, and Ellian Perch, renowned former Orion Express international campaigner, may be short on miles sailing in the regatta's principal class, the 30 strong one design fleet of matched Beneteau First 40.7's, but they showed a ready awareness of how to keep the boat moving well in the difficult choppy seas when the breeze sagged to just 6-7 knots at times.

"We had a nice start on the pin end and we were able to cross the fleet. Once we had passed the island we were able to get up to the boats which had stayed further offshore and it was fairly straightforward for us after that," said Lambrecht.

"We had two quick sails in the last couple of days to tune the boat and went straight into the first race. I have done the China Coast Cup before and that was with Ellian Perch many years ago and we did the Hong Kong to Vietnam race before, on the ILC 40 Orion Express."

"It is all a little bit lighter than we are used to off Cape Town. But we think there will be a little more wind Sunday, Monday," Lambrecht said.

In the international fleet from 12 different countries and regions, local Hong Kong team Simpson Marine skippered by Robin Wyatt took second with New Zealand's Yachtfinders Global finishing third.

In the IRC Class it was business as usual as Frank Pong's Reichel Pugh 76 footer Jelik broke the finish line first and went on to save their time on Shawn Kang and Carl Law's Beneteau First 50 Fatina.

The diet of windward-leeward and trapezoid racing begins Saturday and runs through until Monday.

China Daily

(China Daily 10/31/2009 page8)