The Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club (RHKYC) has released the Notice of Race and opened Online Entry for the inaugural Hong Kong to Puerto Galera Yacht Race.
The main race fleet will start on 17 April 2019 - with IRC Racer 3 / IRC Cruiser and HKPN boats starting on 16 April, for an anticipated finish together with the main race fleet. The start line will be in front of the RHKYC’s Kellett Island Clubhouse located in Causeway Bay with Hong Kong’s iconic skyline and Victoria Harbor acting as an impressive backdrop.
The Hong Kong to Puerto Galera Race will be the second longest Category 1 offshore race in Asia, second only to the Club’s Hong Kong to Vietnam Race and takes competitors on a 650nm passage to Puerto Galera, on the island of Mindoro in the Philippines.
The race is supported by the Puerto Galera Yacht Club, situated within one the world's rarest and most beautiful, natural typhoon shelters, and recognised as a hub for all cruising routes in and out of the West Pacific. Puerto Galera’s surrounding beaches and coves offer all the activities and facilities that one could wish for in a tropical paradise: scuba diving, snorkelling, golf, kayaking, hiking, swimming, tennis, bars, music and restaurants.
Early entries for the 2019 race include Joachim Isler and Andrew Taylor’s Mills 41 Ambush and Raphael Blot’s Banuls 60 Cat Mach 2.
Race Chairman Andrew Taylor said, “This race promises to deliver all the elements of the greatest of blue water classics. Traditional breeze conditions of East to North easterlies heading out of Hong Kong into the South China Sea and arriving into the warm clear waters of a truly spectacular tropical setting. We look forward to this race cementing its place as one of best offshore races in the Asia Pacific and indeed around the world!”
The Hong Kong to Puerto Galera Yacht Race is planned to take place on alternate years to the Rolex China Sea Race which finishes in Subic Bay in the Philippines. The 2018 edition of the Rolex China Sea Race saw a 29 entries and the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club expects similar numbers for the inaugural Hong Kong to Puerto Galera Yacht Race.
See you on the start line!