At 60, Jiang Lin may have spent the year-end festive season together with her ft up. As a substitute, she gained one of many world’s hardest yacht races, the 630nm Rolex Sydney Hobart, with just one crew, turning into the primary feminine to take action within the 80-year historical past of the occasion, and amid a report Chinese language entry record.
When her comparatively tiny 10m JPK 1030 yacht Min River, named for her ancestral homeland in Fujian Province, was confirmed winner of the premier IRC handicap prize, the Tattersall Cup, and of a Rolex Seamaster, it grew to become the crowning glory in a tough race that noticed all Asian entries end, no imply feat in a heavy beating race that noticed 35 of the 128 starters retire.
“I didn’t have hopes of profitable,” she mentioned in Hobart. “You concentrate on all of the 100-something boats, all the large boats and excellent sailors on the market. Not in my wildest goals did I believe this may come true for me. So no, I didn’t give it some thought. The very best could be profitable our division”.
Which, with the propitious sail quantity AUS888, she and co-crew, the French skilled sailor Alexis Loisin, did in addition to gathering general honours.
Lee Seng Huang’s SHK Scallywag 100, previously Syd Fischer’s Ragamuffin 100, kicked off the Asian problem this 12 months among the many superyachts. Sponsor SHK is his main funding and property agency Solar Hung Kai, though Lee additionally has Malaysian pursuits by Mulpha Australia with Sanctuary Cove, Hayman Island and different substantial holdings.
Group WhiteWave, aboard a Malaysian-built DK 46, Sail #8338, happened as a consequence of a partnership between Mark Griffith and Steve McConaghy of the eponymous boat builder in a Davidson 60 in Phuket. William Wu Liang joined them for a King’s Cup Regatta, and for this Rolex Sydney Hobart he provided the crew from his WhiteWave Crusing Centre in Shenzhen.
An all Chinese language crew was aboard the Beneteau 47.7 Marguerite, now owned by a Malaysian Chinese language couple and run for the Rolex Sydney Hobart by RYA Yachtmaster and Australian Crusing Keelboat Teacher Aaron Zhou and his spouse Joanne Wu.
As a result of yachting largely advanced on the China Coast in Hong Kong, numerous Asian-Australian expats additionally took half, together with funding banker Geoff Hill and his daughter Tash aboard the Santa Cruz 72 flyer Antipodes, and equally well-known Drew Taylor remarkably accomplished his 30th Rolex Sydney Hobart with dad Bruce on modest Chutzpah.
The race was first gained by a Royal Hong Kong Yacht Membership entry in 1973, when solicitor Invoice Turnbull quietly triumphed in Ceil 111, and Karl Kwok was the primary Chinese language male to win in 1997 on Beau Geste. His sail quantity was HKG 1997.
Phrases: Bruce Maxwell; Pictures: Rolex & Salty Dingo Media
This text was first seen on YACHT STYLE
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