Rolex China Sea Race 2018 - 11 entries already including two from Mainland China 11 劳力士中国海帆船赛2018 -
Two Mainland Chinese boats have raced to enter the Rolex China Sea Race; and Race organisers hope more will follow.
Wang Bin’s UBOX Rolex China Sea Race 2016
photo: ROLEX / Daniel Forster
UBOX, a relative newcomer to international yacht racing returns for her second Rolex China Sea Race and Owner, Wang Bin, says he is approaching the 2018 edition differently “Honestly, the preparation for 2016 Rolex China Sea Race was conducted in a rush right before the event as we were so new to the event, although we received tremendous help from the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club and even from the other boats. We learned a lot from the 2016 race and will start our 2018 preparations as early as possible. This year we are entering the race with different boat; a Cookson 50, and hopefully the overall performance will be better.“
Of their 2016 experience, Wang Bin recounted “It was very exciting to enter the race for the first time. We managed well on the start line and became one of the leading boats out of Victoria Harbour - despite the heavy rain shutting the wind off completely. Everything was going well until the jib foot tore during the first night followed by severe damage to the main sail. The team contemplated retiring from the Race and sailing back to Hong Kong but persevered to repair the sails and carried on until the finish; completing our first Rolex event. We were disappointed for sure by the result but that encouraged us to be better prepared for the following events including the last year’s Rolex Sydney Hobart which had an entirely different outcome for the team.”
With the experience gained at the 2016 Rolex China Sea Race, Wang Bin and his crew entered the 2016 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race. Wang Bin added, “Both are blue water classics and both need meticulous preparation as you have no idea what is going to happen out on the water… we definitely learned the importance of such preparation from the Rolex China Sea Race and we applied those lessons to the Sydney Hobart.”
Closer to home, Wang Bin is confident that the entries from mainland China will at least double for the 2018 edition; “It’s a natural progression in the growth of our sports with more boats, more sailors, more experience. Also the success and profile of existing Chinese teams in the international sailing world encourage the others to have a go. Rolex China Sea Race is the most accessible long distance blue water event for those in the mainland China and there are now a growing number of teams which are capable of safely taking part in the event. I would say to the potential owners or skippers that the Rolex China Sea Race is a fantastic experience but don’t take my word for it – you need to experience it for yourselves”.
The Notice of Race for the 2018 Rolex China Sea Race starting on 28 March 2018 is available online at www.rolexchinasearace.com
劳力士中国海帆船赛2018
11个报名申请中包括2支来自中国大陆的队伍
现已收到2支来自中国大陆的队伍报名参加2018年的劳力士中国海帆船赛，赛委会期望陆续会收到更多队伍参赛。
来自中国大陆的UBOX号将会是第二次参加劳力士中国海帆船赛，船主王滨表示会以不同的态度来应战2018的赛事：「老实说，2016年是我们首次参加此项比赛，尽管已得到由香港游艇会及其他参赛船只的全力协助，赛前准备仍然充足。吸取了2016 年的经验，我们将会以Cookson 50型帆船参赛，并会提早为2018年赛事作好准备，希望能取得更好的成绩。」
王滨回想起2016年的赛事称：「因为这是首次参加比赛，所以心情特别兴奋。尽管在比赛开段时遇上大雨及无风等恶劣天气，我们仍然能成为首只冲出维港的赛船；一切都很顺利直至桅杆在首晚断裂并因此而损毁了主帆，团队有计划退出赛事，返回香港，但最后我们决定修理帆船，继续完成比赛。当然，这绝对不是我们期望得到的成绩，但这是一个很好的经验让我们在下一场比赛作更好的准备，劳力士悉尼至霍巴特帆船大赛就是一个很好的例子。
王滨及其团队综合了2016劳力士中国海帆船赛所得的经验，成功应用在2016劳力士悉尼至霍巴特帆船大赛中；王滨又称：「两项赛事均为经典的蓝海一级帆船赛，因在海面上会遇上各式各样的挑战，所以我们必须要有充足的赛前准备，还记得在劳力士中国海帆船赛中遇上的问题，我们会把所得的知识都应用在悉尼赛上。 」
比赛将至，王滨深信将会有更多来自中国大陆的船队参加2018的赛事：「要让一顶运动成熟发展，我们必须要有更多船只和帆船手参与，从中吸取更多经验；有份参加国际赛的中国船团都鼓励其他船队踊跃参加。劳力士中国海帆船赛是最接近中国的一顶蓝海帆船赛，现时已有愈来愈多船队安全并顺利完成赛事，我敢对各船长说，劳力士中国海帆船赛将会为你带来一个奇妙的旅程，不用犹豫，请立即报名参加，你需要亲身感受个中乐趣！」
劳力士中国海帆船赛2018将于2018年3月28日在香港游艇会举行，现已接受网上报名，有关赛事公告及其资讯请参阅以下网址www.rolexchinasearace.com。
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