February 2012

Kung Hei Fat Choy to everyone! It was good to see so many of you at Kellett Island for the Lion Dance and fireworks. And many thanks to our General Manager Mark Bovaird for helping me dot the eyes of the lions.
The Dragon is a creature of myth and legend. And 2012 is the Year of the Water Dragon (out of the five Chinese elements). It symbolises power, passion, vision and, most of all, success.

Locally, as some of you might be aware, we are working on a number of long-term projects that will benefit not only us but our next generation as well. These projects cover our vision of the development of Wanchai waterfront, the enhancement of Kellett Island, and community contributions, just to name a few. On a wider front, we will continue to play a strong role in international events and establish an even stronger tie with China and the region. With power, passion and vision, I am confident that the Club will see success in the Year of the Dragon.

In December Geoff Hill took part in his 15th Rolex Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race sailing with members Adam Mowser, Ian Fleming, Olivier Decamps and Mark Phillips on Strewth, our Honorary Treasurer Drew Taylor competed in his 20th Sydney to Hobart with his father Bruce, on Chutzpah, while Ant Day, Russ Parker and Gordon Gregor were on Ffreefire 52. Strewth and Chutzpah respectively finished 8th in IRC Divisions 1 and 2, and 30th and 47th IRC Overall on corrected time.

In addition to the Sydney to Hobart Race, the Club will be represented by Mark Thornburrow and Ante Razmilovic at the Etchells Worlds, which will be held in Sydney from 19 to 25 February. I wish them the very best of luck, and also team leader Warwick Downes and the team of Optimist, 420, Laser and 470 sailors who will be taking part in the 15th Asian Sailing Championships in Langkawi from 16 to 25 February.

In local sailing, there was a great turnout for the Tomes Cup presented by Leica in January, with  51 boats entered. We are thankful for the support of the title sponsor, Leica, and other supporting sponsors SENZANOME, Sunsail, Veuve Clicquot and Prestige Magazine for the 2012 regatta. Congratulations to the winner Jimmy Farquhar on 3 x 11. Coming up we have the Class Regatta at Port Shelter on the weekend of 11 and 12 February. This year I am delighted to have China Pacific Marine supporting this event as ‘Official Luxury Boat – Jeanneau’.

Congratulations are due to the Royal X-Teams who competed at last year’s Dragon Boat Races at Stanley. They raised a total of $108,380 for Room to Read and this was matched by a donation from Winton Capital to make the fantastic total of $216,760.
Every month I tend to say thank you to participants or congratulations to winners of sailing and rowing events. Whilst we cannot mention everyone by name, our Vision as a Club has us striving to promote our core sports at all times. As a result, I would like to encourage everyone to participate in more of our sailing and rowing events. After all this is why we joined the Club in the first place – to sail or row!

On 10 February we are delighted to welcome Miles Seddon to the Club for a Speaker’s Corner in the Chart Room. Miles is the Business Development Manager for B&G, who provides regatta support at most Grand Prix sailing events including the Volvo Ocean Race and America’s Cup. He will be speaking on a few different topics including the need for sailing instruments and Smarter Sailing. I am sure this will prove to be a very popular talk.

None of the above activities could materialise without the professional teamwork of our management and staff. Our staff are therefore very important to us and, following the completion of our Members’ Satisfaction survey a few months ago, we have just finished our Staff Satisfaction Survey and are now working on plans to continue fostering one of our missions – that of being an ’Employer of Choice’.

Finally, to all our members and staff, again, I wish you all a very healthy and prosperous Year of the Dragon.
 

Ambrose Lo
Commodore