HONG KONG TO VIETNAM RACE 2013 - BOAT INFORMATION

Avant Garde, an Archambault 40 RC owned by three avid sailors will have eight on board for the Audi Hong Kong to Vietnam Race. Five are from the regular Hong Kong-based crew, while the remaining three are international sailors - the eight represent a truly cosmopolitan crew with many nationalities represented, including Australia, Russia, Singapore, Thailand, United Kingdom and the United States. 

Josh Cole, one of Avant Garde’s owners explains their motivation for entering thus; “as Asia’s longest Cat 1 race, it is a unique opportunity to test our skill, experience and endurance against other yachts and the elements of nature.  As a team, we enjoy the camaraderie of working and sailing together just as much as the solitude of a late night watch under a star-filled sky.  Sailing is an untamable pastime that challenges us all to draw upon our deepest personal resources.  We see this race as a unique opportunity to leave our offices behind remind ourselves of who we are.”

Amongst the lineup, Josh thinks that they are “matched very closely to Sell Side Dream (Simon Powell’s A40), thus it’s natural to focus on it.  But it would be a careless oversimplification to assess our competition by boat ratings. We admire many of the other teams and hope to earn a respected place amongst them.”

“Racing a blue water passage is an odd mixture of sublime and uncomfortable experiences.  We can look forward to being exhausted and smelling awful but what we look forward to the most is when we commit to our strategy and it pays off after days of diligent effort.  The feeling of accomplishment at the end will be the thing that makes us want to do it all again!” adds Josh.