Avant Garde on the start line for the 17 October Hong Kong to Vietnam Race

Sept. 24, 2013 - PRLog -- 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 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 untameable 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.

About the Audi Hong Kong to Vietnam Race

First conceived in 1996 when it was run at Lunar New Year, this 656nm Category 1 offshore race is now a biennial fixture in the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club sailing calendar. A constituent event of RHKYC’s popular China Coast Race Week, the race makes the most of October’s prevailing north east monsoon to give competitors a thrilling, predominantly downwind race from Hong Kong to Nha Trang on Vietnam’s eastern seaboard. The 2013 edition will see a sixteen-strong fleet chasing the current race record of 42h 45m 41s, which was set in 2004 by Grant Wharington’s Skandia.

Official Audi Hong Kong to Vietnam Race website at: http://www.rhkyc.org.hk/hkvietnamrace.aspx

Follow the Race on the Club’s Facebook page at: www.facebook.com/rhkyc

Armchair sailors can also track the race via Yellowbrick tracking at: http://www.rhkyc.org.hk/hkvyellowbrick.aspx