‘FreeFire’ Shatters Hong Kong to Hainan Yacht Race Record

‘FreeFire’ (left) and ‘Jelik 5’ duel on their way out of Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour after the start of the Hong Kong to Hainan race last week. (Bill Cox/The Epoch Times)

All boats did dummy runs to the line to get sailing settings and timing sorted, and at 12.20 pm the start gun sounded—off they went.

All eyes were on the “Big Boats”—FreeFire, Jelik 5, Zanzibar and Antipodes—to see who would win the race out of the harbour.

No less impressive were the Division-1 boats Wicked, EFG Bank Mandrake, Sell Side Dream, Ambush and Avant Garde. Red Kite II, although a smaller craft, is known to be very competitive; while the cruisers Xena and Koon Woon were also cutting a dash.

It was clear early on that FreeFire intended to sail hard, but the Filipino crewed Jelik 5, in particular, was well in contention as they duelled their way out of the harbour, with Antipodes close behind. The leaders out of the harbour were FreeFire, Jelik 5, Antipodes and Zanzibar.

FreeFire was never headed once leaving the harbour; but Antipodes and Jelik 5 were to have a momentous tussle all the way, with just 27 seconds separating them at the finish line.

All IRC Racing Class-0 boats finished in about 30 hours, Classes-1-2 and Xena the Premier Class Cruiser took about 10 hours longer and the rather heavy, steel hulled Koon Woon finished in 53 hours.

Unluckily, Avant Garde had technical problems early on and retired.

Next Event: The Tommy Bahama Around the Island Race takes place on Nov 11.