Hebe Jebes Dec/Nov 2013 | Page 8

Club Matters Ale Shek Marine Operations Simon Robertson Sailing Centre Committee Chairman With the onset of cooler weather conditions,onecouldthinkthattheHebe Haven Slam Sailing Centre staff would be enjoying some well-earned down time after a busy summer programme of sailing. Unfortunately for the staff of the Centre, the months of October and November are the two busiest months of dinghy sailing in the Club. In early October, Challenge Week saw over 50 school kids try their hand at sailing. Some of these kids had had previous sailing experience but the majority were first-time sailors. Immediately following Challenge Week, the Hebe Dragons Racing Squad spent a weekend on the water with international guest coach Raphael Di Donna from Uruguay. Raphael is a highly qualified racing coach, having trained several Uruguayan Optimist champions in his career. The sailors were put through two weekends of intensive race training and all benefited immensely from his tuition. Mid-October saw Hebe Race Week being held, with over 50 sailors and volunteers participating, making this year’s regatta one that will be remembered for a long time. Sailors were coached in the morning by Alfred and Raffa, and then had a chance to put into practice what they had learnt in the afternoon races. Wednesday of Race Week, the Around the Island Race took place—an excellent opportunity for parents to sail with their children. Hebe Race Week would not be the memorable regatta it is without the Monday night games, held at Trio Beach this year, and the talent quest and bingo night on the Wednesday. Friday afternoon saw the presentation of the prizes for the week’s sailing then, like all regattas, a party was held to celebrate the event. This year, with the changing of the dates of Hebe Race Week, the party coincided with the Club’s Halloween Party and all enjoyed a great night of games and entertainment. Thank you Raphael for all your efforts in coercing the sailors and volunteers during Race Week and making the event a fantastic regatta enjoyed by all. With Hebe Race Week behind them, the staff then shifted into high gear and started to prepare the Club’s dinghies for the annual 24-hr Charity Dinghy Race. It is by far the biggest dinghy event held by the Club and takes a huge amount of planning and coordination, all supervised by the chairman of the 24-hr Race Committee. All Club equipment and dinghies had to be checked to make sure they were in good, running order and any necessary repairs were carried out. This also included any repairs to the borrowed dinghies from RHKYC and ABC. This year’s 24-hr Charity Dinghy Race started in fantastic winds. With eight knots at the start and winds through the night predicted to have been 15 knots, this year’s event had the possibility of smashing the race record for the most laps sailed. With the winds dropping completely when the sun went down and not picking up again until the next morning, however, the only record that was broken this year was for the longest timed lap. One unfortunate group of sailors took just under three hours 10 Hebe jebes • NOV/DEC 2013 to complete a single lap. Congratulations to all sailors who took part this year in very trying conditions. As the Centre tidied up from the 24-hr Race, the first week of November saw over 200 students complete taster days of sailing. The racing squad is continuing to train and compete in regattas around Hong Kong. December 7 and 8 sees Hebe Haven Yacht Club host the 2013 Hong Kong Optimist Dinghy Association (HKODA) Nationals. It is a great honour to host this event and the Club is expecting over 50 young sailors to compete in this year’s regatta. Fair winds. 天氣漸漸轉冷,您可能以為白沙灣遊艇會Slam航海中心工作 人員能在暑期航海課程後,忙裡偷閒一下,其實10月及11月是 本會最忙碌的兩個月﹗ 10月上旬,Challenge Week (挑戰週) 吸引了逾50位學生 參與,小部分學生擁有航海經驗,大多數則是新手﹔緊接 賽事,Hebe Dragons隊於週末接受特訓,並由來自烏拉圭的國 際客席教練Raphael Di Donna執教,Raphael 擁有豐富經驗, 職業生涯中曾訓練多名烏拉圭Optimist組別的冠軍選手,經過 兩個週末的密集性特訓,隊員都受益匪淺。 10月中旬,我們舉辨了Hebe Race Week,吸引了逾50名選 手及志願者參與今年盛事,賽事當日, Alfred 和Raffa於早上 進行比賽前最後操練,選手則在下午賽事發揮學習所得﹔比賽 週週三進行環島賽,為選手家長提供難能可貴機會,與子女共 享航海之樂﹔不得不提週一晚上於三星灣泳灘舉行的賽事, 以及週三晚上舉辦的搜尋人才(talent quest) 及 bingo比賽, 都令比賽週生色不少﹔週五下午則舉辦頒獎禮及不能或缺的慶 祝派對,今年,Hebe Race Week一再改期,賽期最終遇上萬 聖節之夜派對,大家都能盡情狂歡,再次感謝Raphael 為比賽 週統籌一切,令大家都能樂在其中﹗ 比賽週過後,大家都忙於準備今年24小時慈善小艇賽,這是 本會舉辦過最大型的小艇賽事,策劃及協調工作之多,實在難 以言喻,工作由賽事委員會主席親自監督。所有設備及小艇(包 括從香港遊艇會及ABC借調的小艇)須進行檢查,以確保適合比 賽之用,如有需要,亦會進行維修,以策安全。 24小時慈善小艇賽當日風勢清勁,一開始風速已達8節, 晚上風速更預計達15節,大家都期望能打破航行最多圈的比賽 紀錄,然而,隨著黃昏時分風勢轉弱,情況至翌日早上仍未有 轉變下,唯一能打破的就是最長計時圈紀錄 — 一組選手花了 整整三小時才能完成一個單圈﹗最後,恭賀所有能克服逆境, 順利完成賽事的選手﹗ 隨著大家收拾比賽心情,11月首個星期,航海中心接待了200 多名學生,