Jeanneau shows Christmas spirit

alt="Jeanneau shows Christmas spirit"/>

Santa Claus costumes were out in full force on Hong Kong’s waters at the first Jeanneau Christmas Cup, organised by the Cruiser Owners Association (COA) and supported by Jeanneau dealer China Pacific Marine.

A total of 14 yachts competed in the one-day event, which was split into two legs. Leg One consisted of separate routes from Sai Kung, Victoria Harbour and Aberdeen to Shek O Rock, where all yachts assembled for Leg Two.

Sailors were greeted on the day by clear blue skies and light wind, with almost all teams dressed up and embracing the Christmas theme.

For Leg One, boats were grouped into three divisions based on their start line locations. Division One started at Sai Kung, while Division Two started in Victoria Harbour and included the Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 490 Perfect Day, sailed by Don Chow, the Director of China Pacific Marine, and Peter Wong on his Jeanneau Sun Fast 3600 Arcturus.

Simon Cheung, owner of the Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 440 Fairmile, was among competitors in Division Three starting from Aberdeen. For Leg One, Arthur Ho’s GA was the winner among the Sai Kung fleet while Frank Chu’s Fly by Wire took top prize in the Harbour fleet.

Leg two started at Shek O Rock, rounded Sung Kong Island and finished back at Shek O Rock. The event was open to all boats with an HKPN (Hong Kong Performance Number) rating. GA was again victorious, emerging as the overall winner of Leg Two on HKPN corrected time, ahead of Bob Roger’s Orrin Blue and Klaus Zimmer’s Bao Bao.

Lawrence Chow, Project Manager of China Pacific Marine and Chairman of the Hong Kong Boating Industry Association, said: “It has been nice to see so many boats out on the water for such a fun event leading up to Christmas. It has been great to see so many sailors dressed up for the occasion and we look forward to next year’s Jeanneau Christmas Cup.”

Tanguy Tertrais, Jeanneau’s Asia Pacific Sales Director, added: “We are very excited to be part of this race, one of many to come, as Jeanneau continues to support sailing and cruising in local waters.”

The awards ceremony for the Jeanneau Christmas Cup will be held in February 2023.