A bold strategy to move the Rolex China Sea Race start forward by more than a month, to take advantage of the abating but still stronger nor’east monsoon, led to “one of the fastest and most demanding editions of the RCSR ever held”, said organisers Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club.
Words: Bruce Maxwell; Photos: Andrea Francolini / Rolex

Seawolf became the first mainland Chinese-flagged yacht to win the Rolex China Sea Race

It resulted in a first-ever win by a yacht flying the Chinese mainland flag, William Liu’s Ker 42 Custom Seawolf, as opposed to that of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region or SAR, which is meant to span the 1997-2046 transition period from British to full Chinese rule.

Seawolf was second overall last outing to Nie Hua’s TP52 Happy Go from Hong Kong, and has tackled the Rolex China Sea Race five times, so she has shown a steady improvement to eventually claim top honours, a great achievement.

RHKYC’s Vivian Ngan, who was in Subic Bay as the fleet finished, tells us that Seawolf’s skipper, Yan Yu Ye, said: “We always believed we could win, and this victory means a lot. The conditions were tough, with strong winds and some damage, but we were lucky to have a steady breeze most of the way. Only near the finish did we fall into a light patch, but the team pulled through.”

Rolex Philippines’ Brahim Drissi presents the Rolex China Sea Race Trophy and a Rolex timepiece to Seawolf skipper Yan Yu Ye

Seawolf navigator Campbell Field said: “Our multinational crew prepared and worked well together. We studied the course, developed a clear plan, and mostly stuck to it. The final approach required a few adjustments, which was frustrating after such a fast crossing, but nothing caught us off guard.”

The China Sea Race, started in 1962, was once Asia’s premier bluewater event, on a par with the Kenwood Cup in Hawaii, Southern Cross Cup and Sydney-Hobart, and the Admiral’s Cup and Fastnet Race starting at Cowes in England, and now finishing at Cherbourg-en-Cotentin in France.

Thirty years ago, its significant sponsors were transferred to a newly-conceived China Coast Cup, around the cans in choppy waters, which afforded a few proponents a better chance of winning trophies than in variable South China Sea conditions.

CSR entries plummeted, and have been struggling to return to their halcyon days ever since, when international yachts like Ballyhoo, Kialoa and Windward Passage, and Nirvana and Condor, provided much of the glamour.

Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club hosted pre-race activities and the start

Chinese owners such as Frank Pong and Karl Kwok came to the fore, but more recently covid disrupted the event again, as ports were closed. Sir Robin Knox-Johnston’s Clipper Round the World Race was trapped in Subic Bay, with nowhere to go, for more than a year.

A CSR was held in 2023, after 2022 was cancelled due to covid, and resumed as a biennial event in 2024-2026 etc, but fleet numbers were down to 25 and then 20 this year as the new timeslot was introduced.

The Category 1 ocean race, originally 630nm from Hong Kong to Manila Bay and now 565nm to nearby Subic Bay in the Philippines, has traditionally been held over Easter holidays, when MYC used to be co-host and Filipino crew were available in the predominantly Catholic 7,000-isle archipelago.

Alive-Rampage on her way to line honours

But Easter is not a fixed date, and can fall in some years in late April, when the nor’east monsoon has well and truly waned, and arrival of the wet sou’west monsoon is still awaited. Obviously the answer is to move the race forward, except this risks running into Chinese New Year in Jan-Feb, also dependent on the stars.

RHKYC’s 2026 CSR Committee Chairman, Hugues de Saint Germain, took the plunge and opted for a start two weeks after the mid-Feb CNY, when many Chinese are returning from 1-2 week family gatherings.

“I think the event was a great success”, he said in retrospect. “Although some yachts did retire in lighter airs in the lee of Luzon, all remaining vessels finished in 2-3 days, much faster overall than in previous events. We are very pleased that moving the race forward by about a month delivered the improved conditions hoped for.”

Moonblue 2 owner Peter Churchouse has competed in the race for over four decades

Several crews also praised the conditions, calling it “the fastest Rolex China Sea Race” they had ever experienced. Veteran sailor and Moonblue 2 owner Peter Churchouse remarked: “I’ve been doing this race since 1982. I think this is the fastest we’ve ever done.”

I first set off myself in the 6th CSR in 1972, and spent two decades on the China Sea Race and odd-year San Fernando Race Committees. From that perspective, and reporting on subsequent events, the timing shift is a very good one. It should lead to a resurgence in entries, and a return to gold status among world events.

It was an oddball line-up in 2026 even so, with half a dozen larger IRC racers providing the hottest competition.

After Alive-Rampage secured line honours, Brahim Drissi presented the Sunday Telegraph Trophy and a Rolex timepiece to Noel Chan and Duncan Hine

Australian Phil Turner’s Reichel Pugh 66 Alive had already won two Rolex Sydney-Hobarts, the second quite recently, and established the Rolex CSR race record of 47 hours 31 minutes 8 seconds a whole decade ago. The vessel contested last year’s Melbourne-Osaka double-hander.

Turner spends his time between Asia and Australia, and Alive is very well-known on the regatta circuit. Skippered by Duncan Hine, this year saw input from Rampage owner Noel Chan, in a combined attempt to beat the vessel’s own record, but they missed out by an hour or two when the wind went light under Luzon, the Philippines’ largest island, as they approached Subic Bay.

Such was also the fate of Ernesto Echauz’ Standard Insurance Centennial V, a Reichel Pugh 75 and the largest yacht in the fleet. Already a line honours and handicap winner, the long-time insurance executive has been developing Filipino sailors’ skills for many years, and TP52 Standard Insurance Centennial VII skippered by Ridgely Balladares was in the fray too.

Ernesto Echauz had two Centennials competing for the Philippines

Stefan Fillip’s Neo One, a Neo 400+ with a former China Sea Race Committee Chairman navigating, was among the IRC Overall silverware, as were Seawolf and Happy Go as already reported.

IRC Racer 1 went to Henning Mueller’s Jeanneau Sun Fast 3600 Zesst in that category, from Johnson Yuen’s Zoe’s Guard and Fraser Smith and Glenn Smith aboard the Grand Soleil 44 Wild Card.

Otherwise there were IRC Premier, Double-Handed and PHS entries, including in the former category Nautor Swans, which retain their formidable offshore reputation and prowess.

Tiger Mok’s single-handed entry was accepted for the 565nm event

Perhaps the most unusual was a single-handed challenge by the ebullient Tiger Mok, sailing a Sun Fast 3600 2 Easy. He finished in 3 days 6 hours 30 minutes, a lot faster than many yachts in times past.

“To be the first person to race the Rolex China Sea Race solo is truly unique,” Mok said. “This race is tough enough double-handed. Doing it single-handed this edition wasn’t easy, but it exceeded my expectations. Things aligned and I made it. It’s very hard, but achievable. I’m glad I made the decision to have a go at it six months ago.”

The mental challenge was the biggest, he told RHKYC’s Vivian Ngan. “Physically it was manageable, because I tried to be safe and take small steps, doing things one at a time before the weather hit.

Mok completed the course in good time on his Jeanneau Sun Fast 3600

“But mentally it was really stressful. The weather and unexpected gear malfunctions always seem to happen during a race, no matter how much you test them beforehand. You fix something, and then you wonder what will fail next. That keeps your head spinning.”

Yachts experienced a steady 20-30 knots of wind across the South China Sea, gusting higher at times.

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