July 2024
Sailability's Newsletter 'Limitless' Edition 4 is now available.
We hope you enjoy your read. If you would
like to be added to our mailing list please
write to info@sailability.org.hk
23rd July 2024 MoHan's 2nd Birthday
to see what she has achieved
in the past 2 years click here:
7th July - UK Sailmakers Typhoon Series at HHYC
Race 4 of the UK SAILMAKERS Typhoon Series took place at the weekend.
55 boats including MoHan participated on a very hot day, with a sea breeze and
blue sky making for some stunning conditions and photographs.
Well done to the race management team and everyone else who made it happen.
Thank you Takumi Photography for the excellent photos. Please contact him
directly for any photo orders. takumiimages.com
29th June to 1st July - Macau Race
Over the holiday weekend Sailability took part in an offshore race!
The event, organised by the Cruiser Owners Association, is the Macau Rally which involves sailing
Hong Kong to Macau on Saturday 29 June, with the return leg on Monday 1 July.
Sailability Co-Founder and CEO Kay Rawbone said, “this is something new, another milestone for
us. We are always eager to showcase the inclusivity of what we do.”
MoHan was crewed as usual with a mixed team of para sailors and able-bodied sailors and on Leg 1,
found herself in a sudden squall. Skipper Fred and the team handled it all well, with everyone
onboard being fine, using the remainder of the trip to dry out. As you will see from the photographs,
MoHan arrived in Macau just as the sun was going down, creating some beautiful skyscapes.
One of the most anxious moments on the voyage was going underneath the 4 bridges when entering
Macau as the tall main mast appeared to get quite close to the underside of the bridge structure!
MoHan and her crew have arrived back in Hong Kong safely on 1st July after competing in the COA Macau
Rally for the first time! The return leg started with a 9am immigration slot at the Macau Yacht Club and by
9.30am the team were onboard MoHan and moving off to the race start. The race start was a free start
time which is be sent to the organisers followed by times sent at each gate and then the finish time.
Kay Rawbone who is part of the MoHan crew said, “the wind was amazing and most of the return trip
was downwind sailing. Everyone was so happy about this after a very long trip on Leg1 with only 4 boats
finishing.”
On the way to the start line pink dolphins were sighted which caused much excitement!
MoHan reached the race start at 10.30am and recorded a finish time of 14.34. That’s only 4 hours!!!!!
Halfway through the Leg 2 race MoHan had a change of crew positions. The main positions, usually
taken by Para Sailors, were taken over by to our very loyal volunteers for them to enjoy and to learn
more about the handling of MoHan in this race. Well done Daphne, Ransom and Leo. It was also good
to see our para sailors assisting these 3 amazing volunteers in their new crew roles.
This whole event was brilliant and very well organised. A huge thank you to Will and COA. More thank
you's to Fred our Skipper, our Para Sailors and our volunteers who give so much support enabling us
to do what we do as we continue to make sailing accessible to EVERYONE.
12th July 'Focus on Ability' Film Festival
A big thank you to Zama Lopez Linhardt, who along with another Sailability Volunteer Marco Leung, have produced a new film "Ripples of Resilience" about two Sailability HK sailors.
The film has been specifically created for the NOVA Employment's 2024 "Focus on Ability Short Film Festival," an international festival based in Australia that aims to empower individuals with disabilities.
Zama said, "It's been such a pleasure to work closely with Sailability Hong Kong over the years, and for Kay Rawbone BEM to trust and give me the opportunity to highlight this story."
This film focuses on two sailors: Elia, an 11-year-old girl with Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia (HHT), and Mark Poon, an older man battling Muscular Dystrophy. Despite their daily challenges, they refuse to be defined by their conditions. Instead, they find solace and joy in the freedom of sailing.
If you enjoy the film, we would greatly appreciate a like on the video, and more importantly to share the film to your friends and family.
You can read more about the film festival here https://www.focusonability.com.au/ and cast your vote during the online voting period from July 30 to August 5.
Thank you for your support!
Click here to watch the film:
https:/youtu.be/uyl9k-gDGTM
Selection trials have ended for the
2024 Hansa Asia Pacific Championships to be held in Brisbane, Australia,
20th to 25th October - watch this space for the results!!!!
International Hansa Event Details
Hong Kong Selection Trials NOR
Clelia's Internship at Sailability Hong Kong, from the 17th to 21st June
Clelia, a student from the French International School, participated in a week-long internship with Sailability Hong Kong. Her week began with a volunteer refresher course. Clelia spent two days on the water, surrounded by a group of volunteers. Together, they experienced the challenges of sailing, and practised some disability awareness exercises. Despite having no sailing experience, she was interested to learn more about the organisation. Over the week, she saw how Sailability Hong Kong provides a supportive environment for people with disabilities to enjoy sailing. She discovered that sailing is one of the most inclusive sports. Once on the water, everyone becomes equal—abled and disabled, young and old. Clelia also contributed to the organisation's website, seeing all the different types of work needed to run this charity. Also, she saw the dedication of the parasailers during one of their training sessions. Their hard work showed the impact of Sailability Hong Kong's mission.
16th June
Rainy days are what you make of them….
When the rain came on Saturday the Sailability instructors had to improvise. And it was back to the classroom for a session on knots and ropes!
9th June
After another showery week it was business as usual for Sailability on Saturday.
A group of ethnic minority sailors took our Hansa 303’s out in the morning and in the afternoon had their first taste of a big yacht on MoHan. The group included some who were sailing for the first time ever, and also one person has been coming back regularly since 2020 when the Scallywag ethnic minorities Programme first ran.
The Saturday Sailing group were also out on the water trying to dodge the dark clouds.
Sun Hung Kai Scallywag Foundation Programme, Morning Hope School, 4th June
This was their graduation day: a group of six new sailors from this school, social worker Ming, together with instructor Jack Shum the youth, enjoyed a six day sailing experience, which included learning how to come alongside a safety boat. On a bad weather day they learnt sailing theory and how to tie different types of sailing knots. As always, there was a real improvement in confidence, independance, communication, seen with all the six who graduated. Thank you Sun Hung Kai for making a sailing experience available to under-represented youth in Hong Kong, it really makes a difference.
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2024 SE Asian Para Championships - Sailing Instructions
2024 SE Asian Para Championships - NOR,
Notice of Race
2024 SE Asian Para Championships -Results
Chinese New Year at Sailability - 12th of February
Hebe Haven Yacht Club is the home of Sailability HK and the club support us in many ways. HHYClub hosted a traditional Lion Dance to mark the start of the New Year!
The Sun Hung Kai & Co. Hong Kong Race Week organised by RHKYC - 2nd of February
This is an international event which this year attracted 271 sailors from 10 countries and regions including Australia, Canada, Hong Kong (China), Ireland, Japan, Macau (China) Mainland China, Singapore, Thailand, and the USA.
The Hong Kong weather proved challenging for participants and race organisers alike with foggy, misty conditions forcing officials to relocate the race course on more than one occasion.
Sailability HK para sailors were competing in the 2.4mR class and Foo Yuen Wai, who was Hong Kong Para Sailor of the year for 2023, was crowned champion for the 4th time! He won 11 of the 12 races to complete a truly emphatic performance.
Eric Leung was in second place while Tsun Ming Chan and Sylvia Leung engaged in an epic tussle for third place with Tsun Ming Chan eventually gabbing the podium spot.
After the race Tsun Ming, who predominantly uses one hand to control the boat said, “After 2 days of sailing, I lost all feeling in my hand.” He also vowed to come back stronger 💪🏻 in 2025, “I aim to get a better placing next year.”
January
Four Peak Race - 27th and 28th of January
The Four Peaks Race is living up to its reputation as a tough challenge which is organised by Aberdeen Boat Club and sponsored by Solaris Yachts. During this challenge, the boats sail to 4 locations in HK, and then 2 crew members run up each peak and back to the boat. This challenge tests the tactics and stamina of the teams, including the Sailability team on Blu. This team, consisting of 13 people on board aged 21 to 72, included 7 people with disabilities (1 ASD, 1 deaf, 1 lower leg amputee, 1 with Muscular Dystrophy, and 3 with polio)." During this race, Calvin (ASD young man) ran Violet Hill and Stenhouse with his Mum Alice. Camel FUNG ran Ma On Shan, and John ran Stenhouse. Fred Vaudaine, our MoHan Skipper and Sailability Volunteer ran ALL 4 Peaks!!!
Kay Rawbone was onboard and part of the team competing. After passing the finishing line some 27 hours after starting she said, “ We’ve seen some Amazing skippering by Enrico on Blu, some great performances from all the runners and sailors, with support from Tai, Zero Alice and myself. It’s definitely been a weekend for showing the abilities of our people! I’m so proud of them ALL.”
Volonteer work - 14th of January
Those volunteers help in so many many different ways - including boat maintenance, social media, photography, race management, as well as coaching sailors on the various programmes.
This week in the HHYC Garden bar, Chiu and Sandy were sewing covers for the boats. The covers had become damaged and needed a bit of repair work. This is really valuable work, saving money and helping to protect the boats.
If you would like to get involved and help in any way, don’t worry if you can’t sail, there are many different ways that you can help.
Contact Kay on kay@sailability.org.hk to talk about how you can contribute.
Happy New Year - 1st January
Another year over, a new one just begun!
That was the mood as Sailability programmes resumed for 2024!
The Saturday Sailors were presented with certificates by Senior instructor Jesse Lam, for their participation in regattas and training throughout 2023. And then it was back out on the water to prepare for sailing events coming up in the new year
May
Project Salem, 25th May
As Sailability seeks new partners we were represented at the recent launch of Project Salem! This project is aimed at the disabled and ethnically diverse communities in HK and aims to introduce a range of exciting activities to participants in the coming months- including sailing!
Sailability HK was represented by volunteer Naven Nand, who gave a speech and shared what Sailability has to offer - and will continue to offer!
Nav joined Sailability only 6 months ago and he has already sailed Hansa’s, MoHan, and regularly contributes photographs for our Facebook posts!
If you are from the ethnically diverse community or the disabled community and would like to join Project Salem, click the link below and register for the activities today! Our Sailability workshop is one of them!
2024 World Sailing's annual Steering the Course, Women's Sailing Festival - 4th year of this event for HHYC and Sailability Hong Kong. We continue to encourage more diversity and greater participation.
25th May
Those of you who live in HK already know that it’s been a soggy week for the Leo Wealth Women’s Sailing Festival.
So it was almost a surprise that the Steering the Course Ladies and Girls Champ Regatta took place on a mostly dry day, with grey skies and a reasonable wind.
With MoHan acting as Committee boat for the race management team, Sailability sailors and boats featured in the Hansa 303 class which completed 3 races on Saturday.
The sailors included 2 sisters from our Ethnic Minorities Programme including 13-year-old Hanadi Basmer who sailed with Jessica, a volunteer more usually found on MoHan, they came in 3rd place.
Second place went to Elia from Saturday Sailing and volunteer Alice who was sailing in her first competitive race.
First place honours went to Alexandra also from Saturday Sailing, with Rita from the senior sailing programme.
During the presentation ceremony HHYC Commodore Don Johnson thanked Sailability for always taking part in sailing events at HHYC.
22nd May
The Leo Wealth Steering the Course Women’s Sailing Festival for 2024 took place last week and today we look back and share more photos.
On Thursday 22 May we hosted a group of 14 women from the Asian Women’s League. All were aged 50 years plus and sailing for the first time – wonderful!
And then on the final day of the festival we had a groups from Po Yan School, the Cancer Information Centre, a group of Domestic Helpers, and a group of elderly women. Sailors that day were aged 10 to 78 years old and in total on 24 sailed in the morning and 14 in the afternoon.
Our Hansa boats are particularly suitable for people who are trying out sailing for the first time. Over the 6-days of the event, 145 female sailors and 40 female volunteers participated in Sailability’s activities and we hope many of them will keep coming back!
Sailability CEO and Con Founder Kay Rawbone BEM said, she was “very happy, delighted, especially considering the weather” during the festival.
Senior Sailing Day, 17th May
The 2023-24 Senior Sailing Programme funded by HK Club Foundation ended with a senior sailing race day. The sailing and camaraderie was lots of fun and included a great lunch at the Hebe Haven clubhouse.
Over the last few years this programme has been a resounding success and has super charged volunteering at Sailability HK bringing in many talented, retired, fit and healthy people with time to contribute to Sailability’s other programmes.
Hebe Haven Yacht Club Open Regatta - 11th & 12th May 2024
This annual open dinghy regatta once again brings Hong Kong sailors together. Sailability will have sailors sailing in three classes.
The Hebe Haven Yacht Club Open Dinghy Regatta took place and was a huge success with 231 boats taking part! A total of 11 Clubs and Associations from Hong Kong and overseas were involved, including Sailability HK. The weather on Saturday was good for sailing on all 4 race courses with each class completing 2 to 4 races. Conditions on Sunday were significantly more challenging, especially for those sailing out further away from the club. Well done to all the Sailability sailors who participated and honed their sailing skills in this regatta. In the 2.4mR class Sylvia Leung took first place winning 4 out of the 6 races whilst in the Hansa 303 class, Fung Wai On was first also winning 4 out of 6 races.
April
MoHan team competing in the Spring Monsoon series, 13th April
MoHan Skipper Fred Vaudaine reflected on MoHan’s involvement, “The series included some fascinating races with different weather conditions and we had to try various strategies and different manoeuvres. It resulted in a team that could handle the boat more easily in any conditions. We also saw a great improvement in crew autonomy to decide the strategy and the trimming.”
During the series, the MoHan crew was joined by Tommy Wong, who started his sailing journey with Sailability and is now representing Hong Kong. It was great to “get such fantastic support and benefit from the skills of experienced sailors” said Fred.
The Monsoon series was organised by HHYC and took place from late February through to April.
HHYC & Sailability Annual Awards
Kay Rawbone, BEM, Co Founder and CEO of Sailability HK has presented awards to
the best sailors, volunteers, and school of 2023.
There were 8 awards covering the full range of Sailability’s programme including para sailing, MoHan, SEN sailors, the schools programme, and volunteers.
Very well done to everyone who received an award, a wonderful effort all round!
The full list is:
• Para Sailor of the Year, Foo Yuen Wai
Most Improved Para Sailor of the Year, Fung Wai On
• Most Improved Para Sailor of the Year on Mohan, Mark Poon
• Most Valued Volunteer of the Year, Choi Kwok Wei (Mr Fix-It!)
• Most Valued Volunteers, Sandy and Chiu
• Most Improved SEN Sailor of the Year, Leo Purdie
• School Programme Cup, Tsui Tsin Tong
• Best Sailor Award, Joseph Cheung
March
The 2nd South East Asian Para Sailing Championships, 27th - 31st March
This was the an Open Regional Event which closed with a rousing, fun filled awards ceremony!
Special mention must be made of the team from Thailand who came both 1st and 3rd in the Hansa 303 double handed division despite having never sailed in that boat or in HK previously!
Foo Wai Yuen dominated the 2.4mR class winning all 9 races in the Championship.
Fung Wai On dominated the Hansa 303 single handed division.
In the Hansa Liberty class it was a tight finish for first place with Chan Tsun Ming coming out top.
There were medals for the first 3 placed competitors in each class. Special certificates were awarded to coaches, and volunteers in the race management team, the media team and support team who in their many different ways all helped make the event such a success.
Results
2.4mR
1st Foo Wai Yuen HK, 2nd Sylvia Leung China, 3rd Liong Wun Wah Macau Sailing Association
Hansa 303 double handed
1st Supakit & Thirtapa Thailand, 2nd Cole Purdie, Joel Filipe Philippines and New Zealand,
3rd Boonkord & Alan Hart Thailand
Hansa 303 single handed
1st Fung Wai On HK, 2nd Carolyn Chan Canada, 3rd Mark Poon HK
Hansa Liberty
1st Chan Tsun Ming China, 2nd Cheng Tse Lung HK, 3rd Lawrence Li HK
The ceremony closed with a presentation to Kay Rawbone BEM of a photograph to commemorate the award of her BEM medal recently. She received the picture from Foo Wai Yuen who thanked Kay for everything she does, the love and care shown, and he hoped she will go on to make Sailing yet more accessible in future both in HK and around the world!
Hansa 303 double handed
Huge welcome back to Rob Allen in his role as RO of the event. Amazing and thank you!
Kay Rawbone BEM medal presentation - 19th of March
Kay was presented with the British Empire Medal (BEM) by Brian Davidson, Consul General Hong Kong. Presenting the award at the consulate, Brian Davidson, Consul General congratulated Kay for receiving the BEM for Co-founding Sailability Hong Kong with her late husband Mike, in 2009. He said the BEM award is “for meritorious civil or military service worthy of recognition by the Crown”. Addressing those present Kay paid tribute to the many people who have contributed to the success of Sailability over the years. She said when Mike and her started Sailability they were advised to start with people who had a physical disability. Still, Kay decided they would start with a special needs group from The Nesbitt Centre, and two of that original group of 4 sailors were present at the BEM celebration. She also paid tribute to the support of the yacht clubs in Hong Kong, volunteers, instructors, and sponsors. After the presentation of the medal, there were speeches by some of those present including humorous anecdotes and even a poem written specially for the occasion. Many, many, and more photographs were taken, and we had great pleasure in picking out some of the best ones to share with you. Photo credits: British Consulate General, and Lizzie Sharp.
Monsoon Spring Series organised by Hebe Haven Yacht Club- 3rd of March
Sailability entered MoHan for this series which is scheduled over five Saturdays in February, March and April.
On 2 March, MoHan had a crew of 8 people including 3 para sailors, with Mark Poon at the helm. It was a cold day and Skipper Tai reported that with “everyone was equipped with a strong warm heart” as they faced the chilly northerly winds. The team finished in 8th place in their class before returning to the clubhouse for a very welcome drink of hot chocolate! (Thank you Kay!)
The opening races of the Series took place the previous weekend on Saturday 24 February, with Skipper Fred leading the mixed disabled and non-disabled crew on that occasion. MoHan finished 4th and 9th in the two races that day, out of 14 racing in her class.
February
Sailing on the MoHan - 18th of February
At the weekend a group of women and girls sailed on MoHan. The activity was supported by the Scallywag Ethnic Minorities programme and the AWA.
The women and girls were drawn from different parts of the Hong Kong ethnic community including those of the Philippines, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Turkey, Kenya, and India.
Three of the group had previously joined dinghy sailing with Sailability but this was their first time on MoHan.
9th March Building relationships with the Sai Kung community
Kay Rawbone BEM, CEO and Co-Founder of Sailability HK, has recently attended a traditional Poon Choi meal hosted by Sai Kung District Community Centre.
The invitation was a way of thanking Sailability for our elderly and youth programmes which the Community Centre have taken part in, and HHYC for their funding support from the 24hr Dinghy Race.
Sai Kung District Councillors and officials from Social and Welfare Department (SWD) also attended.
International Hansa Event Details
Hong Kong Selection Trials NOR
Clelia's Internship at Sailability Hong Kong, from the 17th to 21st June
Clelia, a student from the French International School, participated in a week-long internship with Sailability Hong Kong. Her week began with a volunteer refresher course. Clelia spent two days on the water, surrounded by a group of volunteers. Together, they experienced the challenges of sailing, and practised some disability awareness exercises. Despite having no sailing experience, she was interested to learn more about the organisation. Over the week, she saw how Sailability Hong Kong provides a supportive environment for people with disabilities to enjoy sailing. She discovered that sailing is one of the most inclusive sports. Once on the water, everyone becomes equal—abled and disabled, young and old. Clelia also contributed to the organisation's website, seeing all the different types of work needed to run this charity. Also, she saw the dedication of the parasailers during one of their training sessions. Their hard work showed the impact of Sailability Hong Kong's mission.
16th June
Rainy days are what you make of them….
When the rain came on Saturday the Sailability instructors had to improvise. And it was back to the classroom for a session on knots and ropes!
9th June
After another showery week it was business as usual for Sailability on Saturday.
A group of ethnic minority sailors took our Hansa 303’s out in the morning and in the afternoon had their first taste of a big yacht on MoHan. The group included some who were sailing for the first time ever, and also one person has been coming back regularly since 2020 when the Scallywag ethnic minorities Programme first ran.
The Saturday Sailing group were also out on the water trying to dodge the dark clouds.
Sun Hung Kai Scallywag Foundation Programme, Morning Hope School, 4th June
This was their graduation day: a group of six new sailors from this school, social worker Ming, together with instructor Jack Shum the youth, enjoyed a six day sailing experience, which included learning how to come alongside a safety boat. On a bad weather day they learnt sailing theory and how to tie different types of sailing knots. As always, there was a real improvement in confidence, independance, communication, seen with all the six who graduated. Thank you Sun Hung Kai for making a sailing experience available to under-represented youth in Hong Kong, it really makes a difference.
2024 SE Asian Para Championships - Sailing Instructions
2024 SE Asian Para Championships - NOR,
Notice of Race
2024 SE Asian Para Championships -Results
Chinese New Year at Sailability - 12th of February
Hebe Haven Yacht Club is the home of Sailability HK and the club support us in many ways. HHYClub hosted a traditional Lion Dance to mark the start of the New Year!
The Sun Hung Kai & Co. Hong Kong Race Week organised by RHKYC - 2nd of February
This is an international event which this year attracted 271 sailors from 10 countries and regions including Australia, Canada, Hong Kong (China), Ireland, Japan, Macau (China) Mainland China, Singapore, Thailand, and the USA.
The Hong Kong weather proved challenging for participants and race organisers alike with foggy, misty conditions forcing officials to relocate the race course on more than one occasion.
Sailability HK para sailors were competing in the 2.4mR class and Foo Yuen Wai, who was Hong Kong Para Sailor of the year for 2023, was crowned champion for the 4th time! He won 11 of the 12 races to complete a truly emphatic performance.
Eric Leung was in second place while Tsun Ming Chan and Sylvia Leung engaged in an epic tussle for third place with Tsun Ming Chan eventually gabbing the podium spot.
After the race Tsun Ming, who predominantly uses one hand to control the boat said, “After 2 days of sailing, I lost all feeling in my hand.” He also vowed to come back stronger 💪🏻 in 2025, “I aim to get a better placing next year.”
January
Four Peak Race - 27th and 28th of January
The Four Peaks Race is living up to its reputation as a tough challenge which is organised by Aberdeen Boat Club and sponsored by Solaris Yachts. During this challenge, the boats sail to 4 locations in HK, and then 2 crew members run up each peak and back to the boat. This challenge tests the tactics and stamina of the teams, including the Sailability team on Blu. This team, consisting of 13 people on board aged 21 to 72, included 7 people with disabilities (1 ASD, 1 deaf, 1 lower leg amputee, 1 with Muscular Dystrophy, and 3 with polio)." During this race, Calvin (ASD young man) ran Violet Hill and Stenhouse with his Mum Alice. Camel FUNG ran Ma On Shan, and John ran Stenhouse. Fred Vaudaine, our MoHan Skipper and Sailability Volunteer ran ALL 4 Peaks!!!
Kay Rawbone was onboard and part of the team competing. After passing the finishing line some 27 hours after starting she said, “ We’ve seen some Amazing skippering by Enrico on Blu, some great performances from all the runners and sailors, with support from Tai, Zero Alice and myself. It’s definitely been a weekend for showing the abilities of our people! I’m so proud of them ALL.”
Volonteer work - 14th of January
Those volunteers help in so many many different ways - including boat maintenance, social media, photography, race management, as well as coaching sailors on the various programmes.
This week in the HHYC Garden bar, Chiu and Sandy were sewing covers for the boats. The covers had become damaged and needed a bit of repair work. This is really valuable work, saving money and helping to protect the boats.
If you would like to get involved and help in any way, don’t worry if you can’t sail, there are many different ways that you can help.
Contact Kay on kay@sailability.org.hk to talk about how you can contribute.
Happy New Year - 1st January
Another year over, a new one just begun!
That was the mood as Sailability programmes resumed for 2024!
The Saturday Sailors were presented with certificates by Senior instructor Jesse Lam, for their participation in regattas and training throughout 2023. And then it was back out on the water to prepare for sailing events coming up in the new year
May
Project Salem, 25th May
As Sailability seeks new partners we were represented at the recent launch of Project Salem! This project is aimed at the disabled and ethnically diverse communities in HK and aims to introduce a range of exciting activities to participants in the coming months- including sailing!
Sailability HK was represented by volunteer Naven Nand, who gave a speech and shared what Sailability has to offer - and will continue to offer!
Nav joined Sailability only 6 months ago and he has already sailed Hansa’s, MoHan, and regularly contributes photographs for our Facebook posts!
If you are from the ethnically diverse community or the disabled community and would like to join Project Salem, click the link below and register for the activities today! Our Sailability workshop is one of them!
2024 World Sailing's annual Steering the Course, Women's Sailing Festival - 4th year of this event for HHYC and Sailability Hong Kong. We continue to encourage more diversity and greater participation.
25th May
Those of you who live in HK already know that it’s been a soggy week for the Leo Wealth Women’s Sailing Festival.
So it was almost a surprise that the Steering the Course Ladies and Girls Champ Regatta took place on a mostly dry day, with grey skies and a reasonable wind.
With MoHan acting as Committee boat for the race management team, Sailability sailors and boats featured in the Hansa 303 class which completed 3 races on Saturday.
The sailors included 2 sisters from our Ethnic Minorities Programme including 13-year-old Hanadi Basmer who sailed with Jessica, a volunteer more usually found on MoHan, they came in 3rd place.
Second place went to Elia from Saturday Sailing and volunteer Alice who was sailing in her first competitive race.
First place honours went to Alexandra also from Saturday Sailing, with Rita from the senior sailing programme.
During the presentation ceremony HHYC Commodore Don Johnson thanked Sailability for always taking part in sailing events at HHYC.
22nd May
The Leo Wealth Steering the Course Women’s Sailing Festival for 2024 took place last week and today we look back and share more photos.
On Thursday 22 May we hosted a group of 14 women from the Asian Women’s League. All were aged 50 years plus and sailing for the first time – wonderful!
And then on the final day of the festival we had a groups from Po Yan School, the Cancer Information Centre, a group of Domestic Helpers, and a group of elderly women. Sailors that day were aged 10 to 78 years old and in total on 24 sailed in the morning and 14 in the afternoon.
Our Hansa boats are particularly suitable for people who are trying out sailing for the first time. Over the 6-days of the event, 145 female sailors and 40 female volunteers participated in Sailability’s activities and we hope many of them will keep coming back!
Sailability CEO and Con Founder Kay Rawbone BEM said, she was “very happy, delighted, especially considering the weather” during the festival.
Senior Sailing Day, 17th May
The 2023-24 Senior Sailing Programme funded by HK Club Foundation ended with a senior sailing race day. The sailing and camaraderie was lots of fun and included a great lunch at the Hebe Haven clubhouse.
Over the last few years this programme has been a resounding success and has super charged volunteering at Sailability HK bringing in many talented, retired, fit and healthy people with time to contribute to Sailability’s other programmes.
Hebe Haven Yacht Club Open Regatta - 11th & 12th May 2024
This annual open dinghy regatta once again brings Hong Kong sailors together. Sailability will have sailors sailing in three classes.
The Hebe Haven Yacht Club Open Dinghy Regatta took place and was a huge success with 231 boats taking part! A total of 11 Clubs and Associations from Hong Kong and overseas were involved, including Sailability HK. The weather on Saturday was good for sailing on all 4 race courses with each class completing 2 to 4 races. Conditions on Sunday were significantly more challenging, especially for those sailing out further away from the club. Well done to all the Sailability sailors who participated and honed their sailing skills in this regatta. In the 2.4mR class Sylvia Leung took first place winning 4 out of the 6 races whilst in the Hansa 303 class, Fung Wai On was first also winning 4 out of 6 races.
April
MoHan team competing in the Spring Monsoon series, 13th April
MoHan Skipper Fred Vaudaine reflected on MoHan’s involvement, “The series included some fascinating races with different weather conditions and we had to try various strategies and different manoeuvres. It resulted in a team that could handle the boat more easily in any conditions. We also saw a great improvement in crew autonomy to decide the strategy and the trimming.”
During the series, the MoHan crew was joined by Tommy Wong, who started his sailing journey with Sailability and is now representing Hong Kong. It was great to “get such fantastic support and benefit from the skills of experienced sailors” said Fred.
The Monsoon series was organised by HHYC and took place from late February through to April.
HHYC & Sailability Annual Awards
Kay Rawbone, BEM, Co Founder and CEO of Sailability HK has presented awards to
the best sailors, volunteers, and school of 2023.
There were 8 awards covering the full range of Sailability’s programme including para sailing, MoHan, SEN sailors, the schools programme, and volunteers.
Very well done to everyone who received an award, a wonderful effort all round!
The full list is:
• Para Sailor of the Year, Foo Yuen Wai
Most Improved Para Sailor of the Year, Fung Wai On
• Most Improved Para Sailor of the Year on Mohan, Mark Poon
• Most Valued Volunteer of the Year, Choi Kwok Wei (Mr Fix-It!)
• Most Valued Volunteers, Sandy and Chiu
• Most Improved SEN Sailor of the Year, Leo Purdie
• School Programme Cup, Tsui Tsin Tong
• Best Sailor Award, Joseph Cheung
March
The 2nd South East Asian Para Sailing Championships, 27th - 31st March
This was the an Open Regional Event which closed with a rousing, fun filled awards ceremony!
Special mention must be made of the team from Thailand who came both 1st and 3rd in the Hansa 303 double handed division despite having never sailed in that boat or in HK previously!
Foo Wai Yuen dominated the 2.4mR class winning all 9 races in the Championship.
Fung Wai On dominated the Hansa 303 single handed division.
In the Hansa Liberty class it was a tight finish for first place with Chan Tsun Ming coming out top.
There were medals for the first 3 placed competitors in each class. Special certificates were awarded to coaches, and volunteers in the race management team, the media team and support team who in their many different ways all helped make the event such a success.
Results
2.4mR
1st Foo Wai Yuen HK, 2nd Sylvia Leung China, 3rd Liong Wun Wah Macau Sailing Association
Hansa 303 double handed
1st Supakit & Thirtapa Thailand, 2nd Cole Purdie, Joel Filipe Philippines and New Zealand,
3rd Boonkord & Alan Hart Thailand
Hansa 303 single handed
1st Fung Wai On HK, 2nd Carolyn Chan Canada, 3rd Mark Poon HK
Hansa Liberty
1st Chan Tsun Ming China, 2nd Cheng Tse Lung HK, 3rd Lawrence Li HK
The ceremony closed with a presentation to Kay Rawbone BEM of a photograph to commemorate the award of her BEM medal recently. She received the picture from Foo Wai Yuen who thanked Kay for everything she does, the love and care shown, and he hoped she will go on to make Sailing yet more accessible in future both in HK and around the world!
Hansa 303 double handed
Huge welcome back to Rob Allen in his role as RO of the event. Amazing and thank you!
Kay Rawbone BEM medal presentation - 19th of March
Kay was presented with the British Empire Medal (BEM) by Brian Davidson, Consul General Hong Kong. Presenting the award at the consulate, Brian Davidson, Consul General congratulated Kay for receiving the BEM for Co-founding Sailability Hong Kong with her late husband Mike, in 2009. He said the BEM award is “for meritorious civil or military service worthy of recognition by the Crown”. Addressing those present Kay paid tribute to the many people who have contributed to the success of Sailability over the years. She said when Mike and her started Sailability they were advised to start with people who had a physical disability. Still, Kay decided they would start with a special needs group from The Nesbitt Centre, and two of that original group of 4 sailors were present at the BEM celebration. She also paid tribute to the support of the yacht clubs in Hong Kong, volunteers, instructors, and sponsors. After the presentation of the medal, there were speeches by some of those present including humorous anecdotes and even a poem written specially for the occasion. Many, many, and more photographs were taken, and we had great pleasure in picking out some of the best ones to share with you. Photo credits: British Consulate General, and Lizzie Sharp.
Monsoon Spring Series organised by Hebe Haven Yacht Club- 3rd of March
Sailability entered MoHan for this series which is scheduled over five Saturdays in February, March and April.
On 2 March, MoHan had a crew of 8 people including 3 para sailors, with Mark Poon at the helm. It was a cold day and Skipper Tai reported that with “everyone was equipped with a strong warm heart” as they faced the chilly northerly winds. The team finished in 8th place in their class before returning to the clubhouse for a very welcome drink of hot chocolate! (Thank you Kay!)
The opening races of the Series took place the previous weekend on Saturday 24 February, with Skipper Fred leading the mixed disabled and non-disabled crew on that occasion. MoHan finished 4th and 9th in the two races that day, out of 14 racing in her class.
February
Sailing on the MoHan - 18th of February
At the weekend a group of women and girls sailed on MoHan. The activity was supported by the Scallywag Ethnic Minorities programme and the AWA.
The women and girls were drawn from different parts of the Hong Kong ethnic community including those of the Philippines, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Turkey, Kenya, and India.
Three of the group had previously joined dinghy sailing with Sailability but this was their first time on MoHan.
9th March Building relationships with the Sai Kung community
Kay Rawbone BEM, CEO and Co-Founder of Sailability HK, has recently attended a traditional Poon Choi meal hosted by Sai Kung District Community Centre.
The invitation was a way of thanking Sailability for our elderly and youth programmes which the Community Centre have taken part in, and HHYC for their funding support from the 24hr Dinghy Race.
Sai Kung District Councillors and officials from Social and Welfare Department (SWD) also attended.