Nations' Cup - Sunday 11 March - its the Sevens, on the water!

March 7, 2012 - PRLog -- With a strong emphasis on fun and participation, the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club’s Nations’ Cup is looking to better last year’s impressive entry list of 58 boats from 19 nations and are already welcoming two ‘new’ nations to the the line up - Spain and Singapore.

Last year’s inaugural event was a tremendous success with more than one sailor commenting “it was like the Rugby Sevens on the water” - rather fitting then that the Nations’ Cup comes only two weeks before the big event on ‘dry land’ giving sailors the added bonus of being able to use their costumes not once, but twice in the same month.

Proudly supported this year by Invesco and San Miguel, the Nations’ Cup sees crews formed according to their nation of origin or allegiance; the Nationality Criteria states that 100% of crew members must be nationals of the country which is represented by the boat they are racing on.

Further, a sailor qualifies as a national of a country if ANY of the following apply:

The sailor was born in that country
The sailor holds a valid passport of that country
The sailor has the right of abode in that country (for clarity, HK requires a Permanent HKID Card)
The sailor has been normally resident in that country for at least 10 years at some stage in their life (for clarity, the 10 years need not be continuous)
The sailor has represented that country at a major international event, for example the Olympics
The sailor fluently speaks the language of that country
The sailor can sing the national anthem of that country (in the native tongue)

Racing will be on a simple course from Kellett Island out through the east end of the Harbour and back in, with the turning mark being set depending on the weather.

Prizes include the winning nation's flag being placed behind the Club’s bar until the race the following year, and of course the status of Champion Sailing Nation of The Year.  First boat home last year was England, followed by Sweden, Scotland, Australia, New Zealand and Japan.

Entries are still open for this popular event and interested parties should contact Lindsay Lyons in the RHKYC Sailing Office (Lindsay.Lyons@rhkyc.org.hk)

Event website at

The 19 nations represented at the 2011 inaugural event were:-

Australia  
Belgium
Canada
China
England
Germany
Hong Kong
Ireland
Japan  
Netherlands
New Zealand
Philippines
Poland
Scotland
South Africa
Sweden
Switzerland
USA
Wales

Top 12 positions in 2011:-

Nation   Class   Boat   Place
England   Cruiser   FreeFire   1
Ireland   Cruiser   Blondie IV   2
Australia   FF15   Flying Fifteen   3
Sweden   E22   Swedish Blue   4
Scotland   Longtze   MacLongtze   5
England   Cruiser   EFG Bank Mandrake   6
Australia   E22   Gunga Din   7
Japan   Cruiser   S T Happens   8
Scotland   FF15   My Fair Lady   9
England   Cruiser   Whiskey Jack   10
New Zealand   Cruiser   Wicked   11
Hong Kong   Impala   Rainbow Chaser   12

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Sailing and rowing club. One of the oldest and most prestigious clubs in Hong Kong, RHKYC today has evolved into a multi-faceted and cosmopolitan organisation and its membership enjoys a comprehensive range of facilities, both afloat and ashore.