COA Mirs Bay Rally 2017
The weekend started with an awesome braai (South African barbecue) on Friday night. Andy Badenhorse, our F&B Chair, had arranged a couple of South Africans to come cook for the members of Hebe Haven Yacht Club. Lamb on the spit, boereworst (South African sausage) and some fine craft Darling Beer made for an excellent feast, thanks Andy.
Saturday morning we awoke to a glorious blue sky and a light force two easterly which was not expected to become force three. Malarky 1 was ready with our fine crew: Skipper Jimmy Lau (winner of last year’s Typhoon series), Monika, Timothy, Heiman and Ralph, along with myself (playing the role of owner), Malarky’s first mate Wemmy Ball and of course the ship’s dog Bonnie. We motored out to the starting gate near the police barge, just southeast of Bluff Island. The fleet was out in force, with 10 boats mustering for a pursuit start; each boat had its own start time and would record its time and GPS location when it crossed the start.
We motored up to the start gate because our Genoa ripped and was in shop for repairs. When it came our turn to start, Malarky 1 started the race twice. The first time we missed the gate, as without the Genoa we were making no headway, so we’d tried to get as upwind of the start as possible but went too high. Race Control informed us we had missed the gate, so we went around and started again so that we could get DNF instead of a DNS. Unfortunately without the Genoa we were only making 1.5 knots, and with 20 nm to go to Mirs Bay at 1.5 nm/h, that would mean 15 hours rolling around in a slight breeze—no thank you! The purpose of the trip was not to race, that is never our purpose in a 28 ton boat with an old rig and sails, we went to have a good time with other cruisers and enjoy the beauty of Tai Po.
So retiring from the race, we motored the 20 nm up to Long Harbour, arriving at Ko Lo Wan just before lunch. The after race dinner was scheduled for 6pm, so we went to look for a niceswimming beach. I’d always wanted to anchor in Wan Tsai and hike over the little spit of land to Hoi Ha Wan, so after a half hour hike we arrived in the little village of Hoi Ha Wan only to find out I’d made the mistake of bringing Bonnie—no dogs were allowed on the nice beach! I had to go back to the boat, while the crew went for a swim. Note to self, if you want to take the dog to Hoi Ha Wan, make sure you are on a boat!
At 6pm we pulled anchor and headed across the bay to Ko Lau Wan and the Kau Kee Seafood Restaurant. Rob and the Cruiser Owner Association (COA) crew had organised a delicious seafood dinner and at only HKD $200 a head it was a bargain feast of deliciousness. Thanks Rob!
Wemmy and I went for a walk during dinner to take some photos of the village and the setting sun, this being our first time in Ko Lo Wan. There used to be a huge ice factory here, but it has long since closed down. One strange thing about the village is there are only two dogs in the whole village, which is unusual for a Hong Kong rural village. We asked one of the friendly locals about this and he said there used to be a lot of dogs, but they caused ‘disharmony’ in the village so they got rid of them, now there are only two.
On returning to the restaurant it was prize giving time. Francis Ma on Crystal, with a corrected time of 3:25:33, was the winner of the COA Mirs Bay Rally 2017. After a lovely dinner we all dispersed back to our yachts for the night.
We had sweet dreams anchored in Tse Uk/Lam Uk Bay a few hundred meters south of Ko Lo Wan, with a nice northeast F4 wind blowing to kept the mozzies away until about 3am when the wind dropped and they invaded. We were sleeping on the top deck under the stars as we always do when out on anchor. There’s nothing better than sleeping under the stars.
Come morning I paddled Bonnie ashore in the kayak and went for a walk into Ko Lo Wan village. I found a nice French guy, Bobby, who has a little coffee stall on the side of the path, so I stopped in for a coffee and a long chat. He is married to one of the villagers and spends his weekends in this lovely place. He was the one who told me about the two dogs in the village. Bobby is famous in Hong Kong as he likes to escort hikers up the nearby sharp peak, if he likes you. He even has his own Instagram page.
After walking around the village and taking some more photos, I then headed back to the boat and told Wemmy, we can either go home now, or we can go to Hoi Ha Wan and I’ll go into work on Tuesday (the holiday). It was an easy decision and we were soon pulling anchor and heading to Hoi Ha Wan a few miles north. We dropped the hook in 15m of clear green waters, as the wind pushed us around to face east so the sun was overhead all day, not beating sideways into the cockpit until late in the
afternoon. The AFCD guys came by in their launch to check on us, ask how long we were staying and give us a map of where to anchor. We then launched the kayak and paddled over to the coral beds. Hoi Ha Wan is an area of Special Scientific Interest, and is protected as it has the largest diversity of corals and marine life in Hong Kong. The waters are usually clear with good visibility. It is a very popular destination on the weekends for day trippers from the city in need of a nature fix.
Hoi Ha Wan is a special place for me and Malarky 1. Back in 2013 when I’d just bought this fine yacht, my friend Gary Stokes, the Sea Shepherd guy, called me up. He said, “Mate, fancy taking a bunch of Sea Shepherds up to Hoi Ha Wan to survey the corals for a report we are preparing to save Hoi Ha Wan from developers?” I immediately answered yes. I’d only owned Malarky 1 for about a week at this point and was still getting to know the boat. To cut a long story short, Hoi Ha Wan was where I first fell in love with my yacht.
After lunch and a nap on the foredeck, we took Bonnie ashore (dogs were allowed on the trails into the Marine Park, but not in the beach and water of the Marine Park) for a nice long walk. Apparently the rule is relaxed at 5pm when the AFCD guys go home.
Since we hadn’t planned to stay an extra night we had to break into Malarky’s canned goods locker. Tomato soup and a tin of tuna made for a fine dinner. We again slept on the top deck, this time wrapping up in blankets as a cold stiff NE4 was blowing. Eventually it got too cold, so we went below.
When we awoke in the morning, the wind had strengthened and was now blowing N-NE F5 as we prepared the boat for the long trip down the coast. I knew it was going to be rough and it was. As soon as we made it out of the protection of Long Harbour the waves and swells kicked up nicely. We put the main and mizzen up to keep us stable as we motor sailed south along the rugged Sai Kung coast.
Wemmy on the helm did a fine job of skippering the boat through some very rough conditions and neither of us got too sick. Bonnie hated it though, she hates sailing. We were both very happy to see the channel leading into Outer Protection Harbour and the flat water it brings.
We then chose to turn the engine off and have a slow sail back to Hebe Haven, finally making it home at about 3pm, what a lovely weekend!
Thanks Malarky 1, thanks to Jimmy and the crew, thanks Wemmy Ball and thanks to Rob Winter, Arthur Ho and all the COA people for organising the COA Mid-summer Rally. I look forward to next year’s event!
While we have your attention, on November 4th we will have the Lamma Fun Day COA Cruise, more details on this new event to follow, but for now be sure to save the date!
Until next time, cheers from Malarky 1 and Captain P. McBlinky.