Hong Kong will have a team in the Volvo Ocean Race for the first time as the fifth entry to the 2017-18 race was announced in Paris. The team will compete as Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag and is sponsored by Seng Huang Lee and Sun Hung Kai & Co., the owner of supermaxi yacht Scallywag.
Hong Kong will also debut as a Host City in the race with the fleet expected to arrive from Melbourne on 20 January 2018. A series of races will be held during the stopover including the In-Port Race and an Around the Island race.
“This campaign will showcase world class competitive offshore sailing in Hong Kong. I have every confidence that Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag will make Hong Kong proud,” said Lee.
Lee who grew up in Sydney, Australia, a stone’s throw from the start line of the iconic Sydney to Hobart Race, said it was watching the fleet leave every year for the start of that race that first got him hooked on sailing.
He purchased the 100-foot maxi-yacht Scallywag in 2016, and won the recent San Fernando Race in record fashion. An entry in the Volvo Ocean Race, one of the most demanding and competitive races in the world, was the next challenge.
The team, racing a Volvo Ocean 65, will be skippered by experienced Australian sailor David Witt, who returns to the Volvo Ocean Race following a 20-year absence, after competing in 1997-98 race onboard Innovation Kvaerner – the boat led by former Volvo Ocean Race CEO, Knut Frostad.
A veteran of the Sydney to Hobart Race, having competed the challenge over 20 times, Witt is regarded as one of the best heavy weather sailors in the sport, and is keen to retest his mettle in the Southern Ocean when the fleets heads south later this year.
“This is a fantastic opportunity for the Scallywag team to represent Hong Kong on a truly global stage,” said Witt. “With the race returning to a more traditional route and competing in One Design yachts, we feel that we are capable of achieving something that has been a life long personal dream.”
With five months to the start, the fleet is shaping up with confirmed entries AkzoNobel (skippered by Simeon Tienpont, Netherlands), Dongfeng Race Team (Charles Caudrelier, France), Mapfire (Xabi Fernández, Spain) and Vestas 11th Hour Racing (Charlie Enright, USA).
The 2017-2018 race, featuring 12 host cities, will start from Alicante on 22 October 2017 and see the teams cover 46,000 nautical miles before they reach the finish in The Hague at the end of June, 2018.
Additional reporting and images: Volvo Ocean Race, Andrea Francolini