2015 ETCHELLS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS - JULY UPDATE

We are pleased to officially confirm the following details in preparation for the upcoming 2015 Etchells World Championships in in November this year:

NOR The 2015 World Championships Notice of Race has been published and is available online at 2015.etchellsworlds.org

Registration Now Open Registration for the 2015 Etchells World Championship is now open. Please access the entry form from the official site: 2015.etchellsworlds.org/race-headquarters

The entry system can be used to enter either both or one of the following two regattas: • 2015 Etchells World Championships • 2015 Asia Pacific Championships

Regatta Venue We would like to officially confirm the Regatta Venue as Clearwater Bay Marina and we welcome the Clearwater Bay Golf & Country Club as our Official Venue Partner. All Etchells will be hosted there during the racing. The race track is confirmed as ‘Nine Pins’ and we estimate the sailing time from the marina to the race track to be approximately 30 minutes.

Registration and Measurement All registration and measurement will be conducted at , the main clubhouse of the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club in . We look forward to welcoming Bill Abbott to Hong Kong in late October to manage and conduct the full measurement process with the support of the organising committee and volunteers.

Official Meetings and Social Functions The official functions for the 2015 World Championships including the Welcome Cocktails, IECA AGM, Skippers Briefing and Prize Giving for the 2015 Worlds will all take place at Kellett Island Clubhouse of RHKYC in Causeway Bay.

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Organising Authority The Hong Kong Sailing Federation (HKSF) is the Organising Authority for the 2015 Etchells World Championships. The regatta is Co-organised by the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club and the Hong Kong Etchells Class Association.

2015 Asia Pacific Open Class Pre-World Championship International crews coming to Hong Kong for the 2015 Worlds are welcome to also enter the Asia Pacific Championships – a three-day pre-Worlds regatta running from October 24-26 on the 2015 Worlds race track at Nine Pins. Registration and measurement, like the Worlds, will be conducted at Kellett Island, RHKYC in Causeway Bay with the Regatta Venue being Clearwater Bay Marina. The NOR and other documentation is on the Worlds website and you can enter for the APAC’s as part of the entry for the Worlds. You can also enter just for the APAC’s.

Transportation For those crews electing to stay on , possibly near RHKYC in Causeway Bay, we will be running buses from RHKYC Kellett Island Clubhouse to Clearwater Bay Marina each morning and return trips in the afternoon. For crews staying in Tseung Kwan O area, we will also schedule a bus pick up and drop off for you. A timetable and more details will be available in due course but buses will be scheduled to get people to the regatta venue in plenty of time to prepare for the days’ racing.

Accommodation Several crews have been asking about accommodation options. A lot of information about hotels in the local areas is available on the Worlds website here. We appreciate many crews would like to rent 3-4 bedroom apartments in Hong Kong over the Pre Worlds and the Worlds. As renting houses and apartments on a short term basis is not as easy in Hong Kong as in other locations, we also recommend some serviced apartment options and Air BnB Hong Kong who specialise in vacation and short term rentals. We are already providing guidance to some crews and are happy to continue to provide advice for those not familiar with Hong Kong.

We are now pleased to offer special rates with Hotel, a long time partner of RHKYC operated by the Mandarin Oriental. We have 40 rooms on hold until September 15. The event specific reservation form will be available on the Worlds website under Accommodations. If you would like the booking form emailed to you or have already booked at the Excelsior Hotel, please email [email protected]. We can arrange to have your booking transferred to the new rates. We will also notify everyone of other hotel offers we are currently negotiating.

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We already have strong international interest to compete in the 2015 Etchells Worlds and together with the local fleet, we are expecting at least 45 entries. Several of the overseas crews’ boats are in Hong Kong already and it’s been great having them on the water and at RHKYC competing in some of our local regattas. Several of the Hong Kong crews are competing ‘down under’ and others are in the UK over the summer to continue to prepare for the Worlds.

Regards,

2015 Etchells Worlds Organising Committee

2015 Etchells Worlds Organising Committee Ronan Collins Chairperson Jenny Cooper Vice Chairperson Ben Williams Treasurer Greg Farrell Hong Kong Fleet Captain Scotia Ryer Hong Kong Fleet Class Secretary Myles McMahon Social Events Charlie Manzoni Race Management, Legal Counsel Lucy Sutro Race Management Joe Goddard Marine Services Manager, RHKYC Simon Pickering Boatyard and Marine Operations Manager, RHKYC Nikki Claringbold Sailing Office Event Co-orindator, RHKYC

For further information please contact: [email protected]

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