Hong Kong to Hainan Race 2026 Starts

The Hong Kong to Hainan Race 2026 got underway on 29 October, with five boats making a clean start at 1120hrs in Hong Kong’s spectacular Victoria Harbour before setting off on the 390nm offshore passage to Sanya, at the southern tip of Hainan Island.

The 2026 fleet features four Hong Kong entries: defending champion Franco Cutrupia’s Solaris 60 Fenice, Johnson Yuen’s Summit 40 Zoe’s Guard, Sunny Chai’s Grand Soleil 42 Simplicity GS and Yiu Kwai Szeto’s Grand Soleil 50 Glory. They are joined by the race’s sole international contender, Yi Min Lee’s J/99 Jolt, bringing together a diverse fleet of experienced offshore campaigners, defending champions and newcomers to the race.

Around half an hour before the start, a north-easterly breeze of 5 to 7kts was blowing across Victoria Harbour. However, as the start approached, the breeze eased to just 2 to 5kts, setting the stage for a cautious and tactical opening to the race. Four boats lined up well in the light conditions, while Zoe’s Guard was the only boat to start on port tack.

The move soon paid off for Zoe’s Guard, which found a stronger patch of breeze closer to Hong Kong Island and made good progress upwind. As the fleet approached North Point, the breeze strengthened to around 10kts, with Zoe’s Guard leading the fleet towards Lei Yue Mun Gap. Fenice gave chase from behind, followed by Simplicity GS, Jolt and Glory as the fleet began making its way out of Victoria Harbour and towards open water.

At 1630hrs, Fenice was sailing at around 8.6kts and had knocked 44nm off its 390nm journey to Sanya on Hainan Island. They are followed by Zoe’s Guard in 7.9kts and Glory in7.7kts.

Fenice, the Line Honours and IRC Overall winner of the 2025 Hong Kong to Hainan Race, returns as the defending champion, although team manager Rosario Pedicini and skipper Fabio Brunazzi remain cautious about their chances of repeating last year’s success. “We don’t know because the conditions are different this year, and there are some boats with much lower ratings than ours. Fenice is a heavier boat, so we perform better in stronger conditions. We will do our best. Depending on the wave angle, we may look to head further offshore in search of more wind, because in lighter conditions our boat is quite slow. We may therefore favour reaching conditions rather than sailing dead downwind.”

Three boats, Glory, Simplicity GS and Jolt, made their debut in Category 1 offshore racing. Ahead of the race, Yi Min Lee from Jolt shared his thoughts on their first offshore competition: “This will be our first offshore race as a team, so we’re incredibly excited for the experience. The level of competition and sailing in Hong Kong is very high, and we see this as a great opportunity to challenge ourselves and learn. For this first race, our goal is simple: sail safely, complete the course, and gain valuable offshore experience. Once we’ve built that foundation, we can start thinking about results.”

With an easterly airstream affecting the coast of southern China, the fleet was greeted with excellent sailing conditions, with east to east-northeasterly winds of around 15 to 20kts and stronger gusts once clear of Hong Kong’s sheltered waters. The breeze is expected to gradually ease to around 10 to 15kts, while remaining stronger offshore.

The Hong Kong to Hainan Race takes competitors on a 390nm passage, traditionally downwind, to Sanya. Known as the “Hawaii of the East”, it is a great finish location for a holiday and a famous hub for yacht tourism.