Hebe Dragons Laser Captain report

HEBE DRAGONS LASER CAPTAIN

REPORT 白沙灣龍隊 Laser 船長報告

by Seb Van Ommeren

I am writing this from Europe as I am spending my summer sailing there.

The Hebe Dragons Laser team has been expanded and we now have 8 sailors again. Most of us are doing some sailing over the Summer, joining the Hebe Dragons Dad team in the J/80 racing on Jelik 7 (Zac and Sanibel), Stella has done a clinic on Lake Garda and Ella has been busy with her AI work as well as getting her RYA power boat license.

Before I left for the Summer, I got my RYA powerboat license as well which I have been able to use in Europe. I have joined the HK Sports Institute Laser team including Peter, Tommy and Daniel as Hebe sailors and we are spending our summer sailing some European regattas together. However, the ties with Hebe are always there and often I drop in in the morning or afternoon to see how Alfy and the team are doing, I like to help out as I am still the fleet captain and want to help my teammates.

We started in Northern Germany (Warnemunde) with some very windy conditions and big waves on the Baltic Sea. This was great practice and a test of our sailing skills. We trained for three days before the Europacup regatta started, but we did not get much racing in because three of the four days were canceled due to over 35 knots of predicted wind gusts. We sailed for one day, three races in very windy and wavy conditions.

寫這篇文章的時候，我正身處歐洲，準備在此進行夏季航海。 白沙灣龍隊 Laser 船隊現已擴張至 8 名船員了。我們大多數人在夏季 出航，加入白沙灣龍隊 Dad船隊參與 Jelik 7 (Zac and Sanibel) J/80 賽 事。Stella 在加爾達湖進行了診療，而 Ella 一直忙於她的 AI 工作以及 取得 RYA 動力艇執照。

在出發避暑之前，我還取得了 RYA 動力艇的執照，這些執照在歐 洲也可以使用。我加入了香港體育學院 Laser 隊,包括白沙灣航員 Peter，Tommy 及 Daniel。我們將在夏天一起參加一些歐洲帆船賽。 然而，我和白沙灣的連繫始終如一。我時常在上午或下午來看看 Alfy 和船隊的情況。我仍然是船隊隊長，所以我樂於協助我的隊友。

我們從德國北部（沃尼門德）出發，在波羅的海經歷了一些風大浪大的 情況。這是很好的練習，也是對我們航海技巧的一次測驗。在歐洲盃帆 船賽開始前我們進行了 3 天的訓練，但由於預測的風速超過 35 節，4 天中有 3 天被取消，所以我們沒能參加多少賽事。我們進行了一天航 海，在風大浪大的情況下進行了 3 場比賽。

Warnemunde (Germany) Our boats travelling from Germany to the UK and to Vilamoura

We then moved on to the UK to Hayling Island, famous for its very strong current and 3m tide difference. It was also a challenge to get to the UK with Heathrow cancelling our flights. Hayling Island Sailing Club played host to this year's UK Nationals for the ILCA 4,6 and 7. We trained for three days, I really enjoyed learning about the current: sailing in wind against tide conditions was new for us and it creates short and sharp waves. The beach launches from the soft sandy beaches were also interesting as you need quite some power to pull your Laser through the sand.

There are always changing sandbars at the entrance which we had to watch out for—we got stuck on the first day between sandbars, we were boxed in and we had to lift our daggerboards and rudders and try to walk over the sandbank with a very strong current.

The regatta took five days where each day had two races, except one day we could not race because of very light wind so the next day we completed four races. Peter finished 2nd overall in the ILCA 4 Open U16 and 5th overall. I came in 33rd and Daniel in 42nd. Tommy in the ILCA6 finished 7th in the Silver fleet. We also saw Richard Tsui again, a former Hebe sailor who moved to the UK and he finished 48th in the ILCA 6. The other alumni Hebe Dragon we met was Lumiere who sailed in the ILCA 6 as well.

Let's not forget I had a seal popping up next to my boat whilst sailing back to the club, how amazing was that!

We are now taking two weeks of rest before Peter, Daniel, and I will travel to Portugal to Vilamoura to compete in the Youth Worlds for ILCA 4. Interestingly, our coach is driving a van with two Lasers on the roof and a big trailer behind with 6 lasers and a rib. He drove from Germany to the UK and the boats are now travelling via Marseille in France to Vilamoura. We loaded and unloaded the boats which was a new experience for us as well and luckily all our sailing gear (sails, tillers, clothes) can travel with the van as well since there are some luggage handling issues in Europe and some sailors already lost their luggage

We are all looking forward to coming back to Hebe after the Summer for the great fried rice and Nasi Goreng which we really miss but also to share our experiences with the current Hebe Dragon Laser Sailors.

It was great to see Richard and Lumi again and get to hang out, sail, and eat with them.

Once a Hebe Dragon, always a Hebe Dragon!!

我們隨後前往英國，到了以水流湍急、潮差達 3 米而聞名的 海陵島。希思路機場停飛令前往英國也是一個挑戰。海陵島 帆船會為今年英國國家 ILCA4、6及7 賽事擔任東道主。我們 進行了 3 天的訓練，我很享受學習水流：在逆著風浪中航行 對我們來說十分新鮮，海浪短而強烈。自柔軟的沙灘上伸延 開來的海灘也十分有趣，因爲需要相當的力才能在沙上拉動 您的 Laser。

我們要小心入口那邊總是有變化不斷的沙洲——第一天我們 被困在沙洲之間，我們陷在裡面，於是我不得不抬起我們的 匕首板和方向舵，嘗試在強大的水流中走過沙洲。

比賽歷時 5 天，每天有兩場賽事。但其中一天因爲風力微弱無 法進行賽事，所以我們在第二天完成了 4 場賽事。Peter 在 ILCA 4 U16 公開賽中獲得總第 2 名及全場第 5 名。我排名第 33 位，而 Daniel 排在第 42 位。在 ILCA6 的賽事中，Tommy 在 Silver 船隊 中排名第 7。我們也再次見到前白沙灣航員 Richard Tsui，他現 移居英國並在 ILCA6 中名列第 48 位。還有一位白沙灣龍隊前隊 員是參與 ILCA 6 賽事的 Lumiere。

別忘了當我駛回遊艇會時，船旁邊突然出現了一隻海豹，實 在太神奇了！

我們現時正休息兩個星期，之後 Peter、Daniel 和我將前往葡 萄牙參加 ILCA 4 青年世界賽。有趣的是，我們的教練駕駛的 麪包車車頂上有放著 2 艘 Laser，後面拖著一架大拖車，放著 6 艘 Laser 和一艘充氣船。他從德國開車到英國，現在這些船 正經法國的馬賽前往維拉摩拉。裝卸這些船對我們來說也是 新的體驗。幸好我們所有航海設備（風帆、舵柄、衣服）都 能隨貨車一起運送。因爲歐洲有些行李問題，有些航員丟失 了他們的行李。

我們都期待夏天過後回到白沙灣，品嚐我們非常想念的美味 炒飯和印尼炒飯，同時也期待與現任白沙灣龍隊的 Laser 航 員分享我們的經驗。

很高興再次見到 Richard 和 Lumi，並能和他們一起玩、出海 和吃飯。

一日白沙灣龍隊，一世白沙灣龍隊！