TP52 showdown

Three TP52 racing yachts are expected to push the limits in this year’s Rolex China Sea Race. These competitive 52-footers include Philippines entry, Standard Insurance Centennial 3, as well as local entries Rampage 88 and Happy Go (ex-PapRec).

Standard Insurance Centennial 3 is the team to watch, having participated in four China Sea Races – in 2012 (as Jelik 5), 2014, 2016 and lastly in 2018 when they took 1st place in the IRC 0 division and 3rd IRC Overall in 2018. Centennial 3 is skippered by Emerson Villena, who has crossed the South China Sea no less than 23 times and his trusted sailing partner, Lester Tayong, who won a gold medal helming a 470 in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games, will be his navigator.

The final approach to the Philippines is more often sailed in light winds, demanding a different skill set entailing one of considerable patience. Yachts are met with the infamous ‘Luzon hole’, often causing the fleet to compress and effectively restart the race as they near the coast of the Philippines. Centennial 3 from Subic Bay Yacht Club should have the best tactics and local insight on how to navigate through it.

Noel Chan, owner of Rampage 88, has been racing for a long time and his Rampage boats are recognised around Hong Kong waters. Team Rampage 88 consists of a mixture of both local and expat professional and some relatively novice sailors, all united in their drive to be the best. The first Rampage team joined a Rolex China Sea in 2018 onboard Rampage 2 – an HH42. Noel Chan acquired Rampage 88, a Judel-Vrolijk designed TP52, formerly called Zerocloud from Italy, after their 2018 Rolex China Sea Race. He hired Matt Humphries, five-time Whitbread Round the World / Volvo Ocean Race sailor from Britian to lift their game and help the team become competitive.

After a year of training, the team started to see the results, climbing up the ranks in local competition amongst the other TP52s. Fresh from taking IRC overall in the Round the Island Race last year, this time Rampage 88 is aiming for a win at the Rolex China Sea Race. “We predict our biggest challenge will be when we get below Luzon near Subic. The wind dies significantly and here skill, and a not insignificant amount of luck, will be needed to punch through this quickly,” said the team’s Daniel Mark.

Happy Go (former boat of Paprec Recyclage) would appear to be the least experienced in the fleet having just arrived in Hong Kong. But the boat is loaded with talent and experienced offshore sailors, including Tiger Mok, the only Hong Kong Volvo Ocean Race sailor, along with 2014 Incheon Asian Games Hong Kong Team sailors Owen Wong and Dominic Law. Happy Go is skippered by Jono Rankine (NZL), who coached Owen and Dominic and has extensive experience in offshore racing including the 2021 Transpac Race and the 2015 Transatlantic Race, along with other prestigious Rolex offshore events including the Rolex Sydney to Hobart and Rolex Middle Sea Race.

Other experienced sailors on board include past RHKYC commodore, John Woo, along with the rear commodore of the Royal Ocean Racing Club, Drew Taylor (29 x Sydney Hobarts, Caribbean 600, Fastnet and nine Hong Kong to Vietnam Races) who will be adding their vast wealth of offshore experience to the Happy Go team.