Karl Kwok’s MOD Beau Geste raced into Hainan at 11h 21m 59s Hong Kong time this morning, taking Line Honours and setting the Race’s first multihull record of 24h 1m 59s.  MOD Beau Geste narrowly missed the race record of 23h 31m 52s that was set in 2016 by Seng Huang Lee’s 100ft Super Maxi Scallywag by a mere 30m 07s.

Karl Kwok commented on the Race, “It’s been an interesting race, the start was so severe, so rough, but by the time we reached Hainan everything had calmed down, and we were fighting for wind. Our top speed was consistently above 30kts, so we should have been here six hours earlier, but unfortunately, that didn’t work.  By the time the wind ran out there was another system from the island, so basically, we just ran out of wind altogether. The first 12 hours were remarkable because we got rewarded with flatter, calmer seas after the initial rush out of Hong Kong and the wind was strong. We had been anticipating close-quartered combat with SHK Scallywag Fuku, and though we would have had a really close race, we are very sad that they had to pull out.”

The next boats to arrive are Sam Chan’s TP52 Free Fire and Joachim Isler and Drew Taylor’s Mills 41 Ambush. Ambush is having an epic run keeping up with Free Fire and if all goes to plan, is well on her way to taking the IRC Overall win.   Before the Race, co-owner Joachim Isler estimated Ambush would cross the line after 26 to 28 hours and whilst that hasn’t come true, she’s still sitting pretty.

With 180nm to Sanya, Michael Lunn’s Azuree 40, Lion Rock is cruising along at around 8kts and is expected to cross the line sometime on Saturday. Lion Rock suffered damage when Super Typhoon Mangkhut hit Hong Kong in September when another boat collided with them. This resulted in repairs after damage to the pulpit at the front of the boat as well as the rails down the side.  Crew member Kevin Greene expects the Race will surely test the boat but has an incentive to get to Hainan for Saturday or run the risk of running out of chicken stew and sandwiches.

The rest of the fleet is expected to arrive tonight and throughout Saturday.