WET ONES: Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club sailors Simon Johnson and Dionne Lo try to recover their boat Catastrophe near Bluff Head Mark during the Officine Panerai Round the Island Race. The duo went on to finish ninth in the multi-hull class in a time of seven hours and 55 minutes. Veteran Phyllis Chang failed to make it three-in-a-row in her hunt for the Lady Helm title but had some consolation when young sailor Cheung Mei-han, skippering Dexter - Chang's second boat in the race - took the trophy. Chang was forced to pull out in the middle of the race as the sail of her Phyloong, a Dragon, fell under the boat. 'It was a terrible race for me. I failed in what I wanted to do. One of my crew made a mistake near the first mark at Beaufort Island. But I was happy that Cheung won the Lady Helm title with my other boat.' The overall winner and overall monohull titles went to Adam Mowser and his elder brother Gideon racing their Laser 4000, Drink Till They're Pretty. They were third to cross the line behind line-honours winner Chris Steilberg, who was at the helm of HAH, a Hobie 20, and Kiboto, a Cruiser. The Mowsers finished the 26-mile race in five hours and five minutes, one hour slower than HAH. Gideon said of their win: 'We're quite lucky today. Normally, the winds are shifty and light in the harbour but we managed to find some patches of winds there today.'
