IN the most audacious raid yet on Hong Kong's yachting fraternity, the commodore of Aberdeen Boat Club has had his prize-winning 12-metre yacht stolen from its mooring.
Wayne Thompson last saw the Taiwanese-built Deliverance on January 26 - but did not realise it had been stolen until a week later when he went to take out some friends.
''We went down to go sailing and it was gone,'' Mr Thompson told the Sunday Morning Post yesterday.
''It was secured at its mooring with no key for the ignition, It's sickening - it was like one of the family.'' As commodore of the Aberdeen Boat Club, Mr Thompson has become increasingly concerned about a spate of yacht robberies. Nine luxury cruisers were stolen last year and many have ended up in mainland waters being used as public ferries.
He said boat owners had become aware of the dangers in territorial waters of theft and robbery and had increased security. Deliverance was recently refitted with safety equipment, but it was not enough to stop the thieves taking what Mr Thompson believeswas their first sailing boat.
Deliverance, which has competed in four San Fernando races, was taken from its mooring near the outer wall of Po Chung Wan, not far from a marine police station in Aberdeen typhoon shelter.