2026 Rolex China Sea Race - Day 2
by Vivian Ngan 5 Mar 04:50 PST
5 March 2026
Daybreak on the second day found the Rolex China Sea Race fleet already battle-tested. After slipping quietly out of Victoria Harbour, the boats sailed straight into a potent easterly flow and building seas, transforming the race from a gentle start into a full-throttle push across open water. Conditions built steadily overnight, with 25-28 kts blowing throughout the evening.
It was a tough night for some entries. The double-handed team on Juice retired due to equipment malfunction, while PHS entry Jibulai later withdrew after suffering a broken mainsail.
Moonblue 2 on the other hand reported "a big night, charging through the oil rigs and ripping off roughly 170nm", with the crew in high spirits.
For the first ever single-handed entry, Tiger Mok aboard 2 Easy successfully completed his first night at sea: "Survived the first evening — great to see the sunset and never felt this happy and special to see the sunrise. We've got 20 to 25kts right now, boat is going okay. I had a little autopilot malfunction last night — a sail tie caught the autohelm, blew a fuse, but it's working again. I hope the autopilot will be nice to me. I've been very gentle with it, not pushing too hard."
By morning, winds eased to around 18kts, with 1.5 to 2m waves, offering the fleet a brief window to reset, regroup, and enjoy a well-earned breakfast.
But the respite didn't last long — by afternoon, winds built again, with a tired crew aboard Parnassus reporting 25 to 27kts.
Team Alive-Rampage have taken the southernmost rhumb line, aiming to avoid a patch of adverse current that could threaten their bid to break the race record. By 2000 HKT they had logged 420nm and were charging toward Subic at 15kts, holding a 25nm lead over Standard Insurance Centennial V.
The two TP52s — Standard Insurance Centennial VII and Happy Go — remain locked in close quarters, sticking nearer the rhumb line and continuing an intense match-racing duel with only a few miles between them.
Meanwhile, in the battle for IRC Overall, Seawolf is putting on a commanding performance and remains well-positioned to challenge for their first overall victory.
Race action is being tracked by Yellowbrick Tracking and is being shown live at www.rolexchinasearace.com - the Race can also be followed on the YB Race Viewer App.
For more information about Rolex China Sea Race 2026, please visit www.rolexchinasearace.com.