First port of call was Simpson Marine, one of the larger and more established yacht brokers and dealers operating in the Far East, with headquarters in Hong Kong and a branch office in Malaysia. Sales director, Robin Wyatt, provided essential background information acknowledging that, as with the rest of South East Asia, the boat population in Hong Kong had undergone a contraction in the last two years, resulting mainly from the economic contagion that started in Thailand and inflicted the rest of the region. If boats had simply changed hands without leaving the market, marinas would be less worried because the boat population as a whole would not have shrunk. Unfortunately, prices of used boats were sufficiently depressed for yachts to be shipped out to foreign markets, the result of which is that a number of yachts left Asia. Thankfully, with increasing optimism now creeping back into Hong Kong and the Asian markets, the outflow has been stemmed. Hong Kong's marinas are hopeful that with the turn of the economic tide, they will once again be brimming with yachts.

Robert Bird, General manager at RHKYC,
has a busy sailing calendar to support.

Hong Kong is easily the most established boating market in South East Asia. The territory is dotted with nine major boating facilities (see map above). The Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club (RHKYC) is one of the oldest - if not the oldest -clubs in the region. Although the Club does not have a pontoon system, it is the most centrally located place to moor a boat, as it occupies a prime site and a large portion of the typhoon shelter at Causeway Bay. By brazenly opting to retain 'royal' patronage after hand-over to the Chinese, it is set to become a defiant icon marking the island's recent colonial past, and in the process adding more colour to its already illustrious history. The club has a strong sail tradition, and that has kept the membership distinctly foreign - locals generally relate more to motor than sail. From this point of view Hong Kong is similar to many other Asian countries, where the local population has only taken to recreational boating in the last ten to twenty years when strong economic growth gave rise to higher disposable income. In spite of Hong Kong's maritime heritage, this meant that many took up boating late in life. With family in tow, and limited leisure time (in Hong Kong, more than anywhere else in the world -time is money), power, with the shorter learning curve, was invariably the preferred option. In recent years, as the population of western- educated Hongkongers grew, an increasingly local sailing base has developed, giving broad support to an active and varied sailing calendar that keeps RHKYC's general manager, Robert Bird and its sailing co-ordinator, Kelly Gilkison, busy year-round.

From the oldest to the latest- Shenzhen Ocean Marina Club (SOMC) -is expected to break ground in the last quarter of the year. Although strictly speaking it is located across the border outside Hong Kong, it is nonetheless targeted at the Hong Kong boating market, where architect and general manager Kelvin Fong is confident of raising the inaugural membership. Marina manager, Matthew Hardy, who earned his marina experience at Nongsa Point Marina in Indonesia, and latterly was at Subic Bay Yacht Club, Philippines, is set to join them in September to oversee construction. Shenzhen is a designated economic zone that forms part of Hong Kong's huge and bustling industrial hinterland. When completed, SOMC is expected to offer CIQP (customs, immigration, quarantine & port) clearance facilities, making it a boating-friendly gateway into China. Entry of recreational craft into Chinese waters is presently a cumbersome process. Another prestigious boating development on Hong Kong Island is the Aberdeen Marina Club (AMC). Managed by the famed Shangri-La Hotel Group (it is linked by shareholders' connections), it has an exterisive clubhouse with more than the usual country club facilities, including an indoor ice-skating rink.

In addition to the marina, it boasts a 200 boat capacity dry-stack building serviced by an Abell-Howe stacking crane (one of only two such cranes in Asia -the other i~ at Singapore's Raffles Marina). These unusual dry-stacking cranes run on overhead gantries and in the hands of an experienced operator, manage a turn-around time of under five minutes (did I mention time is money in Hong Kong?). Their small turning radii and high stacking ability result in a high stacking density for a given footprint, an important consideration in areas where waterfront land is expensive or scarce. David Bowdler recently joined AMC as dockmaster, taking over from Martin Leung who has moved to Clearwater Bay Marina. There is still an existing population of boat people in Aberdeen, and the contrasting sight and sound of working junks jostling with gleaming yachts blends in an eclectic mix that is uniquely Hong Kong.

Adjoining AMC is the Aberdeen Boating Club (ABC), with dry-stack shed, and mooring buoys on-water. Although its facilities are modest in comparison with its neighbour, it is nonetheless an active club with a strong sailing base. A few years ago, it stole the limelight by announcing an intention to mount a Hong Kong challenge for the America's Cup in New Zealand. Although this did not materialise, it demonstrates a certain brand of brinkmanship and polished boastfulness that is characteristic to Hong Kong.

From top:

Architect and general manager, Kelvin Fong, is looking to Hong Kong to raise the inaugural membership at Shenzhen Ocean Marina Club, which is located across the border in mainland China.

Hardstand area at Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club.

Typhoon shelter at Causeway Bay showing RHKYC's moorings.

David Bowdler recently joined Aberdeen Marina Club as dockmaster.

The extensive clubhouse at Aberdeen Marina Club even has an indoor ice rink.