Beau Geste best of 'em all

SUBIC -- Hong Kong entry Beau Geste bulldozed its way past two rivals when the winds died down on them and charged to a record-breaking finish in claiming China Sea Race 2000 line honors here.

Karl Kwok's Whitbread 60-footer Beau Geste appeared in danger of losing the battle for line honors first to Frank Pong's Jelik and then to Frenchman Benoit Lesaffre's Atmosphere as they headed to the finish line off Subic Bay Monday afternoon.

But as fate would have it, Jelik and Atmosphere encountered wind problems and Beau Geste went on to check in first among the 32 starters of the 600-nautical mile Hong Kong-to-Subic sea race.

With an unconfirmed time of 47 hours, 43 minutes and 11 seconds, Beau Geste appears to have set a new record for the 20th edition of the biennial event, which attracted the biggest names in the sailing world.

Beau Geste, which owns the old record of 75:53:56, now has a big edge in the chase for the IRC division title.

The final results will be released after all the boats have arrived.

Even the welcoming group at the Subic Bay Yacht Club was amazed at the pace of 11 knots Beau Geste averaged as it arrived at Subic earlier than the expected arrival time.

Subic Bay Yacht Club (SBYC), which has gained giant strides in turning itself into a venue of world-class sailing, is a co-organizer of the China Sea Race 2000 with the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club (RHKYC) and the Manila Yacht Club (MYC). SBYC Commodore Victor Villavicencio said the arrival of big time sailing veterans from Hong Kong would guarantee an exciting match up with the local entries.

Focus now shifts to the three-day China Sea Race Inshore Series 2000, which Subic Bay Yacht Club is co-organizing with RHKYC starting Saturday.

With America's Cup veteran Gavin Brady at the helm, Beau Geste dropped behind Jelik when its Code Zero sail shredded. The crew also knew that Atmosphere was even further ahead after the second day of the race.

The four-man Atmosphere crew took an early shower when the winds died near Grande Island and it was then that Beau Geste passed them.