Famous Classic Yacht Dorade Takes on Asia 经典帆船 Dorade号出战亚洲

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[endif]--Dorade at the 2015 Transatlantic / Dorade号出战2015大西洋帆船赛

Race image: Billy Black

The 12th entry for 29th edition of the Rolex China Sea Race has been received from the famous classic yacht Dorade. The China Sea Race was established in 1962 with five yachts racing from Hong Kong to Corrigedor, Philippines. The winner was C.F. Von Sydow’s on his yacht Reverie a 40’ foot classic Yawl designed by Sparkman & Stephens and launched in 1957. The Rolex China Sea Race now finishes in Subic Bay, Philippines but like its first winner, Dorade is also a Sparkman & Stephens, commissioned by Roderick Stephens Sr. and designed in 1929 by his son Olin Stephens and built under the oversight of his younger son Rod.

In his role as Rear Commodore of the Royal Ocean Racing Club, Dorade Captain Matt Brooks, who co-owns the yacht with Pam Rorke Levy has long had ambitions to enter the Rolex China Sea Race, one of the premier ocean races in the RORC line-up. 'We are delighted to usher in a new chapter in Dorade's illustrious history, bringing her to oceans where she has never sailed or raced before,” added Brooks. “We are also looking forward to getting to know a new community of sailors, and sharing our experiences bringing a venerable classic yacht back to her intended use. Our hope is that we will inspire the owners of other classic ocean racers to take to the sea again.'"

Since Dorade’s launch from the Minneford Yacht Yard in May of 1930 she has ratcheted up an impressive score card; winning more ocean races than any other yacht in history. She won the 1931 Transatlantic Race, which, under Olin’s command, won in sixteen days and an hour, beating the next (and much larger) boat by two days, and winning on corrected time by over four days. The win set her name firmly in the annals of yachting history — and changed forever the face of ocean racing yacht design.

In 2015, Dorade completed a four-year campaign retracing the steps of all the major ocean races that the boat had won in the 1930s; in each case beating the boat's original elapsed time performance, and winning the 2013 TransPacific Race overall, 77 years after her first overall win in that race in 1936. Dorade took part in the Rolex Fastnet Race and the Rolex Middle Sea Race in 2015.

Now, the legendary yacht and her crew, including Brooks and Levy, are travelling to this part of the world for the first time later this year, competing in several events in Australia culminating in December with the Rolex Sydney Hobart before the team makes its way up to Hong Kong for the Rolex China Sea Race in March 2018.

Whilst times have changed since she was first built, Dorade’s superb design keeps her highly competitive against modern fleets. With her deep keel with external ballast, an achingly narrow beam of just 10’3”, and a generous sail plan it will engaging to see how she fares against her modern counterparts in the 565nm voyage across the South China Sea.

The Notice of Race for the 2018 Rolex China Sea Race starting on 28 March 2018 is available online at www.rolexchinasearace.com.

[endif]--来自美国的经典帆船Dorade号成为第十二艘报名参加第29届劳力士中国海帆船赛的赛船。首届劳力士中国海帆船赛于1962年举行，五艘赛船由香港出发到菲律宾科雷希多岛 (现时，劳力士中国海帆船赛的终点已改为菲律宾的苏碧湾)。当年首名冲线的是C.F. Von Sydow的Reverie号，Reverie号是一艘由Sparkman 及 Stephensh船舶公司于1957年设计的40尺经典帆船。恰巧Dorade号亦是由Sparkman 及 Stephensh船舶公司Roderick Stephens Sr.委托，并于1929年由他的儿子Olin Stephens设计，并在他的小儿子Rod的监督下建造。 Olin富有设计创意而Rod则具有对机械领悟的天份。

Dorade号由Matt Brooks及Pam Rorke Levy共同拥有，Matt Brooks是皇家海洋竞赛会副会长，而Pam Rorke Levy则一直以来有意参与劳力士中国海帆船赛，其中一个被视为皇家海洋竞赛会首屈一指的比赛。 Matt Brooks称：「我们很高兴能带领Dorade号在航海生涯中展开新的一页，带她驶过从未接触过的海域。」Matt Brooks　再补充：「我们亦很期待认识一班全新的同嗜，并分享更多关于如何把尊贵的传统帆船发挥到应有水平的经验。我们希望可以唤起各地的传统海洋帆船手再次回到海洋上。」

Dorade号自1930年5月在Minneford Yacht Yard首次下水以来，她经已赢得多项比赛，在帆船赛历史上有卓越的成绩，令人对她有一份深刻的印象。 1931年，Dorade号在Olin的领航下，成功以16天零1小时冲线，比紧随体积较大的赛船快2天完成比赛，在修正时间后更以4天的成绩胜出。 Dorade号的名字从此在帆船运动历史上奠定了重要的地位，并改变了海洋竞赛赛船的设计。

在2015年，Dorade号完成了一场历时长达四年的运动，重踏1930年代主要的海洋赛事胜出时的步伐；在每场比赛中都要比原来船只所创下的时间快，她在2013年的跨太平洋赛事夺得总冠军，这是自1936年，77年后再次夺冠。 Dorade号在2015年亦有参加劳力士法斯特耐特帆船赛及劳力士地中海帆船赛。

今年，蜚声国际的Dorade号及其队员包括Brooks 和Levy，将会首次踏足世界的另一端；她先会于12月出席澳洲多项活动，在完成劳力士悉尼至霍巴特帆船大赛2017后，便会到访香港出战2018年3月举行的劳力士中国海帆船赛。

从她建成的那一天开始，世界不断改变，但Dorade号的精湛设计仍然令她在现今赛船保持竞争性，凭着她的深长龙骨，外置的压舱物及船宽仅有10呎3吋极其纤细，这将会有利她顺利横渡长565海里的南中国海。

The Notice of Race for the 2018 Rolex China Sea Race starting on 28 March 2018 is available online at www.rolexchinasearace.com.

劳力士中国海帆船赛将于2018年3月28日举行，有关赛事公告请浏览以下网址：www.rolexchinasearace.com。

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