Hong Kong Kroll VRC Race Series Photography

The Kroll VRC Race Series is a monthly event hosted by the Victoria Recreation Club (VRC) out of Deep Water Bay in Hong Kong. The event gives the opportunity for paddlers to improve their skill, stretch their comfort zones, and have fun while paddling alongside other paddlers in Hong Kong. Participants have the options to use surfskis, 1 person ocean canoes (OC1), OC2s, OC6s, and more. The event usually runs the first Saturday of every month, and the starting points can vary between Deep Water Bay and Round Island. As well, there’s a short course and long course throughout different parts of southern Hong Kong island for paddlers of all skill levels.

Morning Race Preparation

Preparation for the Kroll VRC race series started early in the morning, with many of the paddlers rigging their equipment at the VRC base in Deep Water Bay. It was a buzzing and delightful environment as people were moving their boats off the racks, attaching amas and iakos and finally getting their rig into the water. Fresh in their boats, the paddlers started to make their way over to Round Island for this race.

Support Boats for the Race

Alongside the many outrigger canoes and surfskis in the water were 2 support boats, and additional 3rd boat to mark the start and finish of the races. I joined on the short course support boat for the day with a fellow paddler named Dimitri. It was great getting to chat with him throughout the day to learn more about some of the paddlers stories, as well as some WWII history around the Stanley area.

Heading out to Round Island

As the early morning progressed, many of the paddlers start to trickle in to Round Island. Their paddle over is their first chance to settle into their boats, and get a read on the water, currents, and wind. Before they started to line up for their respective races, many of the paddlers took the opportunity to socialize and catch up with friends.

Start of the Long Course and Short Course

Once everyone arrived, the catch ups finished and the paddlers started to organize into their respective races at the starting line. The first horn of the day signaled the start of the men’s long course, followed by the women’s long course. After that came the short course, and finally the 6-person outrigger canoes (OC6s) would round out the start of the race.

Short Course Features

As the short course paddlers took off, our support boat followed along and floated around between the paddlers to keep an eye on everyone. The short course left from Round Island, stretched to the famous Stanley pier, and then all the way back around Round Island to the starting point. While the long course had a heavy majority of the paddlers for the day, the short course had about 15-20 paddlers.

Crew Members for the Day

My co-boat members for the day were Dimitri and our boat driver. Dimitri has lived in Hong Kong for around 20 years, but was getting ready to move to Canada with his family and wanted to spend one of his last days out on the water with friends. He spent the day telling me about different paddlers’ backgrounds, techniques in the water, and his history with paddling and how he got into it. As well, it was great to learn more about some WWII history in Stanley while we passed some pill boxes from the war on the islands nearby. The driver was also great and was able to effortlessly keep an eye on everyone in our race while also helping me to catch some great angles for pictures.

Final Stretches of the Paddling Race

As the race continued to edge closer to the finish line, the short course and long course began to merge for the final stretch around Round Island. Although the paddlers looked drained, it was impressive to see their tenacity and energy to put everything they had into the final bit of the race. As they rounded the last corner of the island, the blue boat marked the end of the race. It was high energy all around as those who had already finished were cheering on everyone else to put their best into the last few seconds. And yes, that is a kid on the back of that boat!

End of the Kroll VRC Race Series Day

Once paddlers crossed the finish line, the intensity faded back into the jovial and cheerful atmosphere that had started the morning. Drinks were passed around as conversations and laughs continued between the paddlers. Some took dips in the water while others hung off the side of their boats. After about 20 or 30 minutes, most of the paddlers started to make their way back over to Deep Water Bay to finish off another great morning race in the Kroll VRC race series.