Christian Wright is a town planner from Monday to Friday. On the weekend, you can see him riding the waves and sailing around Hong Kong Island. Find out about this thrilling pastime here.

“I grew up in north England,” explains Christian. "My father took me sailing as a youngster and got me interested. I also want to teach my daughters sailing when they get older. Soon after coming to live here, I looked around for a sailing club to join.

The Hong Kong Hobie Boat Club is based at a beach in Tai Tam and has about 70 boats. The other sailors are friendly, the beach has good winds and it’s quite cheap to be a member. Sunday is our busiest day and we race about twice a month. There are quite a few barbecues on the beach after races.

We race catamarans, which have two hulls (main bodies) and a sail. They are fast but easy to capsize (fall over). My catamaran is for two people. I usually stand at the side of the boat and my boat will heel, which means that one side is in the air. With a good wind, we can go 20 knots (37km per hour).

Christian racing on his catamaran.

Christian with other Hobie Club members.

September to April is the best time to sail in Hong Kong. The Northeast Monsoon brings stronger winds. We can still race in summer but the Southeast Monsoon is not as good.

If you want to try sailing, join an LCSD course. It's not too expensive but you should know how to swim. You can also come to one of our Open Days.? Check our website. I'll cook you something on the barbecue!!!

Catamarans can go 37km per hour!

Catamarans are easy to capsize.