Meet the Skipper of the Filipino Team That Raced in the Rolex China Sea Race 2024
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Like most others involved the sport, Ernesto Echauz was drawn to sailing by the promise of freedom and adventure. As a young man his mother used to take him to the Manila Yacht Club where he was first exposed to boats and the thrills of sailing.
“You just wanted to sail; it was something very different,” he says in a holding room at the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club (RHKYC). It’s the day before the kickoff of the 20204 Rolex China Sea Race and Echauz and the other competitors spent time getting to know the media covering the race, including Esquire Philippines. “You’re able to move the boat against the wind. It was something that was nice and good.
“I’m also very fond of the sea,” he adds. “I also do fishing. Pag nakasampa ka na (sa barko), tuloy-tuloy na yun.”
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It wasn’t different in Echauz’s case; the love affair only grew. He sought to improve his sailing skills, and eventually get on a bigger boat. And then he became aware of sailing competitions, especially the China Sea Race.
“Even before we started sailing, we were members of the Manila Yacht Club, and we would watch the boats coming into Manila Bay,” he says. The race stopped there before it moved to Subic Bay. “Pag pasok ng competitors, we’d look at their boats, and I remember my dream back then was to be able to join the race. Not necessarily own a boat, but just go on the boat.”
Ernesto Echauz has competed in the Rolex China Sea Race multiple times over the years
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Fast forward a few years and Echauz, who is also the group chairman of Standard Insurance, did manage to make his dream come true, and many times over. The veteran sailor has been a mainstay of what is now called the Rolex China Sea Race for many years and has even managed to have his name engraved in the race trophy at least twice.
"The Rolex China Sea Race is the best race in Asia,” he says. "For the Philippines, especially, it’s only around 600 miles from Hong Kong to Subic. The most competitive big boats are in Hong Kong, so the (participants) are the most competitive. Hong Kong is a maritime center, that’s why you have a lot of sailboats.”
In the 2023 edition of the race, Echauz and his team won Line Honours, which is the first boat to cross the finish line in Subic Bay. It’s one of two major awards given in the race; the other is the overall winner, which takes into account handicaps related to each boat’s size and weight.
It was the Line Honours title that Echauz and his all-Filipino team was looking to defend at this year’s edition of the race.
Rolex China Sea Race 2024
The Rolex China Sea Race is one of the oldest and most prestigious sailing competitions in the region and the world. First held in 1962 with three boats from the RHKYC, one from the Philippines and one from Japan, the biennial race has since grown to include multiple other sailboats from around the region.
The Standard Insurance Centennial V
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This year, the race celebrated its 62nd anniversary with 21 boats and 191 sailing competitors from 26 different countries and territories. There were seven international entries, including Hojun Song of the Random from South Korea, Seawolf from Mainland China, Mondher Latiri ‘s Gutsy from Chinese Taipei, and, of course, Echauz’s Standard Insurance Centennial III and Centennial V from the Philippines
After the start of the race at Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbor, where reports said there was an easterly breeze that reached 20 knots, the competitors relied on little else but their sailing skills as they harnessed the wind to maneuver the boats and move toward the direction of Subic Bay in the Philippines.
The all-Filipino team of Standard Insurance Centennial V
According to the official race log, it was a fierce battle between Happy Go led by Nie Hua and Echauz’s Standard Insurance Centennial V. However, in the end, it was Happy Go, which was sailing in the Rolex China Sea Race for only the second time, that ultimately finished the Race just five minutes ahead of her rival, winning both Line Honours, and the IRC Overall win.
Happy Go’s corrected time for the 565 nautical mile race was 3 days, 20 hours, 20mins and 35 seconds.
Nie Hua and crew lifted both the China Sea Trophy and Sunday Telegraph Trophy at the prizegiving ceremony held at the Subic Bay Yacht Club. Nie Hua also received two Rolex timepieces. According to race logs, the last time a boat achieved the double win was in 2010, when Neil Pryde competed with his boat HiFi.
The winners of the race will get their names engraved in the official trophy
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“We have made a lot of preparations ahead of the Race but getting Line Honours and the IRC Overall title is completely out of my expectations!” Nie Hua said. “I would like to give a huge applause to the crew working on board. I am absolutely thrilled and so thankful. We had a great team, although we had some language barriers, we operated well, so a big thank you to the team!"
William Liu’s Seawolf from Mainland China won 2nd IRC Overall and IRC Racer 0 2nd place. Skipper YY Yan said “We hit two fishing nets on the way down to Subic, but in general we had a pretty good journey down,” he was quoted as saying. “The whole team performed very well and we hope that our participation can inspire more Chinese boats to join the Rolex China Sea Race.”
Coming in third overall, as well as 3rd place in the IRC Racer 0 division, was Echauz’s Standard Insurance Centennial V. Instead of disappointment, Echauz chose to be grateful for the experience.
Echauz says he is proud of his all-Filipino team
"This was the most exciting Rolex China Sea Race that I have ever experienced,” he said. “It was so exciting from the start on the first day and all the way up to the finish. I am very proud of my team and proud of the other competitors as they are very competitive.”
The Rolex China Sea Race is organized by the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club. Rolex has been a partner of the Club since 2007 and Title Sponsor of its flagship Race since 2008.
