The battle for Line Honours for the 2004 Hong Kong to Vietnam Race is shaping up nicely with 98ft maxi “Wild Thing” taking on Frank Pong’s radical new 115ft super maxi “Maiden HK”. The race in October will be Frank’s first chance to realise the potential of this all carbon-fibre, super maxi monohull.

While the two boats fight it out for line honours, the winner on handicap will be a lot harder to predict. Neil Pryde and his pros on “Hi Fidelity” will be campaigning against Fred Kinmonth and Nick Burns sailing their newly acquired Farr-Mills 50 “Mandrake”, Robert Knight racing his new DK 46 “Drumstick” and Sam Chan on “Ffree Fire”, fresh from her win in Koh Samui.

The Hong Kong to Vietnam race offers competitors a rare chance to sail in Vietnam’s picturesque coastal waters and Nha Trang is an excellent first stop for any boat continuing to Thailand’s King’s Cup Regatta or venturing further South to the 2004 Sydney to Hobart Race.

Entry forms can be downloaded from the official race website: www.hkvietnamrace.com