Thriving on and off the water: Tommy Wong’s journey from candidate to instructor

“I started in 2019 as just a sailor with the AST program provided by Scallywag. The program was set up to provide a pathway for kids to get into sailing. And I had a trial with Sailability Hong Kong. I was one of the candidates that sailed through the Team Sun Hung Kai program and also with the help of Sailability Hong Kong and I’m now an instructor.”

A year later, after a little bit of experience in Hansa 303s and visiting the Hebe Haven Yacht Club, home of Sailiability Hong Kong, a place opened up in the programme and Tommy was able to join.

Tommy was welcomed and gained more experience in the club race team, and to try new disciplines such as Match Racing. Within two years he was selected to be part of the national team.

“My first proper event as Hebe Open 2020 which we are grateful to pull off a third overall. In the meantime, I was fortunate enough to be receiving the title of Scallywag Sailor of the Year. Just two months before Hebe Open, I met with Alfie We, Hebe Dragons Race Team Head Coach, we were chatting in the changing room when he invited me to give a go on an ILCA, I didn’t know what to expect and just said ‘sure’, which that turned out to be a really huge turning point in my life.”

From here Alfie gave him all new equipment, boat and riggings, and that is also how he also met Richard, a friend and training partner that made Tommy competitive in Hong Kong within the first year of training.

Later Tommy was given the title of Hebe Dragons Laser Fleet Captain as the oldest but also ‘youngest’ in the team in terms of experience. It was more responsibility, but it also showed appreciation from the Hebe Team – which was a huge endorsement of his abilities.

“One of the first ever events that we attended overseas was the EurILCA 6 Youth European Championship held in Thessaloniki, Greece, and then as we progressed, I had the privilege of also sailing at the Asian Championships in Pattaya, Thailand and then coming back here for the National Championship.”

Alongside the experience of national and international competition, Tommy also had the privilege of getting to know experienced sailor Patrick Pender who gave him the opportunity to join him on a variety of different boats, including VX-1s and TP-52s.

He is incredibly thankful to Kay Rawbone, co-founder and CEO of Sailability Hong Kong, her late husband Mike, and Paul Ng, an instructor at Sailability. The trio helped Tommy to carry on in Sailability. He also credits Patrick (Pender) and Alfie (We) for getting him onto the racing circuit and creating the chance to take part in various events – including the China National Student Games the U21 World Championship held in Viana do Castelo in Portugal, the ILCA Asian Open Championship last year in Hainan, China, where he was also an assistant coach alongside Alfie with four Hebe Dragon race team.

Tommy has also assisted with the team’s training camp in Thailand, at the Royal Varuna Yacht Club, where he was able to bring some kids down to the Thai National Championship.

“This was very exciting and also great opportunity to do some coaching,” he beams.

Later he had the privilege to join MoHan, Sailability Hong Kong’s flagship keelboat – a 40-foot Solaris which was donated by the Li Ka Shing Foundation in July 2022.

“As my career keeps moving forward, I’m also doing more keelboat racing. The Cape 31 class is growing, and I’m currently one of the helmsmen on board one of the Cape 31’s H3O and also joining different just class racing with J/99s which I’m proud to be one of the members on board. We’ve won quite a lot of races since we’ve just started.”

The opportunities to coach are also increasing, and Tommy recognises the need to keep developing.

“The need to get an instructor license is crucial with different coaching opportunities, protecting myself and also protecting the kids, protecting the family behind the kids,” he says.

This will be the next goal.

As Tommy says, “People say it takes years to race competitively in sailing, but I say it takes passion and love. Still, time plays its role during the journey, the more training hours you get, the more you can gain.”

Images supplied. Photographer Dickson Lee.