Sports in Hong Kong - March 20, 2005
Sometimes cruising to distant lands is more about what is going on in the countries we visit than it is about sailing and sailboats. That is how it should be, and that is why we live in other countries.
In Hong Kong we follow the Chinese politics, we are involved in the expat job situation, we eat Chinese food, and we shop. We've been to the symphony, rock concerts, a Buddhist monastery, and also…we've watched Rugby.
We've been watching Rugby in various places since we stumbled into a bar in Auckland one rainy afternoon in 1998 and saw the New Zealand All Blacks do the Haka and play Rugby. We were hooked. After that day we found our way to Rugby matches in Tonga, Fiji, New Zealand, and Australia. When the Hong Kong Rugby Sevens World Cup came up here in Hong Kong, we just had to watch. We left WINGS tied to the dock and headed for the stadium.
Teams from 24 countries, including the USA, who got blown out, came to Hong Kong but the real stars were the South Pacific Island nations. Tonga was good, Samoa knocked out France, and in the end, Fiji faced New Zealand for the final and won!
As we watched Fiji roll over all comers, we could only remember cruising stops in the past, like Nuka Lo'fa in Tonga, where we watched Tonga play Fiji for the Epson Cup in 2000, and another Saturday morning in Fiji where, in a muddy field carved out of the jungle in Savu Savu, we watched a game where the players outnumbered the spectators and the concession stand had one item: Cool Aid. But on that day the enthusiastic players were oblivious to the small crowd, and they scrambled and slithered and honed the skills that their countrymen used today in Hong Kong to win the World Cup.
For us, watching Rugby is like completing a circle, and it is part of cruising.
Fred & Judy, SV Wings, Hong Kong
