The Hong Kong Flying Fifteen team will race in the first race of the Subaru Flying Fifteen World Championships tomorrow following the release of their three boats from Customs at Dublin Port that caused them to miss this week's pre-world championships on Dublin Bay.
Last Sunday (September 1st), National Yacht Club championship organisers appealed to Minister for Transport Shane Ross for his assistance in expediting the situation at the Port where Hong Kong boats shipped specially to Dublin for the two-week event were in danger of missing it.
In an 'urgent request', the National Yacht Club's Commodore Martin McCarthy explained to the Minister by letter that the Asian team was temporarily 'importing their boats under the exemption of import charges'.
According to the Dun Laoghaire club's Honorary Secretary, Peter Sherry, 'the NYC appealed to the Minister as well as local politicians to intervene but it took a call from Hong Kong to the Tanaiste's Office before the wheels began to turn'.
The NYC says the boats were finally released from Customs yesterday (Wednesday) in time for the first race of the World Championships on Friday but unfortunately they did miss this week's warm-up event.
