Bob Hawley and Richard Hownam-Meek were joint owners of the yacht "Calypso". Bob's company were the agents for Lipton Tea and the Lipton's representative, who was himself a keen yachtsman, used to time his annual visits to Hong Kong to enable him to do some racing with Bob and Richard.

One year he joined them in a Hong Kong Royal Navy Volunteer Reserves Memorial Vase race and happened to mention that Lipton Tea had recently given a trophy to a Club in the UK. Bob and...
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Bob Hawley and Richard Hownam-Meek were joint owners of the yacht "Calypso". Bob's company were the agents for Lipton Tea and the Lipton's representative, who was himself a keen yachtsman, used to time his annual visits to Hong Kong to enable him to do some racing with Bob and Richard.

One year he joined them in a Hong Kong Royal Navy Volunteer Reserves Memorial Vase race and happened to mention that Lipton Tea had recently given a trophy to a Club in the UK. Bob and Richard plied him with more beer until their hint penetrated and a few months later a magnificent silver model of a J Class yacht resulted.

For the benefit of the younger generation, between 1899 and 1930 Mr (later Sir) Thomas Lipton challenged repeatedly for the America's Cup and built no less than five "Shamrocks". In 1920 Shamrock IV came within one race of winning the cup. Terms laid down by the New York Yacht Club included the stipulation that the challenger should have sailed across the Atlantic to challenge. Interesting also, perhaps, as representing the social attitudes of the times, Lipton, considered a mere grocer by the Committee, was never accepted for membership of the Royal Yacht Squadron.

This year's race is a constituent event of the Top Dog Trophy Series
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