(Guangzhou, China)- South China's host city of the Asian Games is one of the top ten cities in China. For most Westerners this may mean nothing. However, taken in the context of most cities around the world, Guangzhou is in the world's top 20! Or, perhaps for many of you, a more sobering thought taken in the context of history, over half of the world's top 20 cities are in China-- and Beijing is not the biggest!
Taking place on the water off the Shanwei Water Sports Centre is a remarkably well-organized and efficiently run regatta with a fabulous technical tour'de'force of media employing every imaginable means of technology to bring it home to the Chinese masses- live on-water video, helicopters, remote control drones doing live video and so forth. Nothing is spared to ensure the event is brought to the living rooms of those in the Asian/ Middle Eastern World. Remember, the "Golden Triangle" comprised of Japan to China, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines and points in between comprise over $20 trillion USD in GDP today....hmmm, a bit more than America.
Sailing in this event are an Olympic cross-section of classes, including Lasers, Optimists, and Hobie 16s. Plus, J/80s for match racing. So far, the Malaysian Team is doing quite well in the J/80s match racing. Not far off the pace are the Singapore and Chinese teams. The list of teams competing in the event include China, Japan, Korea, Pakistan, Bahrain, Singapore, Malaysia and India. According to Jim Johnstone in Xiamen, China "we got the J/80s ready for the Asian Games this past week. The list of countries participating in the event will someday read like a "who's who" for top Asian sailors. The event so far has been very good, the area that they are sailing in is quite windy this time of the year. Best compared to American sites like Corpus Christi, Texas where it blows 20+ knots each day and it's relatively warm. The teams have had two brand new 3/4 oz conventional spinnakers blow-up and one T-bone, but we are dealing with those things. Since there are only 8 teams it is not hard to pull two boats out of the rotation and switch on the dock."
The 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, opened in dramatic style with a ceremony which drew on Guangzhou's rich maritime history, held in a purpose built arena, located on a small island on the Pearl River. Sailing is one of the 42 sports in this multi-sport event, held every four years in Asia, allowing athletes from all over the Asian continent to compete.
Perhaps most remarkable about this event is the degree to which national sailing authorities (NGO's) in Asian nations take national pride and success in such endeavors as seriously as they do. It does not take one to scratch the tablets of world history very deeply to appreciate their perspectives in the age of discovery and exploration in the 16th century onwards. Asia was at the cross-roads of powerful commercial interests and sailing ships, captains, navigators, navies were integral to their successes or failures over the course of time. Seems to many that they're learning from such experiences fast and accelerating quickly past many of their friendly Western friends not only in the sport of sailing, but in business and culture, too.
Indicative of this change is how sailing is perceived by leaders in the Middle East and Asia and how strongly, in fact, they support sailing as a sport and activity for their growing middle classes. Leading up to the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, a number of sailors and their sponsors in these countries issued some very interesting statements supporting such endeavors.
Read more about their sailing initiatives in the Sailing section here on the Asia Games 2010 site.
* Now and Zen- We sail for a lot of different reasons. Some people like to win races, but they don’t even really like the pure act of sailing. Some people never win a race in their life, but they just love being out the water. Then, there are those of us for whom sailing can become an act of personal salvation. Lee Carlson has an excellent story to tell about how sailing gave him back his life through his book “Passage to Nirvana”.
The PRO managed to run two splendid races on the first day. Only a mild "scirocco" with 10-12 knots, warm, mild, dry air gracing one's skin, beautifully replenishing the strains of a weeks worth of abuse driving a desk at the office. As our Italian friends say, the Tigullio is no longer the "Gulf of Nesci" and continues to give an "elixir" for anyone taking days of sailing and racing for the benefit of their well-being. Out on the water it just so happens that JENIALE crushed the faithful with MONTPRES in second and OLD SPIRIT third. In the second race, JENIALE walked away again (next time feed them more red wine at dinner!), second was J'BES and third OLD SPIRIT. While these are just the first rounds of sailing, the next are on November 28. Still time to book Alitalia or British Airways and join them! Sailing Photos by F. Prandini. For more J/80 Italian Winter Series sailing information.
Germans Compete For Match Race Supremacy In Hamburg
Before the Germany Final got underway on Friday, Hamburg was visited by several celebrities and professional yachtsmen. After three races, TEAM NORD with Ulrike Schumann, Niko Mittelmeier and Phillip Buhl were able to celebrate their victory over Markus Weiser while stars like ultra-hot ice-skater Katarina Witt were enjoying their first experience out on the un-frozen water. The biggest winners, however, were the children-- 10,000 Euros were raised for the World Childhood Foundation! That's a cause for celebration and kudos to BMW Yachtsport Team for supporting such an wonderful program!
In the finale, which featured the top three teams, the BMW Yachtsport Ambassador (Markus Weiser) and his crew produced two immaculate races to leave the opposition in their wake: second place went to the team skippered by Denmark's Sten Mohr, who was part of the afterguard in the BMW ORACLE Racing team for the 32nd America's Cup and was at the helm of the then Challenger of Record in the semi-final of the Louis Vuitton Cup. German match race champion Stefan Meister came third.
(Nantes, France- Oct 30-31)- With sixty-six participants, under optimal conditions, perfect organization both on water and on land, a good atmosphere and sailors thrilled to be racing, what more could one ask for in the penultimate event of the French National J/80 Series. Great sailing for the large fleet and challenging conditions all four days.
On the last day of racing, the whims of the wind Gods forced a delay for the race committee. Originally scheduled for 10 am, the racing didn't start until 11 am. Even then, with wind oscillations of 45 degrees every fifteen minutes, the PRO was having a difficult time setting a good course. Nevertheless, a race was launched at 11:30am with a change of course during the race. The "traditional" general recall, the black flag, had to be used on the aggressive fleet. It's almost a custom for the J/80 class! But again, it was a very good race under a bright sun and mild temperatures for the season. No one was arguing since it was such a gorgeous day. After the races, everyone went home happily, feeling it was one of the best regattas all year in the French National Series. It's worthwhile to note the excellent job performed by the race committee team and the PRO from the Metropolitan Club Nantes- Saint Nazaire (APCC). M.I.A. was dear friend Bruno Trouble on COYOTE/ JURASSIC PARK, perhaps still nursing some strained muscles and some good vintage California (and Newport) wines after the J/80 Worlds (seen here to the right having a ball off Newport!)-- the Clarke Cooke House Candy Store evening after the J/80 Worlds Awards was lots of fun! For more French J/80 sailing results. Photo courtesy of Paul Todd/ Outside Images.
(Auckland, NZ)- Paul Todd's Outside Images is pleased to announce the publication of the J/80 World Championship 2010 Coffee Table book. This book is a memento to sailors and everyone involved with the J/80 World Championship held in Newport, Rhode Island October 2010. There are over 200 images through out the book and each chapter relives some of the awesome sailing and how close the regatta was between the American and Spanish teams.