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Algae cleared, Olympic sailors begin to practise normally in Qingdao

By Zhao Ruixue and Du Shu (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2008-07-06 17:32

Two foreign athletes set their boat to sailing practice in Qingdao, Shandong Province July 6, 2008. With algae almost cleared, Olympic sailors begin to practise normally. [Ju Chuanjiang/China Daily]

QINGDAO -- Seaweeds around the Olympic sailing competition area are decreasing remarkably, and sailors from home and abroad are training in a much better environment than a few days ago.

"Only 1.1 square kilometers of the 49.48-square-kilometer competition area was covered by seaweeds on July 4, which was much smaller than a few days ago," Liu Kefu, deputy head of North Sea Branch of State Oceanic Administration of China told China Daily.

Sailors appreciate the efforts made by the local government. Around 12 pm on July 6, and are ready to practise at the area where many fishing boats are still collecting scattered seaweeds.

"At the beginning we had to clean the boat frequently, but now it is ok. I think the locals have done a great work. We see many people collecting seaweed here. I appreciate it very much," Livia Varejmaa of Fin class from Finland told China Daily.

"The guys are doing a great job. The Olympics is coming, and they are trying their best to clean everything. I think it's much better than it was before. I have confidence in the local government. I believe it will clean up these sea weeds before Olympic sailing regatta," said Alvaro Marinffo, a 470 class sailor from Portugal.

Chinese Yinling sailors are excited. "This is the first time we can train on waters since we had our new boat. Seaweeds are decreasing than days ago and we will grasp every minute to train. We are confident in 2008 Olympics."

Seaweeds floating from the central waters of the Yellow Sea have long been affecting sailors' training since the middle of June. More than 1,000 boats and all efforts from residents, soldiers and volunteers are organized to clear away seaweeds.

According to the latest news from the emergency department, more than 460,000 tons of seaweeds have been cleared away by 3 pm on July 6.

Besides fishing boats, many modified big ships are collecting seaweeds. The four ships refitted by North China Sea Fleet are capable of cleaning up the seaweeds enclosed by 32 fishing boats in less than two hours.

According to Cui Jingbo, deputy director general of Qingdao port and navigation management bureau, a big water pump was successfully installed on the salvaging ships after many times of experiment and refits. The dredging speed is dramatically improved. Eight ships equipped with such water pumps were put into use.

Another 40 will also be used. Furthermore, the city makes use of kinds of effective equipments such as landing ship, dredger, and tug boat to speed up the dredging work.

As the main force to fight against the algae boom, the army stationed in Qingdao dispatched more than 5,000 soldiers everyday to take part in this cleaning-up campaign.

According to Qingdao Olympic Sailing Committee (QOSC), up to now, 127 athletes from 26 countries and regions are training in the city. To abate the algae's influence to their training, a training office set up by QOSC keeps contact with every training team.

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