The tide is turning

Hot on the heels of Xu Lijia's sailing gold medal at the London Olympics, Chinese sailors make their debut in the America's Cup, Chen Jia reports from San Francisco.

Currents are strong, winds erratic and cold, and tidal currents ferocious. Chinese sailors will brave it all as they make their debut in this week's America's Cup World Series in San Francisco. "I exhausted myself every time out training with my fellow (sailors) in the past year," 32-year-old Cheng Ying Kit, the only Chinese sailor on Team China, told China Daily on Tuesday at San Francisco Bay. "Now we are ready to fight for the best result of the oldest trophy in international sport."

Cheng was born in Hong Kong and used to work repairing yachts before he becomes a sailor.

"That's why I have been familiar with every part of a yacht since I was 14 years old," he said.

The team is supported by the State General Administration of Sport and the Chinese Yachting Association, and sponsored by China Equity Group, whose president and CEO, Wang Chaoyong, founded the team.

The team's 25-year-old skipper, Phil Robertson, and three of other crew members - Garth Ellingham, Nick Catley and Dave Swete - are from New Zealand.

For Robertson, the San Francisco regatta means "a massive challenge", as the wind is much stronger than any they've faced before. The team spent two days repairing part of a hull where the laminate was coming off after practice last Wednesday.

There are three Chinese on the shore team, two of whom are women.

"We are passionate for the America's Cup just like racers are for Formula One racing," 29- year- old racing manager Song Kun said.

"Is pale skin beautiful? Or is tan better? More and more Chinese women will find answers from yachting as the color of skin tells if you had money and spare time to enjoy the sunshine."

Six years ago, she got a translation job for a yacht club, then became a commentator for yacht racing. She was also involved in a program teaching the sport to 2,000 Chinese youth over the past few years.

"A summer sailing camp costs around 2,000 yuan ($314.6) for a child, so it is affordable for most of the middle class families in China," she said.

Song Xiaqun, the other female Chinese sailor on the shore team, was China's national champion in the 470 class six years in a row and was the Asian Champion in 2005.

In 2002, she won an Asian Games gold medal and was part of the women's Olympic team in 2008 in Qingdao in the Yngling category. In 2008, she claimed gold for the J80 international regatta, followed by a third-place finish in the 2010 Raja Muda/TP52.

Yachting isn't just a luxury showoff for the rich anymore. Its popularity with middle-class Chinese families has expanded in recent years.

There are more than 300 yacht clubs in China, of which 30 to 40 have regular events. While the size of the memberships depends on the club, some have grown as large as 300, according to Team China.

Stanley Mo, the marketing manager for A.C. Team China Holdings Ltd, said "the country will grow a wave of yachting and sailing heat" after Xu Lijia became the first Chinese to win Olympic sailing gold in London.

After Li Ting and Sun Tiantian won the doubles gold medal in Athens, Chinese parents began encouraging their children to play tennis, he said. That makes it entirely possible that sailing's popularity could grow, a trend that started in the last year or two.

One example is that Extreme 40, a high-level sailing circuit, signed a long-term contract with the Qingdao government. Volvo racing has also come to China twice, and the America's Cup is endeavoring to have a stopover in China as well.

The America's Cup attracts not only the world's top sailors and yacht designers, but also the involvement of wealthy entrepreneurs and sponsors. It is a test not only of sailing skill and boat and sail design, but also of fund-raising and management skills.

"Since we are not familiar with the sailing races and the race management for the America's Cup, we recruited the French racing operation team and foreign sailors for our previous America's Cup," Mo said.

"After years of racing, we have replaced the management team with all Chinese because our Chinese will know the Chinese market better, and the new Chinese management team will bring more ... vitality to Chinese markets."

Since there are no middlemen standing between the officials from America's Cup and officials from Team China, the efficiency of communication between Team China and America's Cup will improve, he said.

"The addition of Team China to the roster of San Francisco competitors will only further expand interest in the America's Cup and strengthen our cultural and economic ties to the burgeoning Pacific Rim," San Francisco Mayor Edwin Lee said in a letter to Team China owner Wang.

Other competitors in the America's Cup in San Francisco from Wednesday to Sunday come from the United States, Sweden, Italy, Britain, New Zealand, France and South Korea.

(China Daily 08/24/2012 page22)