(Xiamen, China- Apr 4-6)- The Xiamen Sailing Club hosted the first ever China College J/80 Regatta over the weekend of April 4th to 6th. The regatta played host to college sailing teams from Xiamen Universities and Taiwan Universities.
Seven races were held over three days, including two distance races to Kinman Island, Taiwan lying just offshore from Xiamen, China. Nineteen teams participated, including a team that had the Vice Mayor of Xiamen as an honorary crew-member participating in the race over to Kinman Island.
Perhaps
one of the most fascinating elements of this regatta was how well
coordinated the "diplomatic exchange" of sailors took place, on the fly,
on the water, in real-time as the teams sailed across from Chinese
water to Taiwanese waters! The Chinese Coast Guard and Taiwan Coast
Guards were very supportive, handling escort across the borders to allow
this event to happen seamlessly and with extraordinary decorum. It was
remarkable to see the two "Coast Guards" line up in a line on either
side of a "GPS line" in the water to show both respect for each other,
but also to fly signal flags and exchange pleasantries as each boat
sailed across into another country. Cool stuff!
After
the three days of sailing, Xiamen University came out on top. Perhaps
it was not by chance, since the two teams from Xiamen University
consistently participated in the J/80 Winter Series held this past
winter in J/80's every Sunday. Practice does make perfect. It showed,
they won with ease. But, it was not without irony that the other
universities then requested to get more practice time on the J/80s for
their next season! Perhaps it didn't hurt that "boat captains" like
those pictured here helped tend to lines and fenders when the J/80s
went sailing.Events like this are fantastic for promoting the sport of sailing in Asia and China. J/Boats Asia and Hudson Yacht and Marine supplied a brand new fleet of boats for the event. To promote diplomacy and good will between China and Taiwan and get more students sailing is well worth the time, said Jim Johnstone from J/Boats Asia.
Watch this space! In July, the Xiamen Sailing Club of J/80s will be hosting the Chinese National College Sailing Championships in the same fleet of J/80's!
