8th Asia-Pacific Sailing Culture Development (Dapeng) Forum

by Suzy Rayment on 7 Nov 2016 ‘China embraces World Sailing’ was the theme for the eighth Asia-Pacific Sailing Culture Development (Dapeng) Forum. Deputy Director of Shenzhen Municipal Administration of Culture, Sports and Tourism Han Xingyuan, opened the forum by saying “Boating is not just a luxury – it is a sport which can be enjoyed by all.” With 2,500km of coastline and a temperate climate, Southern China really does offer some of the best sailing opportunities in China.

Liu Feng, Deputy Director-General of Shenzhen (Dapeng) New District Administrative Committee, reinforced this message, by saying that “the China Cup International Regatta (CCIR) has showcased the Shenzhen area over the last 10 years.” Liu believes that “this is a perfect place for sailing and water sports, and developing an ‘Ocean Culture’. Both the Forum and the CCIR will help to connect local sailors to the international yachting community and bring an international approach to our emerging boating market.”

Sailing is a relatively new sport in China, and Chairman of the Race Officials Committee of World Sailing, Jan Stage, talked about the rules that govern the sport of sailing. Race Officer at the Rio Olympic Games, Stage explained to the audience that sailing is a self regulating sport and so it is important for everyone to understand how the rules work and how they are enforced. Stage went on to illustrate how the rules by reviewing some of the protest that Chinese sailors had been involved with in the past - some of the protests were won by the Chinese sailors, and others were not.

Lorenz Walch, another World Sailing Umpire, and the Chairman of the Disciplinary Commission of German Sailing Federation, presented a new sailing format that is proving popular in Europe. The ‘Sailing Champions League’ as it is known is based on the soccer model, and this new format is proving to be very successful amongst a number of sailing clubs in Europe. The clubs race against each other to establish who is the top-ranking club, and 20 national leagues have been formed over the last five years. Walch hopes that the League can be expanded in the future to include clubs from China and Asia.

Natalia Chubenko, a member of the Racing Rules and Appeal Committer of the Russian Yachting Federation and World Sailing, introduced some new sailing regattas that are being held on the Amur River, which runs along the border of Russian and China. The International Regatta Fuyuan-Khabarovsh Water Sports Festival connects Chinese and Russian sailors who sail from their homeports and prove that the sport of sailing can be a great cultural integrator.

Offshore sailing was also featured at the Forum. David Zhong, the CEO of Shenzhen Across Four Oceans Sailing Event Management Co Ltd, presented the concept of the ‘21 Century Maritime Silk Route Regatta’ An agreement was signed in conjunction with the ASAF Keelboat Cup to bring more offshore sailing opportunities to sailors in China. The regatta will follow the old trading routes to include Indonesia, Singapore and China. There have been a number of such signing ceremonies at past Forums, with no result, so it is unlikely that this event will ever come to fruition.

Thibaut de Montvalon, Director of Beneteau Asia, reflected on how the Beneteau brand had been closely associated with the development of keelboat racing in China. Beneteau supported the CCIR from the very start, bringing in a fleet of 30 Beneteau 40.7s and a number of sailing rock stars to sail in the event over the years. This one-design fleet is the largest keelboat racing division in China and the winner of this division is the winner of the China Cup. With sailing being supported by the One Road/One Belt policy the development of sailing in China has a bright future, as long as sailors in China embrace the international rules of World Sailing.

[Ed. Actually, this year there were 25 Beneteau 40.7s on the start line. The China Club Challenge event started with 30 J/80s in the fleet-racing part of the regatta. That makes the latter 'the largest keelboat racing division in China.']