Qingdao sailors work up in tide and fog

by Smiling Student of Qingdao on 19 Jun 2008

Many of the Olympic Class sailing teams are starting to put some serious time into training at Qingdao over the last months.

A container park has been set up at the only marina people can sail from as the Olympic Marina is closed - apart from the Chinese sailors from time to time. [The Chinese have just finished the National Championships for the RSX and laser classes.]

The windsurfing coaches (in true windsurfing, friendly and communal fashion) organized between them selves to run an event for all who wanted to join - a regatta at the best time of the month relative to the (Olympic Games).

The notice of race was very short and clear and pretty much covered the sailing instructions. Between the coaches it was agreed to rotate jobs each day so every country had a day where they had to chip in.

The sign in sheet was the entry form and the regatta entry was free. The entry form said it all - All sailors must wear a smile! (Protests are not encouraged - everyone is encouraged to sail fair)

Day one of the practice race in Qingdao was typical of what may be found here, foggy - visibility down to 5 nm, 3 to 10 knots, tide at around 10 to 30 meters per minute, 26 deg and humidity 68%.

The GBR and ISR coaching team did a great job of setting the line and course and the first start was as per the SI's - 1 p.m. sharp. (Same as the Olympic Games Start time)

The boys started first and were doing the outer loop. They had one general recall, they were given one minute and the starting sequence went straight away with a black flag start (unlikely to be any individual recalls in this event!) Those that are will be told immediately by a coach.

The girls were held back a bit to give the men a chance to clear the beat (it is also nice to see which side to go.... )

The atmosphere amongst the windsurfers is mostly very relaxed, friendly and helpful. As all the classes are operating out of National shipping containers (about 40 to 50) training rather than being segregated by class I am sure it helps to mellow out the whole place. Not to mention everyone is far enough out from the Games the stress is low. Many are recovering from their trials or resigned to being training partners and there still seems to be enough time to develop more speed and learn the racing area.

GPS units are being used here more than ever before. Numbers of tide sticks with GPS attached so their tracks can be plotted later by computers, and for safety! The fog can thicken very quickly and be very difficult to tell if it will thicken clear or stay the same. Vis of only 5 to 10 NM is common - then within minutes it can shut down to 20 meters... Not good if you are off shore by 4 to 6 nautical miles.... With strong water flow of around 30 meters a minute and shifting winds - it is very easy to get lost.

If you have a compass - sure you can get back to shore - but where? Last week some Danish laser sailors got in a worrying situation when the fog suddenly got really thick with only a compass and they knew they were more than 3 NM off shore... they found land with their compasses - but it was onshore surf onto rocks and cliffs. They found a small beach surrounded by cliffs where they pulled their boats onto the sand - not something most Olympic class equipment can deal with.... Then they walked to the road and caught a Taxi back to their hotel.

They then got the Owner of the Senti Sailing School and Shop who took them with his motor boat and a GPS to go very slowly along the coast - being very careful of the submerged reefs to find the boats. Then they were able to use the GPS to get back safely to the Harbor.

The Belgium Tornado also had issues - being a more than 10 Nautical miles out to sea and traveling at 15 to 20 knots - following the coach boat at a safe distance - no GPS and having the surprise of the coast reefs suddenly showing up! Their skills kept it safeish and there were no problems...They followed the coast closely and slowly all the way back - and passed the harbor entrance to port without knowing - less than 20 meters away.... but as they harbor entrance is in a deep bay, they saw it where they thought it should be - on their starboard side.... It was the only day they didn't have their GPS as water had got to it...

Weather information is being collected here by many and sent back to their forecasting experts who often are using various computer models to help get the correct relationship between gradient winds, land and water temperatures - but the fog etc is making it all very confusing for everyone... Not many weather sites have been getting it right!

Two more RSX races tomorrow. The race results may be published tomorrow. No one is really stressed by this... It is only a training regatta - we are all here to learn - and have fun.

Everyone is smiling!