A Chinese homecoming
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Sailing on the new sport boat, Longtze Premier, developed and produced by China Team, leaving the boatyard at the end of September, the team will be participating in its first big international Chinese sailing event, the China Cup International. They will also take part in the sport keelboat Asian-Pacific Championships, which will take place in Hong-Kong in November. In China, it will be a full program of activities leading up to the end of 2007.
After Spain, China is where it is all happening. One part of the team has installed themselves in China. In July, the first group of the sport and technical teams has set up shop in Qingdao. The second group installed themselves in September. On the menu, to start, the construction and development of the 7m-sport keelboat produced in China, serving at the same time as a fleet trainer for the China Team but also to be marketed in China and Internationally. “We are entering a in place test phase, supervised by Thierry Barot, Pierre Mas, Luc Gellusseau and two Chinese sailors. The first 8 boats produced will be dedicated to the team, the next to the Chinese and international markets”, explained Xavier de Lesquen, executive director of the team. “ We already have 18 confirmed orders!”
The rest of the operations are in order. With its fleet of boats, China Team will participate in its first large-scale international Chinese regatta, organized for Shenzhen between 19th and 21st of October. It is a competition organized by the Chinese Sailing Federation supported by the local and regional authorities, as well as the Royal Hong-Kong Yacht Club. It is an event, which marks a first generation of Chinese sailing entrepreneurs as well as interested notable personalities such as the prince of Dubai. There will also be sailors coming from New Zealand, Brazil, Macao, and Japan. Three days of sailing on Daya Bay, but on shore there will be an economic forum, kite-surfing demonstrations, golf competitions, and a big concert on the beach…
Following from there on, on the 10th to the 19th of November, the sailing team will sail in Hong-Kong, in the Asia-Pacific Sportboat Championship, organized by the Royal Hong-Kong Yacht Club. The inescapable competition in Asia is “Harbor Day”, literally the “big port day”, including everything that floats, making a tour around Hong-Kong Island…Not far behind the “around the Isle of Wight” race.
It is an exciting program, which gives China Team a chance to train its own fleet, participate in the development of sailing in China, and show its deserved influence. All this in view of the next edition of the Cup in 2009, of course!
Fdb/Lh-4 September 2007
The rest of the operations are in order. With its fleet of boats, China Team will participate in its first large-scale international Chinese regatta, organized for Shenzhen between 19th and 21st of October. It is a competition organized by the Chinese Sailing Federation supported by the local and regional authorities, as well as the Royal Hong-Kong Yacht Club. It is an event, which marks a first generation of Chinese sailing entrepreneurs as well as interested notable personalities such as the prince of Dubai. There will also be sailors coming from New Zealand, Brazil, Macao, and Japan. Three days of sailing on Daya Bay, but on shore there will be an economic forum, kite-surfing demonstrations, golf competitions, and a big concert on the beach…
Following from there on, on the 10th to the 19th of November, the sailing team will sail in Hong-Kong, in the Asia-Pacific Sportboat Championship, organized by the Royal Hong-Kong Yacht Club. The inescapable competition in Asia is “Harbor Day”, literally the “big port day”, including everything that floats, making a tour around Hong-Kong Island…Not far behind the “around the Isle of Wight” race.
It is an exciting program, which gives China Team a chance to train its own fleet, participate in the development of sailing in China, and show its deserved influence. All this in view of the next edition of the Cup in 2009, of course!
Fdb/Lh-4 September 2007