Ahoy there, inaugural Shanghai Sailing Open launches
Sails are set for the inaugural Shanghai Sailing Open, which will be held at Dishui Lake in Pudong's Lingang area next week.
As the city's new self-developed sports competition, the event will set the two disciplines of J80 and ILCA6, attracting some 300 sailboat racers.
The opening ceremony and exhibition race will be held on Huangpu River's North Bund in Hongkou District on March 26. The formal race will be held at Dishui Lake from March 29 to 31.
Sailing does have a history in Shanghai. In 1873, the first Shanghai Cup Regatta was held on the Huangpu River, which became the foundation for sailing in modern China. In the 1960s, China's first formal sailing organization was established in Shanghai.
The sport attracted more followers later when Shanghai sailboat racer Xu Lijia won a bronze medal in the women's Laser Radial class at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Xu then pocketed a gold medal in the same event at the 2012 London Games.
Olympic gold medalist Xu Lijia.
"Not many people were familiar with sailing before I won the Olympic medal in 2008," said Xu, who is also setting up a team for the Shanghai competition.
"But now, many sailing clubs and facilities have been set up around the country, as well as a batch of amateur competitions on weekends."
Different from the one-design class of small sailing dinghy Xu specializes in, the Shanghai Sailing Open features bigger sailboats which requires team cooperation.
A young visitor plays a sailing game in the sailing village at North Bund which was set up to promote the new race and sailing culture.
"In my Laser Radial class, one sailor is in charge of all operations," Xu explained. "But in Shanghai Open, the sailboats are bigger, and the works are completed by five sailors together. This will be a teamwork."
Sailing training has strict requirements on natural conditions – the water depth needs to be more than two meters with a water flow of less than 0.5 meters per second. Also, the wind speed should be between 2-13 meters per second.
The average water depth of Dishui Lake is 3.7 meters with a mild water flow. The wind speed is between 4-7 meters per second, meeting the requirement.
A sailing village has been set up at North Bund to promote the new race and sailing culture. Those interested can scan the code below for visit registration and more information about the event.
People can scan the QR code for the event information.
