All aboard! Novices learn the skills of sailing close to the wind
Sailing teams cross the finish line at a regatta.
Jonathan Sherretz aboard a dinghy.
It's 9:30 on a Sunday morning. Chinese-American Jonathan Sherretz, 14, is at the Shanghai Yacht Club & Resort, rigging his Laser sailboat in preparation for a club race.
“My dream since I was 6 years old has been to win an Olympic medal in sailing,” Sherretz says. “I am aiming for the 2028 Summer Olympics. I know that there is still a long way to go, but I am very determined. Sailing is part of me.”
A 10-day sailing trip with his family in 2008 sowed the seeds of passion for yachting. Influenced by his father, who is also a sailing enthusiast, Sherretz began sailing for himself in 2014.
“Determination, endurance and courage,” Sherretz says. “That’s what I learn from sailing.”
Harnessing the power of wind and waves, sailing is the art of controlling and moving the boat. Once dubbed the “sport of kings,” yachting has become popular across social strata and income levels. Wider accessibility has especially drawn in China’s younger generation.
Shanghai’s Qingpu District is a favorite spot for sailors. Located in the westernmost part of the city, it is dotted with many rivers and lakes. The city’s largest freshwater body, Dianshan Lake, is located in the district, and that’s where the Shanghai Yacht Club & Resort is located.
The 62-square-kilometer lake is ideal for amateur sailors to practice sailing.
In 2017, the lake town of Jinze was recognized as “the town of sailing” by the General Administration of Sports of China. It sits at the border with Jiangsu Province and has escaped rampant commercialization.
The Shanghai Yacht Club & Resort was founded in 2004 and is one of the earliest sailing clubs in the city. It has cultivated two professional sailing teams that represent China in yacht races.
It surprises most people that the history of yachting in China dates back more than a century. As early as 1873, China’s — or probably even Asia’s — first international regatta, called the Shanghai Cup, was held on the Huangpu River. The race attracted participants from six countries, including Denmark, Belgium and Britain. A team from the latter won the championship. Historical accounts of the race were uncovered from an old newspaper by the staff of the Shanghai Yacht Club & Resort.
Wandering into the club, I feel like I am taking a stroll in the park. The club is surrounded by nature — cedar trees with roots immersed in muddy water, a grand lawn area where wedding ceremonies are held and log cabins with lake views.
“This place once housed an obsolete tourist attraction themed on an ethnic village,” says Catherine Wang, manager of the Shanghai Yacht Club & Resort. “We spent three years redeveloping the area and maintained all the original architecture and plants.”
Driving from her home in the city center to this tranquil spot is like taking a vacation every work day, she tells me.
“In the beginning, about 80 percent of club members were foreigners,” says Wang. “That began to change in 2015. Nowadays, 70 percent of members are Chinese and their numbers have been growing exponentially.”
Today there are some 4,000 members. The club has about 60 offshore berths on a quay and 300 on-shore berths are almost all occupied.
For the young people or junior sailing enthusiasts, they don’t need to have their own sailboats as the training boats are available at the club. For the members with a higher level of sailing, they would buy more professional sailboats.
Overhead view of the Shanghai Yacht Club & Resort on Dianshan Lake
Club members do outdoor exercises.
The club’s training program has given some 10,000 people a glimpse of the sport, and more than 4,000 young people have received sailing certification.
“Many Chinese might have become first acquainted with sailing during the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics,” says Xu Weiping, 45, who has been a youth coach at the club for eight years.
“During the event, I refereed the sailing competitions held in Qingdao. At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Xu Lijia won a gold medal in the women’s Laser Radial class, which further popularized the sport.”
Xu Lijia now serves as director of the youth department at the club. In a brochure directed at young people, she writes: “When you sail out, the wind and the waves are the mysteries that require your wisdom to figure out. When you capsize a boat for the first time, fear is a challenge that needs your courage to overcome. When you know how to fix them all, you become a new you.”
As Xu Lijia describes it, the challenging sport toughens physical and mental stamina and broadens the horizons of young people.
“Sailing is a very comprehensive sport,” Wang explains. “It is associated with many disciplines, such as meteorology, astronomy, geography and physics. The sport is like a general education.”
Ranging from dinghies and maxi-yachts to paddle boards, kayaks and dragon boats, there are many types of boats broadly included in the sailboat range.
“By sailing small boats on the streams connected with Dianshan Lake, people can visit several villages,” says Wang.
For young beginners, small, single-handle dinghies are a good start of training to learn how to navigate in water and develop sensitivities to winds, waves and weather.
“Sailors generally have strong vitality,” Xu Weiping tells me after a Sunday morning class for young sailors. “They are independent, self-disciplined and organized. Sailing is mind game.”
His class spans age groups from 7 to 15 — an enthusiastic group with more girls than boys.
“The girls are as strong as the boys,” Xu Weiping says. “And they are not afraid of getting a tan.”
After docking, the young sailors unfurl sails, tidy the sailboats and arrange rigging by themselves. According to Xu Weiping, trainees are admonished about throwing any litter in the lake, which enhances their awareness of environmental protection.
“There are various ropes involved in sailing, and learning how to organize them is key to successful sailing,” he says. “In fact, sailing is a life lesson.”
Many parents are at a loss in dealing with moody adolescents, but Xu Weiping wins them over by sharing his experiences as a senior sailor.
“Sailors must take advantage of every wind to power their sailboats,” he says. “If you miss one, it’s often hard to know when the next one will come along. I try to show young people how sailing is like living life — you have to capture every chance.”
Boating is a perfect activity for families to share.
Indeed, wind and wave conditions change constantly, so constant adjustment is crucial.
I am no stranger to the world of sailing. I have participated in several yacht races with a team of four. Tactician, helmsman, captain, watchkeeper, trimmer — each team member has defined duties.
In races, the start and finish points are clearly delineated, but boats may choose to sail different routes. The distance of some of those routes might be longer than the most straightforward path, but the force of wind can propel a sailboat to cover a distance in less time.
Many unexpected things can happen in a race. For example, the keel can become entangled with aquatic plants, leading to slowed speed, or there can be a sudden change in weather.
Effective communication, innovative problem-solving, rapid decision-making, clear goals and good teamwork are all significant on a sailing team.
I can’t always remember how my team did, but one rule of sailing has stuck with me. Despite diverse backgrounds, once a sailing team is on board, every member must obey the captain.
“During the journey of sailing, I am growing up as an unbeatable man,” says Sherretz. “No matter what the challenges I confront, I can push through to achieve my goal.”
After a grueling race, sailors discuss the day’s triumphs and tribulations over dinner at the club.
