Waiting for wind in China

Does a lack of wind really mean the 2008 Olympics will be the worst ever or could they actually be the best?

Currently underway in Qingdao, China is the Good Luck Beijing 2007 also known as the Olympic Test Event or the Pre-Olympic Regatta, as it is perhaps better known. So far the regatta has held few surprises with the wind behaving roughly as most predicted and have predicted since the venue was selected, which of course is blowing very little at all. With the wind averaging about five knots so far this week it is unsurprising that as of Monday only a third of the planned races had been sailed in the regatta. Still, at least there is some racing going ahead and so we will have some reasonably fair results come the end of the week.

The Chinese organisers of the Test Event held a conference Sunday night after another day of no wind, and so no racing, trying to reassure people and explain that the event was fine and not in any trouble. One of the ‘reassuring’ things they mentioned was the event would be a success as all that was required by the Sailing Instructions to constitute a series (and so a successful event) both this year and the Olympic Games next year, was one single race. Because of this, they argued, the event was already a success and with the provision of extra days allocated at the end of the week so that the series could run for longer if it was deemed to be too short, there was nothing to worry about.

Frankly explaining that a sailing series, particularly one that is to be a dry run of the Olympic Games, is okay because only one race is needed to constitute a regatta, does little to ease my concern about both venue and organisers in China. We all accept there is some form of luck in sailing as a sport and it is for this very reason we have a series of races and introduce measures such as discards. It is not something we just do to increase the fun for the sailors. If one could fairly and accurately find who the fastest sailor was from one single race, as they do in for example athletics, I am sure we would have a system that reflects this. Still, the enthusiasm of the Chinese organisers to get this right is second to none. I just hope enthusiasm is enough in the future because clearly at this stage they are in danger of falling short.

Alistair Skinner, himself a Chinese resident, wrote on TheDailySail on Monday that a ‘Test’ event is both a test for competitors and organisers alike. I wholeheartedly agree with his sentiments on this and of the keenness of the Chinese organisers to improve and make this event a great Olympic sailing competition. I am also aware he is not the only person to hold such high regard for what has been done in Qingdao. Last year following the ’06 Test Event the Daily Telegraph’s Sailing Correspondent, Tim Jeffery, stated on TheDailySail: “Let’s say this emphatically about the venue itself: it is the best in Olympic history and operated with the utmost courtesy and helpfulness. I am also sure that helpers are very welcoming and that volunteers are applying in their droves to help out. However, it is clear that come the Olympic Games next year the sailing competition looks likely to take place in five to ten knots if we are lucky, less more probably. I think having seen one and a half Test Events in this venue it is clear we must never let our sport go to such an unsuitable venue again. If we want sailing to be media friendly (we could go into this further but let us just say for now that we do) light wind venues, where schedules must necessarily be flexible, is simply not conducive to good TV or making media or spectators interested in it.



Away from the organisational issues and on to the water, Ben Ainslie has once again proven himself so far this week as, against all odds, he has stepped back into the Finn having apparently lost none of the form that saw him take a gold medal in the class at Athens in 2004. As most will know Ainslie has been sailing with Emirates Team New Zealand as a part of their America’s Cup campaign since the Athens Olympics concluded and as such has spent extremely little time competing in the Men’s heavy weight singlehanded class. In fact the last time he stepped into the Finn to race in anger on the international stage was at the 2006 Olympic Test Event where of course he won counting all firsts and a single second place. This year the Brit looks set to repeat this as he is currently counting mostly first and second places.

Aside from Ainslie’s awesome ability, I simply cannot imagine how depressing it must be to sail a Finn at the moment, putting in the hours on the water training and competing only to be beaten by someone who has effectively not sailed the class all year. Imagine being Rafael Trujillo, the Spanish Finn sailor who recently won the World Championships in Cascais, turning up at the Test Event and not only having a bad series (he is currently in 11th) but having the man you were second to in Athens resoundingly winning the event, again. Or perhaps take a moment to imagine what life must be like for Ed Wright (GBR) who has been happily making the podium at a number of ISAF Grade 1 events and was sixth at the recent World Championships. To do all of this, train so hard and know that in all likelihood Ainslie is just going to sweep into the class and take the Olympic spot must be disheartening. Still I suppose at least Wright gets to train against Ainslie and so improve his chances of a medal when he is finally able to go to the Olympics (whenever that may be).



But in Qingdao Ainslie is not alone in his domination of an Olympic class, though I must say he does it with the most impressive style. One of the great things about sailing is that athletes are able to improve with age as opposed to deteriorate. Roman Hagara (AUT) has won the last two Olympic Games in the Tornado class and is currently leading the fleet at the Test Event. The Star class is also full of old hands, many of whom have been competitive Olympic sailing for many, many years, although as Mark Reynolds noted in our interview with him yesterday, the influx of younger Finn and Laser sailors is finally reducing the average age in this fleet

Having said this there are clearly always going to be younger sailors pushing the older guys hard and eventually taking their place. Last year I was looking at the 49er Worlds entry list and remember realising how many of the top teams were old hands in the class having been sailing the boat, in some cases, since its adoption as an Olympic class prior to Sydney. This pattern looked set to continue early on in the week as Iker Martinez and Xabier Fernandez (ESP) led the field. However, since then a number of (relatively) new to the boat teams have jumped up the leaderboard, teams such as the Australians, Nathan Outteridge and Ben Austin and particularly the present World Champions, Brits Stevie Morrison and Ben Rhodes. Maybe this is the start of the ‘new breed’ coming through with Martinez and Fernandez having a big mid-week wobble, the very experienced Ukrainians Luka and Leonchuk back in 12th and the equally experienced Marcus Baur (GER) in 15th.



This is all, I feel, the most interesting thing about sailing and particularly Olympic sailing. I think as a sport it is not always that interesting to watch – how many of you genuinely sat captivated by the lighter wind days in Athens? - but the stories, the people and characters, not to mention the disputes, often make for the most entertaining thing at an Olympic Games – who remembers Ainslie’s famous tiff with the French Finn sailor in Athens? Perhaps then it does not matter that the wind will be light. The organisers are keen, the volunteers are there, the stage is set and provided the right information gets out surely next year can’t fail to be a spectacle, one way or another.