British sailors live up to reputation on day two

Mitch Booth and Pim Nieuwenhuis from the Netherlands push their catamaran to the limit during the Tornado race in Qingdao. Inset: Sailors compete during the 49er class race. Ju Chuanjiang/Ju Chenghao

All fleets in the nine class, 11-event regatta contested two races or more, making the most of Qingdao's belated breeze.

While a strong current exhausted many sailors early on, it didn't bother British gun Ben Ainslie, who got off to a flying start in his return to the Finn.

"The wind today was pretty good for Qingdao," the two time Olympic gold medalist said, adding that big waves made him feel like he was sailing in a washing machine.

"I am very tired after today's race. During the race, the tide shifted a lot.

"I tried to stay with the leaders, and didn't do anything too rash."

The entire British sailing team backed up its formidable reputation yesterday, taking the lead in five events, Laser, 470 Men, Finn, RS:X Women and Yngling.

Chinese windsurfers gave local fans something to cheer about by recording their best performances with Zhou Yuanguo and Yin Jian managing to finish third in the RS:X Men and RS:X Women's classes at the end of the first day.

Some sailors blamed the tricky wind and current in Qingdao for their unstable performance.

"We did very well in the first round, and very poorly in the second round," Brazilian Laser sailor, Bruno Fontes Ferreira said.

"The main reason for our shift in performance was that going around the first mark in the second race, the wind went right while we went left.

"With both the wind and current directions not in our favor, it was very tough to get ahead. We hope, however, that tomorrow will be different."

So bumpy were yesterday's conditions that reporters aboard the media boat became seasick.

(China Daily 08/17/2007 page24)