Sailing with the winds of change

Growing acceptance of the sport may help bring in more sponsors

In one race the contestants are like gladiators fighting for supremacy in an amphitheater, and in the other the big adversary is the fiercest ocean storms you can imagine. The first event calls for tactical knowledge in a race that can be over in just 20 minutes, and the other calls for the stamina and toughness needed for nine months at sea.

The two events are the Extreme Sailing Series and the Volvo Ocean Race, and while they could hardly be any more different, they do have at least one thing in common: Organizers would be happy to see more Chinese take part in the sport and business, which has tended to be a preserve of the West.