Footnote to History: sailing the Taiwan Strait

2:35 AM Fri 31 Jul 2009 GMT
In may not be noticed as a SAILING event but it is truly a sailing EVENT.

At 1330 on Thursday 30th July a flotilla of sailing yachts numbering around 20 left from Wu Yuan Bay in Xiamen on the first ever Taiwan Cross Straits Rally. Formed from an idea by local grass roots Xiamen and Taiwanese sailors this 'Friendship' event was subsequently adopted by the Chinese Yachting Association.

So, instead of the event going to the small port of Anping in the south of Taiwan in an informal and casual manner - as originally planned - the fleet will be obliged to follow a specific 'channel' course from the Mainland to China's off-lying island. (This may account for the fact that the number of participating Taiwanese boats dropped from an original eight to a token two).

Only a few years ago, the thought - never mind the possibility - of such an event would have seemed more fantasy than dream, but yesterday afternoon around 145 sailors including 14 ladies and the Vice Mayor of Xiamen set sail on an unlikely, but welcome, journey.

To paraphrase Neil Amstrong 40 years ago this month: 'One small step for sailing, one giant leap for sailing in China'.

by CBI (China Boating Intelligence)

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Footnote to History: sailing the Taiwan Strait

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