Greetings from Qingdao, on this the seventh day of the 2008 Sailing Olympics.

Back home in Takapuna, NZ, we have a breeze called the 4o'clocker from Parnell. It's known as that, by the older sailors, because it has the regularity of the trams that used to run between Auckland and its inner suburbs.

It comes in when there has been a light sea breeze blowing on the east coast. Because Auckland is on a narrow isthmus, it can also have a seabreeze blowing on the west coast. In between there is this sort of no-mans land, until the westerly sea breeze prevails.

The phenomenon caused many a lost day in the 2003 America's Cup on the Hauraki Gulf.

Qingdao was a bit like that today.

We awoke early after another late night fighting with the hotel internet, and the breeze looked quite solid in the bay, albeit from a different direction

The forecasts yesterday might well have been correct. Even the Mayor of Gingdao was saying yesterday that all would be OK, because the Northerly was going to blow.

(Qingdao, by the way, is aligned East - West so a Northerly breeze is an offshore wind).

To cut a long story short, racing was bought forward by an hour in some classes, and all 11 went out on the water.

Most interest was on Course A where the Stars and Tornado were due to get their regatta underway.

Main point of interest was the Code Zero spinnaker being used in anger for the first time. In fact, the first time in Olympic sailing history that anyone has used an upwind spinnaker.

In the end it all came to naught, as the wind crumped out, all classes were recalled and we stayed ashore wondering if a second successive day was going to be lost in Qingdao.

Around 1500hrs the decision was made to have second attempt at racing, and the fleet left for sea - all 11 classes.

The wind was very iffy - typical of a land breeze trying to make its presence felt.

On the way out there was a great breeze on the marina, but calm out to sea in our race area alongside the algae boom.

In the start area, we had Tornados flopping around in no wind, yet a look back up the track towards the towers of Qingdao and you could clearly see other competitors flying hulls and in a 10-12kt breeze.

Just like home the wind it spread down the course like a bushfire, and arrived at the start boat a little ahead of schedule at 3.50pm.

The much vaunted Code Zero proved to be like a souped up car running on dirty high octane fuel.

Lining up at the start, in the leeward most slot, the Code Zero dragged USA's John Lovell and Charlie Ogletree through much more quickly than intended, and they were forced to break off and circle back with a minute to go.

Such was the power of the Code Zero that it was able to accomplish this with ease, and while the other 14 boats in the fleet, quietly hovering to windward.

Come the starting signal and it was sheet on and go. And go they did, moving at about 50% quicker than their conventionally sailed competitors.

A few minutes later USA had worked out a useful lead and in a tactical text book move, they crossed ahead of the fleet and set up for what looked to be a runaway win.

However the Jury was very much out on the radical sail, and at the first mark three boats had passed, them.

On the reach initially the US boat with an undersized spinnaker looked to be holding its own. However from there on it was all downhill as they bad news, as they slid to ninth at the end of Leg 2, and then did a slow slide back through the tens and 12's to drop another couple of places on the final run, and just missed getting the wooden spoon by 52 seconds - with the Italians taking the ignominious last place.

Maybe the Code Zero has run its race. We'll know by the end of this regatta.

Good Sailing!

Richard Gladwell

by Richard Gladwell, Sail-World

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