China's sailors leave challenges in their wake

Chinese skipper Guo Chuan, 50, jumped around like a child and hugged his crew. For the first time, a racing trimaran had sailed non-stop through the northeast passage of the Arctic Ocean from Murmansk in Russia to the Bering Strait.

After 13 days and 3,240 nautical miles, "Qingdao China" crossed the finish line on September 16. The skipper could not hold back his emotions. "I'm literally on the top of the world. It's an unbelievable moment."

The start of the voyage was treacherous with strong winds expected for the first three days, so Guo piloted the boat on a southerly route through the Kara Sea. The boat pitched and yawed like a roller-coaster, almost out of control. "But thanks to our determination, we overcame the difficult times together and finally made it," Guo said.

Guo has a master's degree in aircraft control at Beihang University, and an MBA from Peking University. He used to work on commercial satellite launches at the China Great Wall Industry Corporation. At the age of 33, he fell into love with sailing when he boarded a yacht in Hong Kong.

His devotion to the sport made him determined to be a professional sailor and pursue a career on the ocean. After four years of study in France from 2004 to 2008 and a 138 day drift on the ocean in 2013, his determination and ability began to win people over.

"He had never touched a sailing boat before 2002," said crew member Liu Lingling.

Guo is the first and only professional offshore sailor in China, the first Chinese to participate in the Clipper Round the World Challenge and the first to complete the Volvo Ocean Race.

Besides Guo and Liu, other members of the crew come from Germany, France and Russia. "This is a project led by a Chinese skipper, managed by Chinese professionals, and supported by experts from all over the world," Liu said.

"Their magnificent feat is as difficult as climbing Qomolangma without oxygen," French weather expert Christian Dumard said.

As China's economy grows, more Chinese sailors are set fair to become international yacht racers. The coastal cities like Qingdao, Xiamen, Shenzhen and Sanya are encouraging more people to take up sailing. Thousands of students take part in sailing summer camps in these cities each year. Despite this, many people still see sailing the preserve of the rich due to its high costs.

Chinese sailing veteran Wei Jun argues that a mid-range sailing boat for a family costs around 50,000 yuan (about 8,000 U.S. dollars). "And those for children are just thousands of yuan," he said. "It is actually affordable for many families now in China."

Compared with the 500-year history of the sport in the West, Asian countries only started sailing 50 years ago. Furthermore, China also has limited piers for yachts. "The berth and maintenance are expensive," Wei admitted.

Wei is worried that China lacks a navigation culture. "We have not realized that 71 percent of the earth is covered by the ocean," he said. "We pay scant attention to science, astronomy and history related to the ocean. China has a long way to go to complete a systematic public sailing culture."

Last year, Wei set up a sailing club in Qingdao to encourage young people to start sailing. He now has six sailing teams at local schools and has trained 200 primary students.