Link to video.
Our ice sailing friends are heading back home. Video above courtesy of the regatta organizers of Jinzhou and Panjin. Results
Joerg, Jost, and I set a land-speed record to make the last train tonight to Beijing, but we will all make our planes home tomorrow. I had a wonderful week in China. Very fun and very eye-opening. The minute I got here, and to paraphrase Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, it was clear I wasn’t in Kansas anymore. I am glad to be heading home, and I look forward to hearing English and sailing with familiar faces.
Think Ice
Mike Bloom US321
The last goodbyes.
On the train! Race Committee member Natalia Burdukovskaya, Sergey and Joerg Bohn.
We raced today. On a reservoir 3 hours from Panjin. Now we are driving back—long day.
The ice was pretty good but covered with sand. And it was very windy- MS1 windy. After two races, my runners were dull, as were everyone else’s. There was lots of sliding. I didn’t bring sharpening stones. Lesson learned.
It was a fun day with five races. I have not seen results, but the Anton Didenko R166 won again. I did beat him one race, but it was probably his throw-out. My best race today was a second. I was third in another race but was DSQ for sailing inside a darling mark. I don’t know if I did or not, but I do know I never saw it. We are not coming back here tomorrow because it’s just too far to drive when many of the Europeans need to catch a late afternoon train to Beijing. So, that means I’m done sailing in China.
China is amazing. What a wonderful trip, making new friends and seeing old ones. It’s great to sail on Chinese ice—the first American ever(!) to do so.
I am looking forward to the Western Region Championship.
Mike Bloom US321
Our international sailors have moved about 60 miles north to Panjin Shi, China, for the next leg of their regatta journey. The opening ceremony drew quite a crowd—a bit unusual for us iceboaters. We’re not used to being in the spotlight, but it’s clear that the Chinese have a keen interest in ice sailing. Stay tuned for more updates as their journey continues. Video link
Wu Ming CH006, Wang Qi Guang CH999, Duan Yu Fu CH700
The 2024 Jinzhou DN International Open regatta is now completed. Congratulations to all who participated in this historic event. Joerg Bohn G737 reported that after racing and prize-giving, they will “pack up and move about 60 miles north to a bigger race area with perfect ice and size; you’ll find the lake a little outside of Panjin Shi with a kind of oval shape or like a drop shape. And over 2 km course possible… The wind is little.”
No racing today. Too much wind. Instead we went to a frozen river in the middle of the Jinzhou City and raced Chinese iceboats that are similar to Blokarts. In actuality, it was a public demonstration organized by the President Wang of the Jinzhou Yacht Club. I couldn’t believe the number of spectators along the shoreline. Thousands came out to watch. Later in the day the DN sailors mentored local college kids as the students sailed iceboats for their first time. It was so fun to spend time with them and watch them progress. Fortunately, the language barriers didn’t get in the way. Tomorrow we hit the ice bright and early as we hope to get back to racing.
Think ice.
Mike Bloom US321
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