Qingdao / China, Olympic Tornado Sailing - On Thursday August 14 2008, the Dutch Tornado-duo Booth/Nieuwenhuis decided not to use the heavily discussed Chupacabra Code Zero during the Olympic regatta in Qingdao. That means they will leave their upwind gennaker onshore and take their normal seized sail out. As mentioned last week, it was a weather dependant call and the forecast does not look favourable for the smaller and flatter Code Zero. There will be three or four windy days and the breeze will come from the north, instead of the southeast, which is the predominant direction in Qingdao. The Tornado class will start racing tomorrow. Today’s practice race was cancelled due too a lack of wind.

'The risk is too big', said Pim Nieuwenhuis this afternoon. 'The forecast shows sixteen knots tomorrow and even more on Sunday. In that case, we have a better chance with the standard set of sails. Normally, the light breeze comes from the southeast, but for next week it looks totally different.' Their new sail was developed for typical Qingdao conditions. “We have always said that our decision would depend on the weather forecast”, declared Nieuwenhuis.

All teams are allowed to measure in two gennakers, including a spare one. The Dutchmen got a normal and small gennaker stamped and had to announce their final choice today at 6 PM local time. However, their American partners Lovell/Ogletree measured in two Code Zero’s and have no choice left. Nieuwenhuis: “By the end of the week, we will see who was right.”

Switching

Qingdao / China, August 10 2008 - On Sunday August 10 2008, the Dutch Tornado-duo Mitch Booth and Pim Nieuwenhuis are to complete the measurement procedures tomorrow. Today, the sailors presented their catamaran and widely discussed sail in the burning heat of the Olympic harbour in Qingdao. That means they plan to use the upwind gennaker at the 29th Olympic Games. The class measures looked carefully at the equipment. The Dutchmen have to come back tomorrow morning for the last details, such as correcting weight. As soon as everything is complete, the measurement can be concluded.

“It is progressing well”, said Mitch Booth this afternoon. “We have to finalize some details, but that is not unusual. We presented our small gennaker, which goes as planned. They started measuring the sail, but they haven’t stamped it yet, since the measurement is not final.” To the question whether the upwind gennaker is legal, Booth responded: “The ISAF announced that if the concept fits within the measures, it is fine. To us, it is more a question whether the sailing conditions will be ok. According to our forecast so far, there will be one or maybe two days above our range of eleven knots. The circumstances will be perfect during the rest of the time. Luckily we have one more day to monitor the forecasts.”

According to Booth, the Americans Lovell/Ogletree, training partners of the Dutchmen, will have their measurement on August 13th. The Australian favourites Bundock/Ashby will be next. Both teams have a code zero, but it remains the question whether they will use it. Booth: “I think they all look at us.”

The Olympic Tornado regatta will start on Friday August 15 2008.

Qingdao / China, August 9 2008 - Despite the commotion about the new ‘code zero’, Dutch Tornado sailors Mitch Booth and Pim Nieuwenhuis stick to their strategy. They plan to use the upwind gennaker, especially designed for the predominant sailing conditions in Qingdao. The final decision is a weather depending call. Their measurement is scheduled on Sunday August 10th, so they have one more day to monitor the weather forecast.

As revealed earlier, the upwind gennaker will give an advantage in speed up to 11 knots. However, on the downwind legs there will be a disadvantage with a significant smaller sail area. Booth: “But the advantage upwind makes up for the disadvantage downwind.” For every Olympic Games the designing process of the best possible equipment starts all over again. Booth explains how they decided to work on the smaller and flat gennaker: “In Qingdao the current has a big effect on the race course. We already know quite accurately what the current will be. And with the predominant wind from the south east, it means that in terms of percentage the upwind leg will take a lot longer than on a normal course without current. The lighter the wind gets, the bigger the change in percentage upwind/downwind will be.” If this is the weather forecast, the Dutchmen will defenitely use the code zero. Booth: “But if the wind comes from the opposite direction then the numbers will reverse and we might reconsider our strategy.”

Pim Nieuwenhuis expresses the fact that they did not use a loophole in the rules: “We just designed a different gennaker that complies with the required measures.” According to Booth, they don’t have any doubt concerning the legibility of the sail: “Two coaches and three professional teams worked on it for a year. We all know the rules very well and we asked ourselves every possible question. In case there was only a small doubt, we would not have wasted a year of testing and developing. I have no fear that it doesn’t come through the measurement.”

A lot of you have done a lot of catamaran sailing this season with the normal wear and tear on your boats. Sometimes the wear (or tear) is a little beyond the "normal" category. When that happens, don't forget your fellow catamaran sailors who might have the same situation in the future.

As you do your repair, or fix your problem, please take a moment during this stressful time to take pictures and make a few notes about how the problem happened, any warning signs, and how you fixed it.

Nothing fancy is needed, a phone camera, disposable camera, or professional SLR will all result in pictures to tell the story. As soon as you have the pictures, upload them to an album in the Beachcats Technical section of the photo gallery to help the next sailor with the same problem. You can easily come back later and add more detailed information to the pictures.

If you are currently struggling with a problem on your boat, check out the Beachcats Technical and you might find a solution.

(QINGDAO, August 4) -- The Olympic Sailing start-off ceremony will take place in the Qingdao Olympic sailing center park starting at 7:00 p.m. on August 9. Officials in charge of planning the event promise that it will be, "the largest, most organized, most artistic, most exciting and most beautiful ceremony ever," as reported by the Qingdao Morning News.

The ceremony is will be made up of three parts: an enactment of "Raising the Sails in Qingdao", a performance of "Love in the Seas" and a brilliant firework display at 10 p.m. to end the ceremony. Some 2,000 actors will participate in the ceremony, along with 20 Qingdao singers.