Photo Courtesy of Xinhua News Agency
Photo Courtesy of Xinhua News Agency
I had another fantastic (and fortunate) day of Olympic adventuring. This story starts back in March when I decided that in addition to Track and Field in Beijing I should try and see some Olympic Sailing in Qingdao. I found an American website and ordered two tickets for Aug-19th for a total of $240. The tickets were supposed to arrive in July and they never showed up. I soon learned that the company had declared bankruptcy and run off without delivering any tickets. Luckily I paid with my Visa card and Visa was kind enough to refund the charge to me.
By the time I learned of the scam, I had already bought my plane ticket from Qingdao on Thursday night, so I was committed to go, even though I had no sailing tickets. I decided to try to buy a ticket on the street or worst case, watch the sailing race from the shore. Qingdao has a lot to see, so I figured if the sailing didn't work out, I would just spend the afternoon doing some sightseeing.
Well the sailing most certainly did work out. I asked the first couple I saw on the street holding tickets whether they had an extra ticket. They did and sold me a ticket for face value of 120 RMB (~$17 U.S.). I walked right into the sailing venue and within 30 minutes was on board one of four spectator boats headed for the sailing course.
The situation gets even better because the race this afternoon was the Laser class medal race for the women. There are five different classes of sailboats raced in the Olympics and the Laser is the single-handed sailing boat. There are also catamaran, windsurfing, 2-man, and 3-man sailing classes. The Laser class, however, is special to me because I own a Laser which I only now use occassionally, but I used to race now and then in Chicago. Any sailboat race would have been fun to watch today, but the Laser is of course my favorite, so I was more than pleased with my lucky timing.
The race turned out to be a fantastic event as well. The wind was light and shifty, enough so that most boats were towed to the starting area. Two boats were over early including Anna Tunnicliffe, the American. In a sailboat race, boats that cross the starting line early are required to turn around and restart while the other boats continue ahead. So the U.S. racer started the race in last place and was still in last place after the second mark (halfway point).
I was thinking to myself that this must be quite disappointing for Tunnicliffe, being the #1 ranked woman in the world. However, she did not give up. On the second windward leg, she decided to try the left side of the course while the rest of the fleet went to the right. The tactic paid off for her because the left side was windier. By the next mark (3/4 point) she was miraculously in first place. She finished in first and won the gold medal. Fantastic performance and great encouragement from the only American spectator in sight - Me.
By the time I learned of the scam, I had already bought my plane ticket from Qingdao on Thursday night, so I was committed to go, even though I had no sailing tickets. I decided to try to buy a ticket on the street or worst case, watch the sailing race from the shore. Qingdao has a lot to see, so I figured if the sailing didn't work out, I would just spend the afternoon doing some sightseeing.
Well the sailing most certainly did work out. I asked the first couple I saw on the street holding tickets whether they had an extra ticket. They did and sold me a ticket for face value of 120 RMB (~$17 U.S.). I walked right into the sailing venue and within 30 minutes was on board one of four spectator boats headed for the sailing course.
The situation gets even better because the race this afternoon was the Laser class medal race for the women. There are five different classes of sailboats raced in the Olympics and the Laser is the single-handed sailing boat. There are also catamaran, windsurfing, 2-man, and 3-man sailing classes. The Laser class, however, is special to me because I own a Laser which I only now use occassionally, but I used to race now and then in Chicago. Any sailboat race would have been fun to watch today, but the Laser is of course my favorite, so I was more than pleased with my lucky timing.
The race turned out to be a fantastic event as well. The wind was light and shifty, enough so that most boats were towed to the starting area. Two boats were over early including Anna Tunnicliffe, the American. In a sailboat race, boats that cross the starting line early are required to turn around and restart while the other boats continue ahead. So the U.S. racer started the race in last place and was still in last place after the second mark (halfway point).
I was thinking to myself that this must be quite disappointing for Tunnicliffe, being the #1 ranked woman in the world. However, she did not give up. On the second windward leg, she decided to try the left side of the course while the rest of the fleet went to the right. The tactic paid off for her because the left side was windier. By the next mark (3/4 point) she was miraculously in first place. She finished in first and won the gold medal. Fantastic performance and great encouragement from the only American spectator in sight - Me.
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