Zhanjiang sailing ace leads team to victory at Round Hainan Regatta

The 2018 Round Hainan Regatta has 45 sailing teams competing against one another. [Photo/Chinanew.com]

Wu Shifu, a world-class sailing ace and native of Zhanjiang, pocketed one more gold medal on March 31 by leading the Asia Pacific Sailing Team to victory at the Sanya In-Port Race in the IRC 3 category of the 2018 Round Hainan Regatta.

Founded in 2010 on Hainan island, the Round Hainan Regatta has already been held nine times under the guidance of the General Administration of Sport. It now has grown into China's largest offshore sailing event with an ever-growing international influence.

This year, a total of 45 sailing teams and 40 OP-class teenagers signed up for the competition. They were divided into eight groups including the IRC1-6 and the Beneteau leisure. Setting off from Sanya, the contestants had to sail 820 nautical miles in nine days.

The crews try to balance the sailboat with their bodyweight. [Photo/Chinanews.com]

Although the Asia Pacific Sailing Team was the second to arrive at the finish line, its overall score of different stages ranked first within the IRC 3 group, which helped Wu claim his second trophy of 2018 on the tails of winning the Philippines International Regatta. Wu commented that the competition has become increasingly intense over the past nine years with the attendance of more and more world-renowned sailing teams.

He thought it was still too early to celebrate. The goal of the team is a three-peat by winning the Sinan Regatta and China Cup International Regatta, two of China's most influential sailing competitions, to be held later this year.