Zhuhai crew rides wind to victory in Greater Bay races

The 2019 Jiuzhou Cup Guangdong­-Hong Kong-­Macao Greater Bay Area Sailing Championship wrapped up on Sept 22 with JZ Energy-Zhuhai All Sports Federation as the big winner.

The team ranked first by total score after two days of fierce competition at the Zhuhai International Maritime Cultural Center & Regatta Service Center. Battling were 15 teams from Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Macao, Foshan, Shenzhen, Zhaoqing, and Zhuhai.

JZ Energy took first in the FarEast 28R Short-Distance Race off Jiuzhou and Xianglu bays. Guangzhou Nansha Sailing Team came in second and Foshan Linglang was third.

Meanwhile, the Zhuhai team was second only to Nansha Sailing Team in the FarEast 28R Endurance Race. Third place went to Foshan Linglang.

Shenzhen UU Navigation, Zhuhai Hobby Sailors Club, and Zhuhai-Macao Bay Sailing-Hong Kong Schools Sailing Association were the top winners in the IRC Endurance Race, a new addition to the three-year-old event. Both endurances were held off the coast of Xianglu Bay around the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge.

The event was managed by Zhuhai All Sports Federation and Jiuzhou Holdings Group under the umbrella of the Guangdong Yacht Industry Association, Hong Kong Sailing Federation, and Macau Sailing Association. The Chinese Yachting Association and Guangdong All Sports Federation provided guidance.

Since 2016, Zhuhai has been a popular venue for large windsurfing events such as the Asian Windsurfing & Kiteboarding and the China National Windsurfing & National Sailing championships. The city was also contracted as a host port and a team partner during the 2019-20, 2021-22, and 2023-24 editions of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race.

The city's 13th Five-year Specialized Plan for Sport Industry proposes a coastal sport leisure belt along Lovers Avenue, building civic water sport centers, and increasing the proportion of coastal leisure sports in the tourism sector to 20 percent.