The steady winds and flat waters of Penghu's vast, interior bay are slowly coming to the attention of international sportsmen. From Oct. 2 to Oct. 6, the island group will host Taiwan's first ever Olympic-class sailing competition, the Taiwan 49er Grand Prix 2002.
Sanctioned by a major international sailing body, the race has drawn 18 two-man teams from around the world as well as two teams from Taiwan to compete for US$10,000 in prize money.
PHOTO COURTESY ISAF
It is the first International Sailing Federation (ISAF) event to be held in Taiwan. Crews will man boats known as 49ers, which have gained popularity as an Olympic event and the world's fastest dinghy class.
The 4.9m skiffs are basically lightweight epoxy-hulled rowboats with alloy masts.
As they have very low drag, they can plane in any direction in as little as 9 knots (17kph) of wind, and in stiffer breezes they can fly at speeds up to 25 knots (46kph).
"They're designed to be exciting to watch because they flip over fairly easily," commented Julian Jesson, a race organizer with Destination Marketing International and a liaison to the ISAF.
The 49ers grew out of an 18-footer class of skiff and first began attracting big crowds in Sydney harbor in the late 1970s.
These boats added wings and a trapeze, so crews could lean out over the water, providing ballast with their own bodies.
As the Penghu Grand Prix counts for points on the world circuit, it has drawn top international competitors.
Three-time 49er world champion Chris Nicholson of Australia and former Australian sportsman of the year and Olympic sailor Mark Turnbull will head the pack of visiting talent.
Taiwan will be represented by one team from Taipei and one from Penghu. The Penghu team consists of two foreign residents, Alex Mowday and Jeff Martin.
Both men are regular windsurfers, though they are inexperienced in 49er racing. "We'll have our first try at it tomorrow," Mowday told the Taipei Times yesterday.
Mowday, who runs a factory in central Taiwan producing parts for windsurfing rigs and snowboard bindings, became one of the first to pioneer sailing in Penghu when he began windsurfing there six or seven years ago.
Three years ago he put the Penghu archipelago on the international sports map with an internationally sanctioned windsurfing competition involving top-ranked competitors.
"Because [the windsurfing competition] has been successful, we were able to get the attention of the Tourism Bureau," he said.
The Tourism Bureau, a national government agency, is the regatta's main sponsor.
Officials have stated that the competition's goal is to draw attention to Penghu as a water sports destination. But they still had to attract the outside know-how.
The ISAF became aware of Penghu as a possible venue for 49er racing through Jesson, who said he met Mowday on the islands two years ago.
"I was involved in British attempts to break the world speed sailing record at the time, but we found [Penghu] wasn't really suitable for several reasons. But even so I fell in love with Penghu," he said.
Penghu, which lies in the Taiwan Strait about 50km west of central Taiwan, consists of several islands which surround a horseshoe shaped bay that is 11km in length and around 5km at its
widest part. The giant lagoon is perfect for flat water sailing.
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