For the next year or more, Thierry Barot will scour the length and breadth of China looking for prospective sailors who can join the mainland's odyssey for America's Cup glory in 2013.
Hong Kong-based Frenchman Barot is not a modern-day Jason, the legendary Greek hero, leading the Argonauts in a perilous sea quest for the Golden Fleece. Yet, the mission to win the Challenger Series by the China Team comprising mainly mainland sailors is a task of massive proportions, one which Barot, the chief executive of the team, acknowledges will be as tough as that mythical adventure.
'The aim by 2013 is to have seven members of the 11-man crew from China. Right now, we only have a couple and the goal is to unearth athletes in China who are willing to take on one of the biggest challenges in world sport,' says Barot, a 25-year America's Cup veteran.
His search will begin in earnest this week as the China Team - the crew only, and not the boat - take part in the fifth China Cup International Regatta in Shenzhen. Apart from keeping an eye on the racing, Barot will oversee a recruitment programme where he hopes to discover potential sailing talent that can man the yardarm.
The Chinese were sailing the seven seas well before Columbus even dreamed of going on his voyage of discovery. Barot hopes to draw on this proud history to find the sailors of today, failing which he will settle for a basketball player or rugby player.
'We are looking for former athletes, rowers, anyone with a sporting background,' says Barot. 'We want athletes because they have a competitive mentality. Before I became a sailor, I used to play rugby and I know how important the hunger to win is.'