VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY

China Team are now entering their second season as challengers for the holy grail of yachting, the America's Cup, which is scheduled to begin in June 2007.

With a new logo depicting a massive red dragon along the entire length of their upgraded CHN 79 hull, new Chinese talent among the sailors and a new boat in the works, the 'dragon' only has to become a force on the race course.

That, of course, is the hard part and will take a little time.

When the final Louis Vuitton pre-regatta events for 2006 wrapped up in Valencia last weekend, China Team had sailed 15 match races and lost them all, earning only three points overall for the 2006 season.

They will compete against 11 teams from nine countries in the Louis Vuitton Cup, the challenger elimination series which gets under way next May. And the difficulties the scratch crew face should not be underestimated.

The predominately French and Chinese outfit struggle not only with language barriers and inexperience, but with a notoriously slow boat and old gear and sails.

'We are at a starting point and we need a new boat, mast and gear. To improve and do it quickly we need the support of Chinese companies and Chinese people,' says Xavier de Lesquen, executive director of China Team.

'The new logo of our team is meant to show that China is both an ancient and modern culture. With more interest and dedication coming from China, we will become a force.'

It has been over 400 years since China was a world sailing power.

Nevertheless syndicate chief Wang Chaoyong is hoping to bridge the gap between the end of the Ming Dynasty in 1644 and the hi-tech sport of the 21st century and make China a sailing power once again.

In 2005, Wang partnered with Le Defi, France's former America's Cup syndicate, in a joint venture. In one fell swoop the fledgling syndicate acquired knowledge, hardware, personnel, two boats (CHN 69 and CHN 79) and, perhaps most importantly, a start in the America's Cup business.

The team will follow this campaign through to the end, Wang says, but he concedes their hopes of winning the 32nd America's Cup are remote and that they will have to wait until the 33rd edition to make an impact.

'My motivation is that this America's Cup event will make China more open to the world,' says Wang, a Beijing-based venture capitalist.

'We have already made history by challenging for the cup and we are trying to prepare both the Chinese team and our society to embrace the sport of yacht racing.

'With both the Olympics and the America's Cup, I feel we can generate a great deal of interest in sailing.'

Says Yves Carcelle, president of Louis Vuitton, the sponsor of the challenger series: 'For China, participating at this moment when the country is changing so fast is highly symbolic. The cup is a way for countries to show their face to the world and China is doing just that.'

With the sailing portion of the 2008 summer Olympics set for the coastal city of Qingdao, China Team are also working closely with the International Qingdao Yacht Club and plan a number of events throughout 2007 that will give the team, and the sport, some exposure.

'We expect a few hundred million viewers here to watch the America's Cup and it remains a big priority to get the support from the modern cities of China like Qingdao and Shanghai,' says De Lesquen.

In keeping with that goal, the team organised an exhibition regatta in Shanghai in April with the help of Louis Vuitton and America's Cup Management.

Millions were reported to have watched the event on television.

The team aim to build on that momentum by hosting a sailing camp in Shenzhen in September and will hold a series of regattas in Qingdao leading up to 2007, with both Chinese and international sailors competing in sport boats, De Lesquen says.

Additionally, the new boat will be the first International America's Cup Class boat built in China by renowned Australian marine company MacConaghy International.

It will be built in the city of Dongguan in Guangdong province.

For the young recruits from the mainland who have found a spot on China Team, the impact of being the first sailors to compete internationally at the America's Cup level is still sinking in.

'It is a feeling like a dream come true,' says new recruit Tang Mingfeng, who is also a member of China's Olympic sailing team. 'Before, I sailed in small boats and the America's Cup was just a myth to me. Big boat sailing requires more teamwork than a smaller boat and working together as a multicultural team is really unique.'

China Team members will return to Valencia in January 2007 to begin training with the new boat.

When they return to the race course next year, they may not have the veteran status of teams like Swiss defenders Alinghi or well-funded American challengers BMW/Oracle, but they will be China's pioneers in one of the toughest competitions in sailing.

'When it comes to the America's Cup, challengers from emerging nations want to take part in an event that features the oldest trophy in sport and in that way they show how modern they are,' Carcelle says. 'For 152 years, the cup has been about personal ambitions, geopolitical affirmations and technological challenges. It is a special mix of tradition and technology and that remains its great attraction.'