Guo Chuan and His Trimaran“Qingdao·China”

    October 25, 2016 is a memorable day in the world’s sailing history.

    On this day, Chinese sailor Guo Chuan went missing while sailing his trimaran “Qingdao·China” and trying to break his third world record. So far no news has been heard.

    When hearing this news, people in his hometown – Qingdao- could not help recalling images three years ago when Guo Chuan returned to Qingdao after breaking the world record of sailing round the world: after 138 days voyage by himself, Guo Chuan could not wait for the landing of his ship, dove into the sea, swam ashore to kneel in front of his wife, children and fellow folks, said “I am back, alive”, with tears mixed with salty sea water dropping from his face. Guo Chuan then bowed his head and kissed the land of hometown.

    However, this time, Guo Chuan’s relatives and friends still did not see his presence till now. The accident of Guo Chuan has touched the hearts of Chinese people around the world, many people who never met Guo Chuan before have participated in rescuing. At night, people come to Qingdao Olympic Sailing Pier, lit candles, and prayed for his return as safe as ever.

    In the past decades, Guo Chuan, sailing his boat “Qingdao”, created two world records, rewriting China’s sailing history.

    Looking back now, suddenly people found that Guo Chuan and his boat “Qingdao” have actually become a spiritual symbol -- a sailing spirit of passion and courage to challenge, and a national spirit of striving for dream realization.

    2001: Staring Together with

    the Sailing Capital Qingdao

    On November 21, the trimaran “Qingdao·China”, without her captain Guo Chuan, under the control of professional rescue team, docked into Honolulu Pier of the United States, ending her 27-day drifting alone. Quentin, one of the sailors accompanying Guo Chuan to break the record of Arctic Ocean sailing, sadly said when collecting Guo Chuan’s stuff, “Guo is not only a top sailor, but also a qualified captain. He is always rigorous and modest. I will never forget the sailing experience to the Arctic Ocean under his leadership.”

    People familiar with Guo Chuan all agree that he does not settle with the status quo. He was born loving challenges and exploration, and in search for new goals and new directions at any time.

    Guo Chuan graduated from the First Middle School of Qingdao, and then got a master’s degree in the major of aircraft control after 7 years study in Bei Hang University.  He also was among the first batch of MBA graduates of Guanghua School of Management, Peking University. At the year of 31, young and promising Guo Chuan was promoted to be an executive of a large enterprise. In his spare time, he enjoys challenging sports such as gliding, skiing, diving, parachuting, and so on.

    When Beijing won the right to host 2008 Olympic Games in 2001, Qingdao also got the right to host the Olympic sailing competition. It is from that moment on the city of Qingdao became indispensable with the sports of sailing.

    It is also in the year of 2001, after the first time contacting with sailboat, Guo Chuan fell in love with sailing, which was a sport with limited awareness in China then.

    At the time, Guo Chuan was 36. Compared with professional sailors who have received years of professional training and foreign navigators who grew up in the environment of sailing, Guo Chuan started at a relatively old age. But depending on strong ability of comprehension and perseverance, he acquired sailing skills through hard work as quick as possible.

    In October of 2004, 14.26-meter long sailboat “Qingdao” launched her maiden voyage. Guo Chuan was appointed as the captain to lead three crew members and embarked on the long journey to Shimonoseki of Japan. In November of 2005, at the helm of the “Qingdao”boat, Guo Chuan sailed along the coast of China, a total range of nearly 2,300 sea miles, to promote the city of Qingdao at different stops.

    The two voyages not only helped Guo Chuan accumulate rich experience, but also stimulated him to challenge more, such as sailing to the much wider ocean.

    In Clipper Round the World 05-06 Race, “Qiangdao” sailboat entered into the world’s sight. At the beginning of 2006, Guo Chuan joined in the race from Singapore to Qingdao, becoming the first Chinese in the campaign. Since then, nearly 50 Chinese people participated in the Clipper Race on behalf of “Qingdao”, most of who are from Qingdao.

    In Guo Chuan’s heart, there is a strong sense of mission. He tried to prove to the world that Chinese people could also win a place in the maritime community. This mission drove him to learn more about sailing to maritime power—the country of France, where, sensing the gap between himself and international top sailors, he hired a coach and rented a sailboat at his own expense to study navigation knowledge and practice skills.

    2008: A Turning Point for Guo Chuan and Qingdao

    In 2008, Qingdao successfully held a distinctive high-level Olympic sailing competition, which helped Qingdao gradually win reputation in international sailing industry.

    The year of 2008 also witnessed the turning of Guo Chuan’s navigation life. Volvo Ocean Race, the world’s top sailing event, which requires only top professional sailors to participate, held its 2008-2009 Race in Spain. Fortunately, Guo Chuan was qualified enough to join in the “Green Dragon” sailboat sponsored by Chinese enterprises.

    As a media crew, Guo Chuan mainly worked as a reporter and a chef, but did not participate in the operation of the vessel. Even so, the experience of working together with international top sailors improved his sailing skills and ideas. More importantly, he tenaciously defeated the “demon” in his mind: suffering from claustrophobia, he even thought of retreat several times. But finally he stuck to the end and completed the match. This experience gave him a rebirth.

    According to Liu Lingling, Guo’s manager, “Sailing tests primarily the mind of one person, then the skill. Guo Chuan’s mind has been tempered as hard as granite.”

    After numerous baptism and experience, Guo Chuan started his first challenge to the world record. In 2013, he drove “Qingdao” to sail round the world, created a new world record of “40 feet yacht solo uninterrupted world navigation” with the time of 137 days 20 hours 2 minutes 28 seconds, less than half of the time that British sailor Robin used 44 years ago.

    In 2015, Guo Chuan changed his boat to a trimaran named “Qingdao·China”, one of the six existing trimarans in the world. Guo Chuan led an international crew team to drive “Qingdao China” successfully sailing round the dangerous Northeast Passage in Arctic, creating his second world record. This year, Guo Chuan was 50.

    With this feat, Guo Chuan won the annual achievement award granted by the international navigation authority magazine Yachts & Yachting. Monaco head Prince Albert Ⅱawarded him annual breakthrough award approved by Monaco Yacht Club.

    Guo Chuan and His Trimaran “Qingdao·China”:

    Spiritual Guidance

    Qingdao gave birth to the sports of sailing, as well as the sailing warrior Guo Chuan, who in turn inspires the city’s spirit when realizing his own dream.

    Guo Chuan was titled Peace Ambassador by the World Peace and Sports Organization after his global voyage. Two striking letters “Peace” and “Sports” are labelled on the mainsail of his trimaran, accompanying Guo Chuan sailing across the maritime Silk Road, the South China Sea, the Diaoyu Islands, the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean and the Arctic Ocean.

    Guo Chuan said, “I hope my global voyage could give the younger generation more encouragement, as well as spread the message of lasting peace throughout the world.”

    Due to successful hosting of 2008 Olympic sailing competition and a series of major international sailing events, Qingdao became the famous Sailing Capital in China. Carozzo, the former president of the World Sailing Federation, called it the “Asian Leading Sailing City”.

    In the gestation of the Sailing Capital and with the encouragement of sailing warrior Guo Chuan, more and more Chinese young people took part in ocean navigation and achieved extraordinary results.

    There are three representative figures in Qingdao alone. 31 year-old Song Kun took part in the whole journey of Clipper Round the World Race in 2014, becoming the first Chinese female sailing round the world. 22 year-old Liu Xue joined in the Volvo 2014-2015 Ocean Race and contributed to the fleet’s final result of the third ranking. 26 year-old one-armed Xu Jingkun participated in the Mini Transat (transatlantic yacht race) in 2015 and became the second Chinese after Guo Chuan to complete this international extreme navigation competition.

    Today, the 400,000 population of Qingdao could receive sailing training and experience sailing through such sailing popularization activities as “Sailing into the Campus” and “Welcome to Sailing”. There are more than 100 sailing schools, 30 sailing sports clubs, and 20 yacht manufacturing enterprises in Qingdao.

    Both Guo Chuan and his trimaran “Qingdao·China” won internal reputation in sailing industry, and they have become a kind of spiritual guidance.

    Although there is no Guo Chuan’s news till now, the story of him and his boat has been widely spreading, inspiring more people to challenge themselves and realize their dreams.