Guo Chuan is a pioneer in extreme sports in China.

He threw himself into deep-sea diving, DeltaWing racing, paragliding and surfing beginning in the mid-1990s. So he didn't expect he'd spend more than a decade in sailing when he took up the sport in 2000.

"I got an eye for sailing for the first time in 2000, when sailing was brought to China amid the country's bid for the 2008 Olympics," Guo said. "It was very attractive to me.

After hearing the Chinese Yachting Association had received a sailboat from Hong Kong, Guo was hoping to rent it and take a voyage, but later decided to quit his job and go to Hong Kong to learn from professional sailors.

Holding a master's degree in aircraft control, Guo was working as an aeronautic engineer in his 30s. The 47-year-old said he just wanted a break from the office work at the time, but many unexpected opportunities have kept him in the sport.

"I believe everybody has dreams in their 30s - it's easy to think about it, but few put it into action," he said. "I was just one step ahead of others, but I didn't expect to do it for five or 10 years. I thought it would be for maybe three months, to feel close to nature and release my heart

"It was very full of coincidences. Because Qingdao was selected to hold the sailing events for the Beijing Olympics, the city needed an ambassador who could steer a boat, to promote the Games, the city of Qingdao, and sailing culture. I was one of the first Chinese in the country who started sailing."

Guo piloted the Qingdao to Japan's Shimonoseki as part of an Olympic goodwill ambassador visit in 2004. He planned to turn professional after that and in 2007, he began training in France for a transatlantic crossing.

He also became the first torchbearer to pass the Olympic torch on a sailboat during the Qingdao leg in 2008.

"China had no sailboats just over a decade ago, so I needed to buy the sails abroad," Guo said. "Huge changes have been happening in China recently, and the country still has lots of potential and room to move forward. Sailing in France is just like table tennis in China."

The unpredictable nature of the sport continues to entice Guo to take on new challenges.

"Sailing is a lifestyle, and a sport for life," he said. "The average age of the crews in the Volvo Ocean Race is 40, while in gymnastics, 20 is a veteran, and in tennis, maybe 30.

"Sailing is also an intelligent sport - it requires lots of brain work in addition to muscle. You can hardly find any other sport that uses the whole Earth as its venue, in which one minute everything is peaceful, but the next moment a tempest gale springs up, and you have to face it.

"Each person has different feelings, and I am always overwhelmed by the emotions that each journey brings to me."

Tang Zhe

(China Daily 11/18/2012 page8)