China's stop on the Extreme Sailing Series has been established for quite some time.

Now, it has a crew in place to join the race in Qingdao.

Team China will be headed by Australia's Mitch Booth - one of the co-creators of the Extreme 40 concept - but will be crewed mostly by a group of up-and-coming Chinese sailors.

With one year of experience on the tour, Cheng Ying-kit is the only Chinese sailor who's done time on the circuit. He is, however, one of the nation's top 49er sailors.

"I'm so excited to return to this exciting class and sail in my home country with such a strong fleet this year," said Cheng from Hong Kong. "For me, it is a wonderful opportunity to reunite with my sailing friends from all over the world and compete, and hopefully win some races, against them."

Zhang Yiran, Liu Xue and and Wen Zijin will will also be aboard the invitational boat, one of which is usually invited to join the seven ESS regulars in an attempt to provide a hometown connection for the series.

The Chinese sailors will benefit from some world-class instruction. Booth has two Olympic medals - a bronze in Barcelona and a silver in Atlanta - as well as 11 World Championships, America's Cup experience and a 2010 ESS stint.

"I'm really looking forward to returning to the Extreme Sailing Series in Qingdao," Booth said.

"This class is obviously close to my heart. It is always tough coming into a fleet that has already got a few events under their belts, but together with China Team, we are excited to compete in the team's home nation."

(China Daily 04/30/2013 page11)