8 sailors are born!

Today, we had a great day with 8 guys. The wind was strong, but they were very motivated and capable to handle this boat. So this morning, we put 2 optimists on the water and gave them one by one some private lessons. In the afternoon we did just the same, although it was extremely hot and a very strong wind. Evelien and I were surprised how much they had learned on 1 day, I think we will have an exciting race tomorrow! Because those 8 boys were so motivated, we really wanted them to learn as much as possible. We made a tour with the rest of the kids, and they watched the boys while they were sailing.

Evelien her motorboat was filled with noisy kids, so she had a lot of work. We both trained 4 boys, and we enjoyed it very much.

On the picture you can see Johnny, Wim and Zu, after their swim in the sea. Harry is sailing across the motorboat, just at the right moment when my translator took this beautifull picture.

They asked me really sweet if they could have a swim, so I stopped the motor and a few minutes later the boys were swimming like fools, we had a lot of fun!

Dirk is here to arrange some things, and he also brought the flags and stickers of the sponsors with him, so tomorrow, a lot of work!

We're really looking forward to see those boys racing against each other tomorrow. It gives us a very nice feeling to see them laugh and enjoy sailing.

kisses,

The xiamen girl power team.

Oh mother nature, give us the same wind like today. And maybe the same sun. Oh, and once in a while a cloud, because our noses are stolen from clowns!

oooh mother nature

Too much wind today... oh Mother Nature, listen to our prayers!

We started the day very easy, the wind was perfect, but we had an other difficult and dangerous problem (see picture below...)

The whole optimist-basis (flotter...) was in a very tricky situation this morning because of the extreme low tide. We couldn't go down, so we had to entertain the kids by learning them some knots and giving them some theory - rules of priority.

In the afternoon, the wind came up, so we made a nice motorboat tour that turned out in a very wet-making game. The boys were crazy about the motor and the water, so nobody was dry at the end of this day... so much fun!

The water here is very salt, so we only need some frietjes met mayo and my day will be perfect!

Mother Nature, we really love you! Could you please do something about the wind?

The xiamen girl power team!

China = no panic

My dear friends,

Today was very windy (30 knots and more), so we couldn't sail. We tried this morning, we launched our best sailor Wim, but he screamed that there was too much wind and the optimist was turning like a fool. So this morning, Evelien and I gave a demo on the water, we both sailed and optimist and the kids followed us in the motorboats.

We rigged 10 boats, but only one got on the water for like 10 minutes... So we learned the kids some tactics about sailing and teached them the parts of an Optimist.

In the afternoon, the wind was getting stronger, so we decided to entertain them with games and theory concerning the Olympic Games...

We let them make the Olympic rings outside, with everything they could find in the right colors. They were very busy and enthousiastic, because we told them they would receive an award after they finished... We gave them the nice NOCSP Tshirts, with all the names from the sponsors included.

Evelien gave them some explanations about the Olympic classes and sports, and let them play pictionnary. The kids were very interested, and the father of one kid asked us if his sun was good enough to become a PRO. we said: with a lot of ambition, you're always good enough!

During our course, I saw a 49er in very big trouble. They were capsized next to rocks, and everybody was looking at them like this situation was normal... I started running around like a chicken without head, and made noise for the whole harbour that we had to help them! result : nobody moved, so I jumped in the motorboat, picked up their coach and helped them out this creepy situation... I can asure you, this gave me a lot of adrenaline!! Evelien kept the kids busy untill the end of the course, and then run around with her camera to make some nice pics.

The people here are so funny, they never panic in dangerous situations, but we did!

We hope that the wind will change his mind tomorrow, because sailing is too difficult now. But, like we all know, nature is the boss... and we don't have anything to say about that...

big kisses,

the Xiamen girl power team!

Today Tuesday, so that means new kids!
Last Saturday we said our kids from last week goodbye, en looked forward to a new group. It's always exciting to meet new kids, we're always wondering how they're going to be in a group.

This was our group from last week, very noisy kids but extremely sweet and enthousiastic, they had a very strong motivation.

Yesterday (Monday) we welcomed the new group, 13 boys and 2 girls. The group is little bit older, so they pay better attention when we give some theory. The weather this week had a bad start, and even today the wind was too strong for good learning on the water. Only the morning is okey, so we use that time very good.

Each day after our lessons, we go for a swim in the swimming pool of the hotel, very nice, but the water is too hot, it's like you're in a bath, only my little ducks are missing... We have to use a swimming 'hat', so that's very funny. We bought ourselves a nice one and i think we look very fast! Because the wind is too hard in the afternoon, we play some games with the kids, after giving them some theory about sailing. We teached them how to play 'teamball', and we couldn't stop them!

Even today the wind was very strong (about 25 knots), so we used this time to teach the kids how to capsize an optimist. Evelien got the swimming vibes so she was swimming with the kids the whole afternoon, while I was controlling the kids with a motorboat. One by one the kids jumped in the water, and one by one I picked them up after capsizing. The waves became bigger and bigger, so everybody on the motorboat was completely wet - we had a lot of fun!

Tomorrow a new day... we just said a prayer. Maybe the wind will be better tomorrow, let's hope!

very blond kisses,

The Xiamen girl power team !

6 of 16 million

Yes my dear friends, we've had an exclusive weekend... Saturday afternoon, we packed our bags and took the plane to Shanghai, the most crazy city we've ever seen. With the help of some pictures I will try to explain you how wonderfull this city is and what a great time we spend with our lovely friends.

Take a good look at this picture... indeed! Steak with frieten and ketchup! This was like an ultimate dream! When we arrived at the hotel and met our friends, we freshed up and went in a straight line to the best steakhouse. we're really getting hungry when we see this picture...

After our perfect dinner in a very underworld restaurant (people included...), we searched for a nice club to shake our asses, after a trip through the city, we landed in 'Bon Bon', very wrong and crazy, but we come from Belgium! don't we!? - had great fun!

The next day, we planned a big trip, crossing the city. We walked through the largest shopping streets and felt like little bugs in a black crowd...

Lot's of people on the streets, and the heat was pressing upon our heads. The smell of the city was very typical, almost taking your own breathe away.

Nanjing Lu shopping street. From every corner of the street, people came to us, trying to sell us some 'fake articles' - amazing what you can find here. Offcourse we bought nothing, we prefere a real rolex. hm hm. it's true. hm hm. Don't you doubt about this! hm hm.

After a long walk and an amazing breakfast with boterkoeken and a potje koffie, we finally reached 'The Bund', amazing. The wetter was ok, so we had a stunning view among The Bund and a beautiful sight over Pudong, where the largest buildings in the world are holding their breath for a massive smog.
yes yes, this is the proove we've been there! It was very crowdy, and the chinese people couldn't believe their eyes when they saw 6 european people walking around on the Bund. People came to us and took pictures. We could be rich now! 50 RMB for 1 photo! off we go!

Our guide Mathieu was very occupied. He leaded us through the city like we were little sheeps. We saw a lot on 1 day and payed less than we normally should for some nice stuff!

From hyper-modern to very typical... We made a nice tour, filled with lot's of shops and perfect photo-spots, we had so much fun!

After visiting this Beautifull neighbourhood, we decided to take a taxi to Pudong... one hell of a ride! lost my patience, not very clever is a city like Shanghai! In pudong we took an elevator, 88 floors high in about 15 seconds.

The view over the city was faboulous, the Jinmao Tower was the second highest skyscraper in the world, and everything became so little...

We ate a delicious pasta carbonara and took a taxi to the airport... back to Xiamen!

It was an amazing weekend, i can't describe this in only a few sentences. These times in Xiamen and Shanghai are experiences you will remember your whole life, and we're totally aware of this.

Shanghai makes you wonder how small we are, how big the world can be...

Kisses,

The Xiamen girl power team!