Chinese race to clear algae from Olympic sailing venue

[eleny]

Tania Branigan in Beijing
guardian.co.uk,
Monday June 30, 2008

More than 10,000 workers are battling against time to remove a thick algal bloom that has carpeted the Olympic sailing venue in Qingdao in east China, officials said.

Qingdao Olympic Sailing Committee officials warned that it would take two weeks to clear the growth, which competitors - including members of the British sailing team - say is hampering training in the run-up to the games. It has blocked practice routes and covered almost one-third of the competition area.

A total 5,000 square miles (13,000 square kilometres) is affected, the state news agency Xinhua reported.

A thousand fishing boats have been dredging the area and already 100,000 tonnes of lurid, blue-green algae have been removed. Organisers are also trying to prevent more from spreading into clear waters.

Officials told a news conference yesterday that they expected to complete the clean-up by July 15

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/jun/30/pollution.olympicgames2008

[fishwax]

1. some pictures of it

Looks crazy:






More pics here: http://www.sail-world.com/Australia/Fencing-the-green-sailing-fields-of-Qingdao/45959

[eleny]

3. I wondered....

Even after they clean it up, will the water be clean enough for any teams to break records. It seems like it would be slow waters.

[rucky]

2. I hear they're changing their mascot over it...

[Bobbieo]

4. Is that algea usable for anything - fertilizer?

[rucky]

5. as a matter of fact...

http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/earth/4213775.html

[BrotherBuzz]

6. LOL, that looks worse than sailing through kelp forests

Only serious sailor know what "flossing the hull" is all about. We should arm our sailing teams with some good quality marine floss before they leave.
:rofl: