'10 - Jan.'11 - Qingdao Expat Group

After a long night and heroic efforts byall onboard the missing Flying Tiger, the sailorsspotted a fishing vessel at approx. 7am Mondaymorning. They managed to get in contactwith the crew on the fishing vessel, and after agood two hours of being towed, both vesselswere intercepted by the helicopter an astonishing60 nautical miles (~ 111km) south ofQingdao.A nearby search vessel was sent totheir rescue and after another 11 hours onthe sea, we could finally greet our tired WOBfriends welcome back on land at 8pm Mondayevening.This article can't possibly pay adequatetribute and thanks to the many peopleinvolved in searching for and rescuing ourfriends in distress. We're currently busy doingso. Fortunately no one was injured, and itwas great to see how many parties got togetherand ensured the safe return of oursailing friends.Rescued WOB sailors with their rescuersStaff members of Qingdao International Yacht Club showed great courage and willingness toassist when help were most needed. Huge efforts were made by the Qingdao Municipal Government,the Maritime Safety Administration, and the China Coast Guard. A very big THANK YOU goesout to all these guys.During the coming cold months WOB Sailing will be working closely with relevant parties toensure a safer sailing environment both inside and outside our treasured Olympic Sailing Center.This process has already been initiated.With the accumulated experience from this incident, we look much forward to welcoming everyoneto fun and safer WOB Sailing 2011. Have a great holiday season.Links to publicly available news reports;http://z.sail17.com/sa20101123 (English)http://z.sail17.com/qn101123 (Chinese)http://z.sail17.com/sina101123 (Chinese)Qingdao sailing questions?Call 138-8463-7870 (Jeppe) or email .Qingdao Expat Magazine 15