Sailing is catching on in China and though it's traditionally a man's sport, more women are coming onboard, some even hoisting sails or manning the helm.

Sailing is not a sport for the faint of heart, those who fear a suntan or just want to preen on deck. It's also not an inexpensive form of recreation.

But Chinese women are up to the challenge and charting a new course in adventure.

As the Shanghai International Boat Show is running till Sunday, four women sailors share their sea stories.

Liao Xiaxia

30, IT saleswoman in Xiamen, Fujian Province

Liao Xiaoxia fell in love with "the happy life of sun and sea" in 2006 when she first stepped onboard a sailboat, not knowing port from starboard, bow from stern.

Today she has set up her own amateur women's sailing team, the Mermaids.

Based in scenic Xiamen City on the southeast coast, the 30-year-old Guangdong Province native says sailing is her passion.

"It's a lifestyle," she says. "I enjoy the battle against the wind and waves."

Each week she and her teammates rent a boat at Wuyuan Port and practice serious sailing.

Liao loves it when the boat races through the water and she joins a male crew to compete in the annual Xiamen Boat Club's race to Shenzhen in Guangdong Province.

"It is a sport for men, but nowadays more women are joining," says the cycling and climbing enthusiast. "We can prove ourselves. You gain the absolute joy from the sport only by hard training."

While hoisting sails and operating a boat require physical strength, it especially requires skill, knowledge and teamwork.

She's the only female in the eight-person crew for the Xiamen Boat Club's race, usually on the foredeck working the sails.

"Women are weaker in strength than men but we have more patience," she says. "We can also be useful."

Liao fell overboard once when a barrier broke. "If the wind and waves were bigger, it would have been fatal," she recalls.

After an exhausting day's sail, she savors returning in the sunset.

"The world becomes quiet and lovely. All trouble and worry just goes away. I feel like part of nature," says Liao.

In winter she often sees pods of dolphins swimming beside her boat.

Her greatest wish is to own a boat, cruise the South China Sea, the Asia Pacific and maybe the globe.

"I want to explore the world with my good friends," she says.

Song Kun

27, manager of a sailboat club in Qingdao, Shandong Province

Three years ago Song Kun, then a college senior, was an intern interpreter for the National Organization of Community Sailing Programs (NOCSP), a nonprofit organization teaching Chinese kids about sailing and setting up sailing schools in cooperation with local clubs.

After the children left that summer, Song stayed on.

"Sailing makes me physically tired but spiritually relaxes me," she says. When she felt low she would swim in the blue water and when she got out, "the world would seem lovely again."

Learning was hard at first because she got seasick.

"I had to keep myself from throwing up all the time," she recalls. "But now I feel totally okay."

Once in a storm even experienced sailors got seasick, Song felt fine.

She turns her nose up at female sailors who so cherish pale skin that they shroud themselves in trousers and long sleeves and wear big sun hats.

"I even saw a woman wearing a black face mask, it was ridiculous," she recalls. "If you really enjoy the sport, don't worry so much. If you open up to the sun, the sea and sky, they will open up to you and show you their beauty."

Having been "wild" on the sea for three years, she says there's no way she will return to stifling, high-pressure office work with complicated office politics.

"I find sailors are nice people, simple and straightforward. They let you know straight out if they like you or don't and if they do they readily give you a big hug or a cigarette."

Every day spent sailing is a happy one for Song. After a tiring day, she sits on the dock, drinks beer, eats pizza, chats with male sailors and enjoys the sunset.

Song says her dream of the future is tied with the sea. She hopes to marry a sailor who owns a boat, have lots of kids, and sail around the world with the whole family.

"As the housing prices are so high, why not buy a boat?" she asks.



Song Xiaqun

32, retired sailing athlete in Qingdao, Shandong Province

These days Song Xiaqun is busy taking care of her two-month-old baby, but while she was pregnant she took part in a couple of races "to quench my thirst for sailing." She sailed on big boats, that were "very safe."

Song, a professional athlete, has sailed for more than 14 years, retiring after the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and settling down in Qingdao with her husband.

She sailed light, quick boats, such as the 470, TP-52 and Volvo OPEN70. Each summer Song and her teammates raced in Europe. She remembers luxury yachts and small boats of ordinary families.

"They would take along homemade cookies and sodas and spend a quiet afternoon on the sea with the family," she says. "Sailing is accessible to everybody there. It's a sport of freedom and anyone who loves exploration can join in."

But for Song, the past 14 years have been competitive, not leisure sailing.

The best part of sailing for her is the excitement of coming in first, that beats the magnificent sunsets and sea views.

She planned a "normal life" after she got married, but found that when she finally had time to do things like shopping, they couldn't compete with sailing. "I can't live without it," she says.

"I have nothing but happy memories about sailing, even the hard training was a kind of pleasure," she says.

Though she has retired from competition, she will continue to sail for pleasure and pass her love of the sea to her son.



Li Li

32, partner in a boat company in Shanghai

Li Li is one of the few female sailors who owns a sailboat, an 8.7-meter present for her 30th birthday. The gift, which she bought for herself, was made by famed boat builder David Thomas.

Li has been sailing for six years, and for her it's a sport that requires not only strength and agility but also knowledge of navigation, geography, mechanics and, of course, the art of sailing.

"There's so much to learn and it could take a lifetime," she says.

During sailing, she is always the only female on the boat. She used to have a seven-day-and-six-night off-shore experience.

"Men have more physical strength and have a cooler head in emergencies, but women are more careful and cautious," she says.

She cooks, arranges the rigging and takes a regular shift on watch.

"As a matter of fact, they don't need a woman on the boat. I'm there because they know I can take care of myself and won't be a burden to others," Li says.

During her first year at sea, she fell overboard twice, and battled a big storm.

"These are things that happen to a newbie and they make you grow up quickly," says Li who today is steady in the face of strong winds and high seas.

Sailing has put life in perspective, she says. "When sailing in an enormous sea with the enormous sky above, I feel like a tiny grain of sand in the world and the things I worry about don't seem like such a big deal," she says.

The experience has also made her more generous and caring.

Now she sponsors charity events and charity boat races to help people in need. For two years she has been involved in the annual charity boat race of the boat show. Proceeds are donated to children with autism.

"Sailing teaches me not to care too much about what I possess," Li says. "Each time I come ashore after contending with the powerful sea for days, I feel reborn."