Bruno Fontes Ferreira of Brazil surfs a media boat`s wake during the Laser race yesterday at Qingdao International Regatta.

By Zhang Xiaomin

QINGDAO:  Croatian  49er`s Paule Kostov and Petar Cupac raised  a  few  eyebrows  while out of the water at the Qingdao Olympic Sailing Center .

The pair played with yoyos, a  traditional  Chinese  game, during their spare time much to the pleasure of local onlook- ers.

Most  sailors  are  relishing their stay in Qingdao, a beauti- ful coastal city in East China`s Shandong Province.

British Finn sailor Ben Ain- slie discovered the city and the venue had undergone "dramatic changes" in the past year.

"When  I  sailed  back,  I  saw lots of spectators watching the event — I think this is spectacu- lar," he added.

Sven Coster from the Neth- erlands bought a remote control airplane  from  a  supermarket near   the   Olympic   Sailing Center.

While  waiting  for  wind  to blow up, several expert sailors gathered around him eager to test their hand as navigators of the skies.

Many  girls  like  Katarzyna Szotynska, a Laser Radial sailor from Poland, went shopping at the  Jimo  Road  merchandise market,   where   they   were pleased  to  learn  some  retail- ers  had  gained  a  basic  grasp of English.

"Things   are   very   cheap there," Szotynska said.

"The friendly sellers always show prices on the screen of a calculator.

"It`s  convenient.  I  like  bar- gaining with them, usually ask- ing for a 50 percent discount. I bought several shirts and fans.
They are wonderful.

"Compared  with  last  year,  I find that more and more people in Qingdao are speaking Eng- lish," she added.

Katarzyna  also  encouraged counterpart  Gintare  Volun- geviciute, the only sailor from Lithuania,  to  shop  at  the  Jimo Road.

All  three  members  of  the women`s  Greek  Yngling  team went  to  the  famous  Laoshan Mountain.

Skipper  Sofia  Bekatorou said  they  enjoyed  the  beauti- ful  scenery  there  and  a  brief introduction to Taoism.

"Everyone  is  smiling  here, they  are  friendly,"  crewmate Christina Haramounta said.

"I like that very much. Be- sides, the coordinator assigned by  the  organizing  committee really helps a lot."

Crewmate   Sophia   Papa- dopoulou  was  a  volunteer  at the   2004 Olympics.

"Many  of  the  volunteers  in Athens  can  speak  more  than one  language,  yet  there  are fewer  volunteers  in  Qingdao that  can  communicate  in  flu- ent  English,"  she  said,  a  little disappointed.

But French Star sailor Pascal Rambeau  spoke  highly  of  the enthusiastic volunteers.

"Without them, there will be no regatta this year," he said.