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Published: April 4th 2011
Sean and Hugh
Big guys in ChinaWe had a very serendipitous visit to this unique port in Southern China. Our good friends, John and Jeannie from Pebble Beach have their sailboat in Turkey and have been cruising the Turquoise Coast for a number of years. Now John is thinking of moving his boat to Asia and has been looking into the possibility of basing it in Xiamen. He asked us to check out the area from a sail boater’s point of view. John gave us his contact in Xiamen and after numerous emails, we arranged to spend the day with Hugh. Hugh Morrow is a mid-westerner from LeMars, Iowa who has made a name for himself in the sailing world. Three years ago he crewed aboard a 54’ Chinese junk across the Pacific Ocean to San Francisco—without an engine! This 15,000 mile journey was made to test the theory that ancient Chinese mariners had crossed the ocean to the Americas possibly even prior to the Columbus journeys. The Princess Taiping was a replica of a Chinese Ming Dynasty junk sailing vessel. This was a long slow journey but it gave Hugh a chance to learn Mandarin and to hone his sailing skills. Upon arrival in San Francisco
they were hailed as adventurous explorers. On the return trip, just 30 miles short of completion, the boat was run over by a tanker off the coast of Taiwan. The crew spent six hours in the cold water before being rescued. Unfortunately the Princess Taiping sank, ending the adventure. Since that time Hugh has become involved in the boating business in Xaimen and enjoys living the ex-patriot life in this most foreign of settings.
Hugh and his roommate, Sean met us at the cruise terminal and took us exploring. We hopped on a packed ferry over to Gulangyu Island. This beautiful island became a settlement for foreign traders who built large colonial mansions and fancy hotels replicating life in far off Europe. Gulangyu is a favorite with tourists especially since it is a car free, garden filled respite from the teeming cities of China. It is called the Piano Island and many famous musicians hail from Xiamen. Hugh dated a local woman whose father owns 11 of the mansions. After a pleasant hour of wandering the tiny streets and tasting a few of the local treats, we hired a speed boat to take us back to Xiamen—speed being the
operative word!
Hugh and Sean took us to several yacht clubs and marinas. It is still amazing to me that there are yachts in China, let alone yacht clubs. Mao must be rolling over in his sarcophagus. There are fine marine facilities and boats are available for charter. We feel that it would be a challenging area to cruise in especially considering the Chinese bureaucracy, all of the commercial shipping and the fishing nets . Hong Kong might be more user-friendly. But in a few years time Xiamen will become a premier yachting area in Asia.
We admire these two young men from America who are making a life in China. They have taken it upon themselves to learn the language of their adopted country, are opening businesses and becoming part of the local community. Sean was a member of the US Olympic rowing team in 1992, 1996 and 2000. He opened several New York style hot dog stands in Xaimen—called “The Dog House.” Having lived overseas for a year, we appreciate their spirit of adventure. We thoroughly enjoyed spending the day with Hugh and Sean and wish them success in their ventures.
Speaking of sailors, as
we were cruising out of Xiamen we had a United States Naval Academy get together. Kitty and Norm put the party and dinner together for the USNA grads and their wives. We made up some academy flags for the event. There were lots of “Beat Army” cheers along with a few renditions of some favorite Annapolis songs. Even Captain Sanguineti and GM Coghlan dropped by to pay their respects to these five naval officers.
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