Extreme Sailing Ltd has announced that The China Cup 2006 has been postponed pending further discussions with the IMOCA Executive. This announcement follows the insufficient number of entries received by the closing date for entries.

Mike Golding event creator commented: “It is with great regret and after much deliberation that we have had to take this decision. It had become apparent over the last few weeks that many of the potential China Cup 2006 race entrants were facing major barriers from proceeding with their entry to the race.”

In recognition of these difficulties and following discussions with skippers and teams, Extreme Sailing Ltd revised the format of the event to make it easier for a greater number of teams to participate.

The modified event was to be a shortened version of the race in China, from Hong Kong to Qingdao with a finish in Shanghai. In an effort to further assist the teams, Extreme Sailing had offered free shipping from Europe to Hong Kong and back from Shanghai for the first six registered entries.

Despite these actions, only four teams were registered at the deadline date. Extreme Sailing does not feel that this represents a credible racing fleet and has therefore postponed the event pending further discussions with IMOCA.

Luc Talbourdet, President of IMOCA added: “After much discussion with Extreme Sailing, we have decided that, due to the size of the potential participating fleet, it would be better to postpone the race. However, The China Cup, which is a great concept, will have an ongoing slot in the IMOCA calendar.”