DALIAN, Aug. 19 (ChinaMil) -- Organized by the Staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy and hosted by the PLA Dalian Naval Academy, the Strait Warriors-2018 sampan invitational across the Bohai Strait kicked off August 16 at Laohutan in Dalian, northeast China's Liaoning Province. A total of 112 young navy contestants will steer eight non-powered sampans to cross the Bohai Strait.
These contestants are from colleges and training institutions such as PLA Naval University of Engineering, PLA Dalian Naval Academy, Naval Aviation University, Bengbu Naval School for Non-commissioned Officers of the PLA Navy, a training base under the navy of the PLA Northern Theater Command and a training base under the navy of the PLA Southern Theater Command.
In the next four days, the 112 contestants of eight teams will row 138 sea miles under harsh condition such as high humidity to cross Lvshun Port, Nanhuangcheng Island, Tuoji Island and four rough waterways including Laotieshan in order to reach Yantai, a coastal city in east China’s Shandong Province.
The competition alternates between speed and endurance race, and the race is scored based on international rules. During the event, the contestants will also conduct naval training on subjects such as formation, communications, survival, and maritime rescue.
According to the a PLA Dalian Naval Academy official, the academy has hosted the sampan invitational across the Bohai Strait for 23 consecutive years during the summer vacation and the race has become a featured mass training event.
