I write this from the 20th floor of a 17 story building in Qingdao. Yes, I can fly!

Not… The Chinese probably have a greater obsession with lucky and unlucky numbers than most and so most buildings miss all floors with a 4 as well as the traditional ‘unlucky’ western number 13.

And, of course, you probably already know that the Olympic Opening Ceremony starts at 8:08 on the 8/8/08. Why?, well, the word for eight (八，捌) in Chinese (Pinyin: bā) sounds similar to the word which means “prosper” or “wealth”.

The athlete I’m coaching here drew boat number 44 in the random draw. She really wanted 13! That’s got to be lucky!

No, I don’t really think that. I prefer the sort of thinking that’s made the sayings ‘You make your own luck’ or ‘The harder you work the luckier you get’.

Sailing is a sport where luck can intrude a fair bit more than most sports, due to the unpredictably of the weather. That’s why we do 11 races rather than just one. Good or bad fortune should even out over the competition.

However, to ensure a good ‘Games performance athletes should make themselves good enough so that even on a ‘bad’ day, their performance is satisfactory, compared with his or her competitors. Making yourself ‘good enough’ will take a lot of hard work… and that’s luckier than any number!

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