The Hong Kong Windsurfing Association's plan to store equipment in Rio de Janeiro ahead of the 2016 Olympics "has been blown off course by exorbitant rental rates," according to Patrick Johnston of REUTERS. Hong Kong competitors are in Brazil for the second test event at the Int'l Sailing Regatta in Marina da Gloria and with further meets at the Olympic venue scheduled ahead of the Games, the association had "planned to store equipment there rather than ship it back home." A similar arrangement "had been negotiated with London organizers ahead of the 2012 Games but the Asians were knocked back by Rio officials" quoting them HK$1M ($129,000) for the storage. Hong Kong Windsurfing Association Exec Dir Dennis Chau Wai-keung said, "I was surprised by the figure when I first heard it." Chu said that "negotiations were ongoing but said if Brazilian authorities refused to budge then alternative plans would be required." He said that one solution "involved bringing all the equipment back on the long journey to Hong Kong" after each meet at a cost of around HK$150,000 ($19,340) a time (REUTERS, 8/15).
