Algal sludge greets Olympic sailors

They might be hundreds of kilometres away from the smog and pollution of Beijing but Australia's Olympic sailors are facing an environmental challenge of their own - green sea algae.

The team's 470 men's and women's crews arrived in Qingdao, the 2008 Olympic sailing venue, this week for a training camp only to find the sailing course blighted by tonnes of the algae.

Astonishing photos taken by coaching staff show conditions that create the illusion the sailors - world No 1 men's pair Nathan Wilmot and Malcolm Page and women's crew Tessa Parkinson and Elise Rechichi - are training on a lush green lawn instead of open blue water.

With little more than a month to go until the opening ceremony, authorities in Qingdao have dispatched a massive fleet of fishing boats and 3,000 volunteers to urgently clear the algae from the water, mirroring unprecedented steps being taken by the Chinese government to clean up Beijing ahead of the Games.

The appearance of the algae - described as a spongy sea weed - is the latest challenge for the sailors, with Qingdao notorious for its light winds and changing tidal flows.

Australian sailing team director Michael Jones said with the climate on the Yellow Sea coastline warming up, the rise in sea temperatures was causing the massive algae build-up.

``Last year, there was a lot of kelp and big, ugly jellyfish in the water ... and now this,'' Jones told AAP.

``Because we've not been in Qingdao as early on in the year before as this, we're not too sure of the seasonal changes. The Chinese have had loads of boats out clearing up the water.

``We're not exactly sure what sort of algae it is, but it's not kelp - it's very fluffy and spongy. It looks like the guys are sailing on grass.''

Jones said the rising temperatures had also created an additional challenge with heavy fogs also descending on the circuit, making sailing all the more difficult.

``There were a couple of boats, couldn't see where they were headed and just had to keep going until they hit the beach,'' he added.

``Then they had to get a taxi back to the boathouse before going off to find their boats once the fog had lifted.''

Despite the algae problem, Wilmot and Page were at least maintaining a sense of humour about the situation.

The three-time world champions had a habit of naming their boats after different Nicole Kidman movies, team spokesman Nicole Browne said.

"This week, their boat's called Dead Calm - quite appropriate, really, given the circumstances,'' Browne joked.

The Olympic sailing regatta begins on August 9.

- AAP