Lord only knows what time they tipped out of Club New York, but it was some party. Britain's sailors had every right to let their collective hair down after their astonishing performances in the Olympic Sailing Regatta. They were all there: Ben Ainslie, who has had an almost permanent hangover since winning his third consecutive Olympic gold last weekend; Paul Goodison with his gold medal in the Laser; the Yngling girls, Sarah Webb, Sarah Ayton and Pippa Wilson; the partnership of Andrew "Bart" Simpson and Iain Percy, who finished off the whole glorious regatta with their gold on Thursday afternoon; and the garrulous Bryony Shaw, who won a bronze in the windsurfing with help from her Blue Peter badge and then promptly upset the mums and dads by using a naughty word on the telly. Oh dear.

Not that they cared last night. Club New York, on the main drag outside the Olympic Sailing Centre, had become the favourite hangout of the sailing fraternity here in Qingdao. It started out quietly, but as each event was completed, more and more sailors from all over the world started to arrive, some with their medals still around their necks, looking slightly less dazed when they entered than they did when they left some hours later.

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You could forgive the British squad for thinking they were top dogs in China, but the biggest celebration in Qingdao was actually 24 hours earlier after Yin Jian won China's first ever sailing medal when she took windsurfing gold. Blimey, the mayor of Qingdao even leapt on to a launch to go out into Fushan Bay to congratulate her personally.

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Believe you me, the place went bonkers and it seemed as though Chinese supporters appeared from every nook and cranny until we feared the jetty would sink under their weight. You could understand their enthusiasm, though, for this was another sporting breakthrough. And it is just the start.

Just as you can bet your bottom dollar that there are young kids all over China being handed a racing bike and told to go and get gold in four or eight years' time, the Chinese sailors aiming to knock Team GB off their top slot have been launched.

Rather frighteningly, there are already 80 yacht clubs in schools in Qingdao alone, with 42 schools offering specific courses in sailing. The city authorities reckon that they have 2,000 children from the age of 11 out on the water and the ten best performers are picked out annually and sent on intensive training courses in Kiel, Germany.

Today it is Ainslie and the Yngling girls, tomorrow it could be the turn of an 11-year-old Chinese kid who has decided to follow in the wake of Yin Jian.

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Not that we will see the results here as we all pull out of Qingdao. Turned out to be a surprisingly pleasant city that seemed well laid out and the place had obviously scrubbed up well for the Olympics. The tentacles of the West have not completely reached this coastal outpost of the Olympics, though.

Found the Nike store yesterday and picked out some new running shoes, which looked as though they may have been a bargain. At the till, I proudly presented my Visa card, which only produced puzzled frowns. Alright, MasterCard then. No. American Express? No good either, but I knew they could take credit cards because the card reader was on the counter. I pointed at it and there was an "Aaaaaah" of recognition and the shop assistant disappeared to find her English-speaking colleague and what was obviously a sample credit card. "This is card we take," she explained, pointing to a credit card issued by the Agricultural Bank of China. Cash it is, then.

***

I will miss the travel arrangements here, although they are extravagant to the point of silliness. Each morning, we humble hacks were ushered on to official coaches that could get through the security checks unhindered. And on every trip we got a police escort - flashing lights, traffic stopped, the lot.

On my last trip back to the hotel, there were crowds at the security gate, standing in pouring rain to take photographs of what they obviously thought was a VIP leaving the Olympic Sailing Centre. But it was just me, sitting in a soaking Pac-a-mac in the front seat, all alone on a 52-seat coach, complete with police outrider. Won't get that treatment at London 2012, I'll bet.

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By the way, you have to credit the authorities in Qingdao with a little ingenuity and humour. Remember all that algae that threatened to choke up the Fushan Bay Olympic sailing course? The city had to employ 10,000 people to shift 100,000 tonnes of the stuff in an emergency clean-up on an epic scale so that the Olympics could go ahead without a hitch.

Well, that green gunk wasn't all chucked away. As I left the media centre for the last time on Thursday night, the desk girls proudly presented me with a memento of my stay: a key ring with a tiny piece of algae in a plastic case. I shall keep it always. Well, until I lose my keys as usual.