Clipper Race – Qingdao celebrate first win

The Qingdao team, skippered by German yachtsman Chris Kobusch, completed the 5,600 nautical marathon at 22:27 UTC on Thursday 19 April, some 27 days after setting off from its home port of Qingdao in China.

The race from Qingdao to Seattle, the ninth of thirteen races that makes up the Clipper Race circuit, included the toughest conditions faced so far in this eleventh edition of the biennial ocean adventure.

The racing for the final two positions on the podium went down to the wire, with second to sixth place separated by just 8 nautical miles on the final day of racing across the world’s biggest ocean.

Fellow Chinese team, Sanya Serenity Coast, led by Australian Skipper Wendy Tuck, navigated the light winds brilliantly to cross the finish line 08:01:15 UTC on 20/04 to claim its fifth podium of the Clipper 2017-18 Race and maintain its lead in the overall standings.

Unicef, Skippered by British Yachtsman Bob Beggs, completed the podium by being third across the finish line.

Story from SailWeb.