Clipper 2017-18 Race Sanya Stopover: An arrival to remember

PSP Logistics has won the Race 7: The Forever Tropical Paradise Race to Sanya, after crossing the finish line just offshore from the Sanya Serenity Marina on Thursday February 22nd at 20:41:20 local time (12:41:20 UTC), completing the 4,300 nautical mile Race 7: The Forever Tropical Paradise Race from the Whitsundays to Sanya in 23 Days, 8 hours, 41 minutes and 20 seconds.

Sanya Serenity Coast finished in fourth place, following Qingdao and Dare To Lead. Qingdao was the second team to cross the finish line, at 17:36:52 UTC, though will officially take third place in the overall Race 7 finish positions due to the redress taken off Dare to Lead (which finished at 18:17:39 UTC)’s finish time.

Dare to Lead was awarded 1 hour and 24 minutes redress time for the time the team spent giving spare parts to Liverpool 2018 early on in the race.

An arrival to remember

It’s been an arrival to remember for Sanya Serenity Coast, after the team claimed fourth place following an early morning arrival in its home port at the Sanya Serenity Marina.

The stars were still out when Skipper Wendy Tuck and her Sanya Serenity Coast team crossed the finish line at 02:21:30 on Friday February 23rd local time (Thursday February 22nd 18:21:30 UTC).

Sanya Serenity Coast maintained its place at the top of the fleet whilst it battled its way through soaring temperatures and hindering wind holes on the 4,300 nautical mile race course from the Whitsundays in Australia. Dare To Lead overtook Sanya Serenity Coast in the final hours of the race from the Whitsundays, Australia, to Sanya, and Skipper Wendy says: “We knew we had a big task in front of us, and whilst we didn’t quite do as well as we wanted to, we held the others off.”

“We concentrated on getting here in front of Unicef as we knew that Dare To Lead might beat us with the redress. Our game plan was to beat Unicef so we are happy.”

The team was given a welcome to remember at the Sanya Serenity Coast Marina and Wendy said: “It has been incredible, fireworks at the finish line, fireworks coming in.”

“I’m really looking forward to a chance to relax and see somesights.”

Crew member Victor Ansart, a 26-year-old Electrical Engineer from the USA, added: “When we were coming there was a bunch of boats out to meet us for the arrival so it was really cool to be greeted by all the people of Sanya, they were all cheering us on and lighting us up with spotlights so it really was a great arrival.”

This is the fourth podium for Wendy and her Sanya Serenity Coast team in the Clipper 2017-18 Race. As well as winning Race 4 from Fremantle to Sydney, Wendy led the team to line honours in both the opening race from Liverpool, UK, to Punta del Este, Uruguay, and in the Clipper 70 Class in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, a feat that also saw Wendy collect the Jane Tate Memorial Trophy for being the first female Skipper across the line for a second time.

The third place in Race 7 has earned Wendy and Sanya Serenity Coast nine points, which keeps the team on top of the standings with six races remaining in the Clipper 2017-18 Race. Sanya Serenity Coast is also yet to play its Joker Card.

A hero’s welcome to PSP Logistics

PSP Logistics, the winner of Race 7, was given a hero’s welcome to Sanya after claiming a maiden Clipper 2017-18 Race win.

A huge crowd of supporters and well-wishers were gathered to cheer PSP Logistics into port, with the team paraded with great fanfare to the stage in the Clipper Race Village, where the Skipper and crew were presented with their winning pennant and officially welcomed to the tropical paradise that is Sanya.

Skipper Matt Mitchell said: “We’re happy to be here. It feels a bit overwhelming to be honest but we always knew arriving into China was going to be special.”

The greeting was the perfect reward for Matt’s team, who, after overtaking Qingdao for first place four days ago, had to work hard to hold on to their first win. Light winds in the final stretch to Sanya saw the chasing pack compress, with all of the remaining teams expected to finish within 24 hours of the winner.

Trevor Taylor, who is a 64 year-old Round The World crew member from Perth, Australia, said: “There were a few anxious moments over the last few days when we ran out of wind but luckily everybody else did too.”

Speaking about the arrival, he added: “The fireworks and all the “yahoo-ing” have made it really special. There are local people absolutely everywhere and it’s just fantastic.”

An action-packed stopover

The eleven Clipper Race yachts, along with their crew and supporters, will be based at Sanya Serenity Marina and will enjoy the activities and excitement of the Clipper Race Village.

Visitors can try hands-on lego construction at the Lego- Family Game Area, test their sailing skills with model yacht races, show their fearless side in the Zorb Ball game area, take part in the Cosplay – Transformer Show and Short-Course Truck Show. The Race Village also has a food court serving up cold beer, local delicacies, and traditional Chinese food.

The Clipper Race Dome will also be open. There, visitors can use virtual reality goggles to get a feel for the speed and intensity of the Clipper Race. On Community Days (Feb 27th and 28th, and March 2nd), the vessels will be open to the public and visitors will have the chance to step on board one of the open Clipper 70s and find out firsthand what life is like on the modern racing yachts.

Timetable of events and activities:

About The Clipper 2017-18 Race:

– The Clipper 2017-18 Race

The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race is the world’s largest ocean race and is also regarded as one of the toughest endurance challenges on the planet. There are eleven teams and 712 crew members are competing in the Clipper 2017-18 Race. The fleets are take sailing adventure around the world in 8 legs. The race is about 40,000 nautical miles long and takes almost a year (227 days) to complete. It has a total of 12 stopovers in its 2017-18 regatta.

– Sailing boats

All the teams are competing against each other on the world’s largest matched fleet of 70-foot ocean racing yachts, with a speed of up to 30 knots per hour (56 km/h).

– Sailors

This unique challenge brings together everyone from chief executives to taxi drivers, nurses and firefighters,farmers, airline pilots and students, from age 18 upwards, to take on Mother Nature’s toughest conditions. There is no upper age limit, the oldest competitor in the 2017-18 race is 76.

– Clipper Race Teams

There are eleven teams competing each other in the 2017-18 regatta, namely

Sanya Serenity Coast

Livepool2018

UNICEF

Garmin

Hotelplanner.com

Dare To Lead

Visit Seattle

PSP Logistics

Great Britain

Qingdao

NASDAQ

– Points ranking

The overall route is split into a series of global races and a maximum 12 points going to first place ascending to 1 pointfor twelfth place. The team with the highest cumulative points at the end of the final race wins the series, and the Clipper Race trophy.

Sanya Serenity Marina
三亚半山半岛帆船港
Address: Luling Road, Luhuitou Peninsula,Sanya, Hainan China
中国海南省三亚市河东区鹿回头半岛鹿岭路