The first Clipper Race yacht teams arrive in Ha Long

The Clipper Round The World Race (Clipper Race) 2023-2024 season brings together nearly 400 sailors on 11 sailboats. Among them are scientists , businessmen, investors, doctors, journalists, social media celebrities... who love the sport of sailing and represent many cities of countries with racing boats.

Quang Ninh's racing boat named "Ha Long Bay, Viet Nam" with the slogan "Endless Discoveries " is the only representative of Vietnam participating in the Clipper Race. Photo: Clipper Race.

The race is divided into 8 legs with 16 individual races and 6 ocean crossings. The destination of Ha Long is in the 5th race – called Asia- Pacific Challenge. This is a test of the skills, endurance and determination of the crew.

Eleven sailboats prepare to start race 7 of leg 5 in the Pacific Ocean. Photo : Clipper Race

At exactly 1:20 p.m. on February 18, the Qingdao team was the first Clipper Race yacht team to arrive at Ha Long International Cruise Port, and they were also the winning team in the race to Ha Long Bay. Following them was the Zhuhai team, which arrived at the Port at 1:55 p.m. At 3:10 p.m., the UNICEF team was the third team to arrive at Ha Long International Cruise Port. The leaders of Ha Long International Cruise Port presented bouquets of fresh flowers to the talented captains and excellent crew who had led the boat through many challenges on the ocean to reach the finish line first.

Qingdao sailing team crew celebrates winning the race to Ha Long Bay.

Leaders of Ha Long International Passenger Port presented flowers to the captain of Zhuhai team.

Captain Henry Hallatt of the Qingdao team thanked the warm welcome of Ha Long International Cruise Port and assessed the port's facilities as being no less than the major ports they had visited. Captain Henry Hallatt emphasized: "Ha Long Bay is a wonderful destination, we are eager to learn and explore more about this land. Thank you for your warm welcome."

“It was really exciting to get through what was a pretty stressful journey,” said UNICEF team captain Dan Bodey. “Ha Long Bay is beautiful and it was a pleasure to be here.”

Leaders of Ha Long International Passenger Port congratulated the UNICEF team on arriving at the port.

Clipper Race organizers said that the Vietnamese yacht racing team named “Ha Long Bay, Vietnam” ranked 5th in the round-the-world sailing fleet and will also dock at Ha Long International Cruise Port on the same day, February 18.

Captain Josh Stickland – who leads the Ha Long Bay – Viet Nam team is working hard to bring the racing boat to the finish line. In an interview before the race to Ha Long Bay, Josh Stickland expressed: “We are halfway there and it has been 5 years since I have been to Vietnam. This race is very challenging, requiring endurance, perseverance and the ability to navigate and forecast the weather, but we have trained more skills through each race. Above all, the efforts are shown through the results on the journey to conquer the road to Ha Long Bay”.

It is expected that all racing teams to Ha Long Bay will arrive at Ha Long International Cruise Port on February 18 and 19. The delegation will stop in Quang Ninh until February 27 to rest, visit Ha Long Bay and have many activities to visit, exchange and experience other famous tourist destinations in Quang Ninh.

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Clipper Race is a prestigious yacht race, which started in October 1996 in the UK. The race is a gathering place for businessmen, celebrities, tourism experts, and influential social activists internationally. To date, there have been more than 50 famous cities in the world as race stops. Clipper Race helps bring good effects on communication, promotion, investment, tourism and connection, creating sustainable relationships between international partners.

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