The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race arrived to a huge ceremony in Qingdao, China at the end of Stage 7.

Qingdao, the Sailing City of China, hosted the sailing events of the 2008 Olympic Games, and has turned into a major sailing destination, hosting the 2025 Women’s ILCA 6 and Men’s ILCA 7 World Championships which attracted over 230 athletes from 40 nations.

The city is known as one of China’s most beautiful, and Fushan Bay is backed by the Loashan Mountains, which makes for a spectacular view as the Clipper Fleet arrived at the conclusion of Stage 7.

The crowds were out in force to welcome the fleet, especially Qingdao Clipper which is sponsored by the city.

We take a look at the route the fleet took from Subic Bay, The Philippines, and I spoke with Qingdao Clipper Skipper Phil Quinn, GOSH First Mate Otto Kulow and Clipper Race Manager Hannah Brewis, talking about the leg, the welcome, and their first sight of the new Clipper RX yacht, while will be used in the next edition of the race.

Qingdao Clipper arrives into Qingdao after completing Stage 7 © Clipper Round The World Race

We then take a look at the overall leaderboard, where GOSH, the team representing the Great Ormond Street Hospital, maintain a huge lead of 37 points at the top, despite a time penalty changing their Stage 7 result from first to fourth, meaning Tongyeong was awarded the Stage win.

The battle for second overall is really tight, with Team Scotland on 60 points, London Business School on 56 points and Yacht Club Punta del Este just a point further back in fourth.

Things are just as tight between Power of Seattle Sports and Qingdao, with a single point separating them in fifth and sixth respectively.

You can track the fleet on Stage 8 and beyond, and replay previous stages, via the excellent race tracker here.

more info: https://www.clipperroundtheworld.com/

by Mark Jardine