SAILING Clipper 2019-20 Race
TEAMS CHINA
Chinese cities will sponsor a record three yachts in the 12th Clipper Race,
with the Sanya entry looking to defend its title from 2017-18.QINGDAO
Qingdao first partnered with the Clipper Race in 2005 and is the
longest-serving host port and team partner in the 23-year history of
the event, with the 2019-20 edition marking the eighth consecutive
race that China’s ‘Sailing City’ has featured in both roles.
Chris Brooks from Essex, UK, will be Skipper for the Qingdao
yacht in the 2019-20 campaign, while 23-year-old Brit Rhiannon
Massey will serve as Mate. The 63 members of the Qingdao team
hail from 10 different countries and are aged between 23 and 72.
Qingdao finished third overall in the 2017-18 race.
Qingdao first used the Clipper Race as a focal point for
both building its credentials to host the Beijing 2008 Olympic
sailing events and creating a powerful legacy as China and Asia’s
leading location for international sailing events. There was also
the aim to develop Qingdao as a powerful maritime city with a
strong ‘blue’ marine economy and create a leisure-sport cluster
along the route of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.
Over the last 12 years, the Clipper Race has brought
thousands of crew, visitors, VIPs and business partners to
Qingdao and China to boost tourism, representing Qingdao’s
winter-season travel offer, and develop trade, with tangible deals
and visitor-generated economic impact.
Ambassador crew: LV Xiang, LUO Xiaoyu, ZHOU Dongning,
ZANG Kun, SUN Simou, GUO Yangzi, ZHANG Shan, LIU Xin,
MAI Minxuan, ZHANG Yu, WANG Lukun, ZHENG Yi, LI Bing,
GUAN Yadi (Media Berth)VISIT SANYA, CHINA
This will be the second race featuring Sanya as both a
host port and team partner, with team Sanya Serenity Coast
taking the overall win in its debut campaign in the 2017-18
Clipper Race.
The victory was not only a victory for Sanya, known as
the ‘Hawaii of China’, but also made history, with Wendy
Tuck of Australia becoming the first female Skipper in
history to win a round-the-world yacht race.
In the 2019-20 edition, the entry from the tropical city
will be known as Visit Sanya, China, with Scotland’s Seumas
Kellock as Skipper and Spain’s Jorge Infante Llorca as
Mate. The 59 team members range in age from 27 to 68,
and represent 10 different nationalities.
Sanya will use the Clipper Race as a business platform
to build its reputation as an international sailing destination
and further enhance the city’s long-term development
strategy of combining sports and tourism.
Ambassador crew: ZHANG Minghao, QIAN Xueyao,
Scott DRAPER, YE Yun, BAI Wei, SUN Jing, XU Yu, WANG
Rong, LV Yang, GUAN Jiong, FENG Jiasheng, ZHU Qiang,
WANG Wanggui, XU Shengda, HUANG Lijuan, LIU
Jiapeng, YUAN Xi, GUAN Xi (Media Berth)ZHUHAI
The City of Islands, Zhuhai will make its debut as a host port
and team partner in the 2019-20 race, following a three-edition
agreement. Record-breaking sailor Nick Leggatt of South
Africa will be the Skipper, while Scotland’s James Finney will
be the Mate. There are 11 different nationalities among the 58
members of the Zhuhai team, who range in age from 18 to 66.
The debut partnership was made official at a signing ceremony
in Liverpool, UK, and will see Zhuhai, along with Jiuzhou Holdings,
collaborate with race organiser Clipper Ventures, on the 2019-20,
2021-22 and 2023-24 editions of the global event.
Zhuhai is located close to Hong Kong, Guangdong and
Macau, and has the largest coastal area in China, many beautiful
islands and excellent conditions for sailing. Zhuhai is also one
of the home cities of the new Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge
(HZMB), the world’s longest sea-crossing bridge.Ambassador crew: PAN Yue, XIAO Yuan, CAO Shiyi, CHEN
Jiaqi, LIU Minghua, LI An, CAO Min, DING Kai, QU Jiamin, WU
Hongfa, HE Ping, LUO Zhuoxian, YANG Yang, LIN Tang, WU
Kefu, MAO Yi, MU Xiaobo, QI Yunfei