Yacht Style – July 2019

CLIPPER’S CHINA

LOVE AFFAIR

WILLIAM WARD, CEO of Clipper Ventures, talks about how the round-

the-world race’s long-time relationship with China has produced record

involvement in the 2019-20 race plus the new Clipper China venture, which

is focused on offshore sail training and building yachts on the mainland.

INTERVIEW JOHN HIGGINSON PHOTOS CLIPPER VENTURES

S

ince Qingdao joined the

2005 Clipper Race as

a dress rehearsal for its

role as China’s Sailing

City in the 2008 Olympics, the

country has developed a love

affair with what’s known on

the mainland as the ‘people’s

race’. The 2005 edition also

marked the introduction of the

fleet of Clipper 68 yachts built

in Shanghai and the race’s first

Chinese crew, Guo Chuan.

The Clipper 70s, the race’s

third fleet of yachts used since

the 2013-14 race, were built in Qingdao, which remains the race’s

longest-serving partner.

A record three Chinese-sponsored yachts will be among the

11-strong fleet in the 2019-20 race, starting in London on September 1.

Qingdao will celebrate its eighth straight edition as a host port and team

sponsor, the Sanya team will bid to retain the title it won on its debut in

2017-18, while Zhuhai joins for the first time as it kicks off a long-term

association.

Clipper Ventures, organiser of the Clipper Race, has also created

a new Chinese company to meet the country’s growing participation in

sailing. Named Clipper China, this new division will use the Clipper

Race’s sail training expertise to develop offshore sail training and

regattas in cities across China, and is building its own offshore racing

yachts for its use.

William Ward is CEO of race organiser Clipper Ventures, which he co-

founded in 1995 with Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, who in 1969 became the

first man to sail solo and non-stop around the world. In the Queen’s 2018

New Year’s Honours List, Ward was awarded with the Officer of the Order

of the British Empire (OBE) for his services to the economy and to the

GREAT Britain campaign, and he speaks exclusively to Yacht Style.

Clipper is preparing for

its 12th round-the-world

race since the first edition

started in 1996. That’s an

impressive run, especially

for an event based around

amateur sailors. Why has it

proved such a popular and

long-lasting event?

Our concept is very different

to anybody else’s. We own the

boats. The boats are backed by

cities or corporations around the

world, so they sponsor a boat.

People pay to do the race and

can do one leg or all eight. About 700 compete in the race and 100-120

of those will do the full circumnavigation. Others pick and choose which

legs they want based on their budget or availability, or if they have a

desire to sail a particular crossing like the Atlantic, Southern Ocean

or North Pacific. People can also come back and kind of build up their

credentials, their logbook, made up of legs they’ve done in multiple

races.

We don’t particularly need sailors. About 40 per cent of people in

the race have never sailed before. We introduce a lot of people into the

sport of sailing, but it’s more about adventure, doing something they’ve

never done before and may never do again. That’s the basis of the

company and why it was formed. It’s roughly a GBP50,000 (USD63,000)

entry fee to go around the world.

With Zhuhai joining Qingdao and Sanya, there are a record

three teams from China and three stops on the mainland, plus

48 Ambassador Crew sponsored by the teams. Why is China so

supportive of the race?

We could have had more yachts from China. We limited it to three.

It started with Qingdao in 2005-06 because the Clipper Race was the

Ward and Sir Robin Knox-Johnston with Clipper China General Manager Hu Yan (far left)

and Director Vivien Tsui (far right) and Wispark Sports CEO Shen Xiaofeng (second right)