​New Year Celebrated On The Way to First Chinese Stopover

The start of the lunar new year will be observed across Asia this weekend and is a time for family. For the crew on board the yachts representing destinations in China, Korea and Vietnam, it will be a time spent with their new family; their fellow Race Crew and will be marking the holiday in a unique way at sea. Five of the teams will be observing the start of a new Lunar Year; Visit Sanya,China, Qingdao, Zhuhai, Ha Long Bay, Viet Nam and Imagine your Korea however the rest of the fleet has been joining in too as they race towards Sanya.

The fleet is currently counting down the miles in Race 6: The Sanya Tropical Paradise Race. The teams competing have around 3,750 nautical miles of the 4,380 nautical mile race from the Whitsundays, Australia to Sanya, China to go.

Typically, on Chinese New Year’s Eve, families spend the evening feasting before the midnight New Year bell rings. On board Visit Sanya, the team has been celebrating by dressing in traditional clothing, cooking and eating dumplings and delicacies at an angle.

Upon leaving for Sanya, crew member John Martin on board Visit Sanya,China, said: “We are going to have a party on board and see Chinese New Year in with a bang - it's gonna be fun!”

Skipper of Visit Sanya, China, Seumas Kellock said: “In celebration of Chinese New Year, we had the pleasure of having dumplings. Our two ambassadors, Sophia and Yang, under the watchful eye of Guan, set to work hours before serving, working the dough until it was ready to roll cut and be filled with our lovely minced beef filling. They were a great success and the crew are looking forward to feasting on more dumplings when we get to Sanya.”

IMAGE: The crew on board Visit Sanya, China getting into the spirit of the celebration.

In China, Korea and Vietnam the celebrations include a national holiday of seven days and in China they typically enjoy two weeks rest. It is a vast contrast to life on board where the next couple of weeks will be likely spent battling hot and humid conditions and high winds.

The crew on board debut team entry Imagine your Korea will be hoping the wishes of good fortune "Se-hae-bok-man-i-ba-deu-se-yo" will bring them a little luck as they aim for their second podium position of the race. On board, two ambassadors, representing Korea, Imbeam Kim and Youyoon Cho will be sharing their ways of celebrating with their Clipper Race family.

Skipper of Imagine your Korea, Rob Graham reported: “we celebrated Lunar New Year in Korean style, with Yooyoun Cho sporting some very stylish new clothes, Inbeom Kim wore an interesting new T-shirt, and the rest of us with face paints! The crew gave each other their good wishes for the coming Year (of the Rat), and we paid our traditional respects to King Neptune.”

IMAGE: On Board Imagine your Korea

Also new to the race this year is Vietnamese team, Ha Long Bay, Viet Nam. Whilst in Vietnam, Tết, the most important celebration in Vietnamese calendar will be celebrated with feasts, ancestral worship and the giving of ‘lucky money’ to children, the team will be enjoying festivities on board whilst navigating their way away from Australian waters and towards the Doldrums Corridor.

Upon arrival in Sanya, the fleet can expect a celebratory festival style welcome. The destination awaiting the fleet boasts over 25km of picture-perfect sandy beaches lined with coconut palms, pristine sparkling blue waters and a balmy climate with 300 days of sunshine per year, China’s idyllic holiday destination is sharply on the rise, living up to its reputation as the ‘Hawaii of China’.

From all at The Clipper Race, we are sending everyone well wishes and good fortune for the new year.

Happy New Year!

过年好！

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