​Prestigious Prizegiving in Ha Long Bay

Red carpet, glittering chandeliers, a banquet of local delicacy… it must be the Race 7: Endless Discovery in Ha Long Bay Prizegiving!

An event fit for the stars; the prestigious ballroom of the Royal Ha Long Hotel was the perfect setting to celebrate the Race Crew’s successes. The Host Port Partner for this stopover, Quang Ninh Province, put on quite the show for the teams and showered the min admiration for their most recent adventures. The evening included traditional cultural performances of music and dance, a feast of local Quang Ninh Province cuisine, and of course a celebratory toast or two.

Image: Glittering celebrations for Race 7 crew

The hosting compere took to the stage to formally open the ceremony. A warm welcome was extended to the dignitaries in the room, Mr. Dang Xuan Phuong, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Head of the National Assembly Delegation of Quang Ninh province; Mr. Cao Tuong Huy, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of Quang Ninh People's Committee; and Ms. Nguyen Thuy Yen, Deputy Director of the Department of Tourism of Quang Ninh province. The VIP guests also included representatives from international delegations, including H.E. Mr. Iain Frew, British Ambassador to Vietnam and Ms. Emily Hamblin, the UK’s Consul General to Ho Chi Minh City.

Image: VIPs celebrate Clipper Race crew successes

On behalf of the Quing Ninh Province, it was Ms. Nguyen Thuy Yen, who took to the stage to join in the presentation the Race 7: Endless Discovery in Ha Long Bay results.

Joining Ms. Nguyen Thuy Yen on stage was Clipper Race Director, Mark Light, who congratulated crew on the 4000nm race from Airlie Beach, Australia. In his opening remarks Mark said: “The Clipper Race fleet has had a fantastic race up from the Whitsundays in Queensland, Australia. The teams faced moderate upwind conditions for the first few days of the race but navigating the Doldrums Corridor and Solomon Sea saw them face lighter winds, before being further slowed by the transition zone between the doldrums and the trade winds.

“What followed, however, was amazing downwind conditions, which saw the fleet excel, averaging incredible speeds day after day. This created a tremendous match race which continued all the way to the south of Hainan Island and up into the final approaches to the magical Ha Long Bay. The finish proved to be stressful for the teams, but so exciting for all spectators watching on the Race Viewer.”

SCORING GATE

First up to be announced to the room was the Race 7 Scoring Gate results winners. After being the only two teams to take on the Scoring Gate, it was an honorable two points for second place Perseverance, and the top three points up for grabs awarded to UNICEF who crossed through just three minutes ahead of its competitors.

Image: A night of celebration

OCEAN SPRINT

Next the stage welcomed H.E Ian Frew, Ambassador from the British Embassy in Vietnam to announce the long-awaited Ocean Sprint results for Race 7: Endless Discovery in Ha Long Bay. On this race, the Ocean Sprint was between 130°E and 125°E and the distance on the rhumb line across was approx. 350nm.

As with all Ocean Sprints, the teams had varying conditions on arrival and during the sprint section and this very much depended on how far north or south the teams had positioned themselves when crossing the sprint start and end points. The bonus points were awarded as follows:

In 3rd place, UNICEF received one point, in 2nd place Perseverance took two points and in 1st place it was Ha Long Bay, Viet Nam who boosted its points in Race 7 by a very welcome three.

Image: Ocean Sprint winners, Ha Long Bay, Viet Nam

A huge congratulations to Josh and Cameron, Ineke and Joss, and Dan and Laura, and their respective teams.

The full results of the Ocean Sprint were:

24:37:36          Ha Long Bay, Viet Nam
25:05:13          Perseverance
26:12:45          UNICEF
26:42:29          Dare To Lead
27:11:23          Zhuhai
27:17:17          PSP Logistics
27:48:50          Our Isles and Oceans
27:53:12           Bekezela
28:15:03          Yacht Club Punta del Este
28:28:28           Washington, DC
28:39:50           Qingdao

And then it was over to the main event, the race results.

RACE 7: ENDLESS DISCOVERY IN HA LONG BAY RESULTS

Taking third place in Race 7, and the second podium spot for the team so far in this edition, it was UNICEF. Arriving on stage adorned in some fabulous Vietnamese tailoring, it was a big congratulations to Dan, Laura, and team.

Image: UNICEF takes third place

Next up, it was big cheers for second place Zhuhai as the team took to the stage for the fifth consecutive time in the edition. A brilliant performance for James, Mike and the team.

Image: Podium celebrations for Zhuhai

And finally, it was all smiles and applause as Qingdao made its way to the stage to take the first-place pennant for Race 7, and its first appearance on the podium. A huge congratulations to Philip, Henry and the team.

Image: Qingdao takes first place on Race 7

As the leader board now stands, it is Perseverance who has now slipped back into the top spot. Boosted by the teams Scoring Gate win, the team sits four points ahead of previous leaders Dare To Lead. Full results can be seen here.

To close the ceremony, skippers from the top three teams, Philip Quinn, Qingdao, James Finney, Zhuhai, and Dan Bodey, UNICEF, along with skipper of home boat team Josh Stickland, Ha Long Bay, Viet Nam were invited to the stage to receive a souvenir from the Host Port Partner. Mr. Dang Xuan Phuong gifted a beautiful golden coated sculpture of the kissing rocks, which the Ha Long Bay, Viet Nam team proudly displays on its team kit and yacht, as an iconic symbol of the local area and a symbol of the partnerships formed between Quang Ninh Province and the Clipper Race.

Image: Skippers gifted Ha long Bay sculptures

Skippers from Perseverance, Dare To Lead, Our Isles and Oceans, Bekezela, PSP Logistics, Yacht Club Punta del Este and Washington, DC followed to the stage to receive their souvenir gift from Mr. Cao Tuong Huy.

As a banquet of Vietnamese cuisine was served – including local favourites of spring rolls, traditional soups and broths, seafood plates and braised meats - dancers from Ha Long University put on a number of colourful music and dance performances to entertain Race Crew.

Image: Traditional dancers entertain Race Crew