The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race is on its way to China's Sailing City of Qingdao, with the Host Port's team entry, Qingdao, currently sitting in second place in the overall standings.

The 1,700 nautical mile race from Sanya to Qingdao, officially known as Race 8: The Sailing City Qingdao Cup, is the second and final stage of the Asia-Pacific Leg 5, one of eight legs that make up the 40,000 nautical mile Clipper 2017-18 Race.

Following a colorful Departure Ceremony at the Marina Industries Platinum Five Gold Anchor winning Sanya Serenity Marina, the Clipper Race fleet took to the water on Sanya Harbour, where Nasdaq was the first team across the start line, followed by Visit Seattle and Dare To Lead, whilst Qingdao was in fifth place by the time fleet rounded the first windward mark.

After leaving Sanya, the eleven 70 foot modern ocean racing yachts and their crews will spend the next ten to twelve days navigating the Kuroshio Current as they head north, where the scorching heat will be replaced by freezing conditions. Clipper Race Director Mark Light said: "The majority of Race 8 is likely to be upwind conditions, certainly as they race off the East coast of Taiwan, and there is the North flowing warm Kuroshio current as well.

"The predominant North Easterly winds combined with the Kuroshio Current heading in the opposite direction, there will be wind over tide and that can create quite heavy seas and short but sharp waves.

"As the teams head further North, the heavy weather tends to be replaced by fog and that will provide a different challenge for the fleet."

This will be the seventh time the Clipper Race has included Qingdao as a Host Port on its global racing route, with the city the longest serving partner of the race. For the first time, Clipper Race crews will berth at the newly constructed Wanda Yacht Club, a state of the art facility in western Qingdao which demonstrates how the sailing industry has expanded in China’s Sailing City in the ten years since hosting the Beijing Olympic Games Sailing Events.

General Director of Qingdao Municipal Sport Bureau/Executive Secretary of Qingdao Major International Sailing Events(Festivals) Organizing Committee, Mr. Ji Gaoshang said: "I sincerely wish every team a safe and spectacular journey in Race 8: The Sailing City Qingdao Cup!

“This will be the Clipper Race's seventh visit to Qingdao, and our team, as always, will present series of spectacular human and cultural events. We look forward to welcoming teams of ocean warriors, especially Team Qingdao, home to our energetic and fabulous 'Sailing City'."

The Qingdao team is currently in second place and one point off leaders Sanya Serenity Coast in the overall standings after securing third in the races to Sydney and Sanya. Speaking shortly before Race Start in Sanya, Qingdao Skipper Chris Kobusch said: “The race will be great. We met the Qingdao delegation in Sanya and I think they are really excited to see us, as are we to get into our home port."

"The third place podium into Sanya was a great motivation. There is a little bit of pressure on this race into the team home port. There is some pressure on the crew to improve the podium position too, but we will strive to do our best."

The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race is unique in that it is the only event on the planet which trains non-professional sailors to become ocean racers. It was founded in 1996 by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the first person to sail solo and non-stop around the world, as a way to give anyone the chance to become an ocean racer. Approximately 40 per cent of crew members have never sailed before they sign up.

Around 200 people representing 22 different nationalities and all walks of life are taking part in the race to Qingdao, including two Ambassadors representing China’s Sailing City, Liu Yulei and E Xianghong, on board Qingdao. The Qingdao Ambassador Program is designed to both increase sailing participation and knowledge in Qingdao, and to promote the city of Qingdao around the world. Past Ambassadors include Vicky Song, the first Chinese woman to circumnavigate the globe.

The race from Sanya to Qingdao is expected to take between ten to twelve days, with the fleet expected to arrive into the Wanda Yacht Club between the 13 and 16 of March.

Following the Qingdao Stopover, the Clipper Race fleet will depart again on March 23 for the Mighty Pacific Leg 6, a 5,600 nautical mile race across the world’s biggest and remote ocean to Seattle. From there, the teams will race on to Panama, New York, Derry-Londonderry, and Liverpool, where the Clipper 2017-18 Race will finish on July 28 2018.