PANAMA CITY, June 1, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- After racing some 4,000 nautical miles from Seattle, USA, to Panama in the tenth of thirteen individual races that makes up the biggest round the world yacht race, Clipper Race Chinese team entry Sanya Serenity Coast, crewed by non-professional people from many different walks of life, has been making waves both on and off the water.
Representatives from Sanya used the latest stopover to meet with Manuel Grimaldo, General Manager of Colon Fee Trade Zone, who spoke with Sanya Serenity Coast Ambassador crew members, including selected crew members from the region who fly the flag for the city as they race around the world, about the tropical sailing and tourist destination of Sanya.
Manuel Grimaldo (2nd right) and Sanya ambassador crew
MrGrimaldo and representatives from Sanya also discussed free trade zone development worldwide, including the Hainan free trade zone. China aims to establish a free trade zone in Hainan by 2020 and will encourage multinationals to set up their international and regional headquarters there, as part of plans to open up the province's economy to foreign investors. Hainan is known for its sandy beaches and resort-lined coast.
MrGrimaldo said: "Panama is the fastest growing economy in the Latin American countries, with 18 registered free trade areas. We are looking forward to establishing a long friendly cooperation with Hainan and Sanya in the future, keeping closer economic and trade links and welcoming Sanya to Panama again!"
Sanya is a famous Asian sailing capital
As the tropical resort of Sanya located in Hainan, China, makes its debut as a Host Port and Team Entry on the Clipper Race circuit, its team entry, Sanya Serenity Coast, has been making its mark as it leads the overall Clipper 2017-18 Race standings with just three races left of the circumnavigation.
Sanya has also been taking its advantage of the global race route to forge and develop business, tourism and trade relationships as the Clipper Race stops in ports around the globe. For Sanya, Panama is a significant stopover as since the late 19th century, China has played an important part in the industrial development of Panama and today, more than 300,000 Panamanian-Chinese live in Panama - around 8 per cent of the population.
The Sanya Serenity Coast team, along with its ten evenly matched competitors, will line up to begin Race 11 from Panama to New York on Sunday 3 June and is set to arrive in the American city between 14-16 June.
After reaching New York, the Sanya Serenity Coast team will embark on the Homecoming Leg 8 and set off towards Derry-Londonderry before reaching Liverpool, UK, having completed the circumnavigation.
About Sanya Serenity Coast
The city of Sanya, located in the South of China on Hainan Island, is making its debut as a Host Port and Team Partner for the 2017-18 and 2019-20 editions of the Clipper Race.
Sanya is using the Clipper Race as an influential 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.
The Sanya branded yacht is raced by a non-professional crew and includes carefully selected Sanya 'Ambassador' crew members who are representing the city and China on the race route around the world and will be used as a platform for promotion of China's fast-developing holiday destination and sailing centre in major ports of call.
About the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race
The eleventh edition of the unique biennial Clipper Race will visit six continents and include six ocean crossings. Almost 5000 novices have been turned into ocean racers during the past twenty years of the Clipper Race, though still more people have climbed Mount Everest than circumnavigated the globe.
The eleven Clipper Race teams compete on the world's largest matched fleet of 70-foot ocean racing yachts. Around 710 crew come from all walks of life and from all around the world, with over 40 different nationalities represented. The crews can complete the full circumnavigation, or one or more of the eight legs that make up the Clipper Race.
The Clipper 2017-18 Race began in Liverpool in August 2017, and includes stopovers in Punta del Este, Cape Town, Fremantle, Sydney, Hobart, The Whitsundays, Sanya, Qingdao, Seattle, Panama, New York and Derry-Londonderry.
After crossing six oceans and visiting thirteen stopover ports on six continents, the fleet will return to Liverpool's Albert Dock almost a year later for Race Finish on Saturday 28 July 2018, where one of the eleven teams will be awarded the illustrious Clipper Race trophy.
https://www.clipperroundtheworld.com/
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