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First yacht of Clipper fleet arrives at Qingdao

By Zhao Ruixue (China Daily Shandong Bureau)
Updated: 2010-02-22 18:03
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The spring festival atmosphere in Qingdao, East China's Shandong province is elevated to another high by the arrival of the Clipper fleet on this 20th.

The Spirit of Australia is the first yacht to cross the finish line at 13:07 on February 20th in Qingdao, making the team standing at the first position overall of the Clipper fleet which consists of ten competing identical yachts.

Exact time of the other teams’ arrival is not set given the complicated environment on the sea.

The Qingdao yacht is expected to reach its home port at the morning of February 21th. The fleet of the 09-10 Clipper Round the World Race is scheduled to stop over Qingdao during this 20th to next 2nd.

To intensify the celebration atmosphere, Qingdao arranged a series of cultural activities including folk art exhibition and Happy Lantern Festival.