The Chinese teams competing in the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, Sanya Serenity Coast and Qingdao, are dominating as they lead the overall standings going into Leg 7, the penultimate leg of the 2017-18 edition.

The Chinese teams, which are only separated by eleven points overall, set sail from Seattle today (29 April) alongside the nine other Clipper Race teams to embark on the race stage which takes them to Panama. The intense 4,000 nautical mile (nm) Race 10: The Garmin American Challenge is one of two stages in Leg 7 and is expected to take the crews approximately 26 days to complete.

All eleven Clipper Race teams were given a heroes’ send off by loved ones and Seattle locals at The Port of Seattle’s Bell Harbor Marina.

First placed Sanya Serenity Coast Skipper Wendy Tuck, from Sydney, Australia, is leading a team for her second consecutive Clipper Race. Speaking on departure, she said: “After the Mighty Pacific Leg, Race 10 might seem a little gentler but it can still be tough. We are still in the North Pacific so we can still get big low-pressure systems coming across, so conditions are likely to be very varied.”

On departure, all teams competed in a short inshore circuit in front of Seattle’s impressive skyline. After two laps around Elliott Bay, the winning team was, very fittingly, Visit Seattle, but was closely followed by Sanya Serenity Coast in second place. The results determined the starting order for Race 10’s Le Mans start which will take place on Monday 30 April after the crews have passed through Puget Sound and into the North Pacific Ocean.