Celebrations as Uniquely Singapore Clipper Comes Home
Celebrations kicked off with fervour as the first of the 10 yachts taking part in the Clipper Round-the-World Yacht Race sailed into first-time host city Singapore on Sunday, 15 January.

Durban and Western Australia were first to reach at 11:00am in the morning amidst a rousing welcome and fanfare, which included a multicultural drum performance, lion dance and champagne, but it was the homecoming of the Uniquely Singapore Clipper in the evening that stole the limelight.

As the Uniquely Singapore finally steered into Keppel Bay, families, friends and supporters erupted into wild celebrations. The joy of the crew members in coming home and the sight of familiar faces and warm embraces was truly worth the grueling effort in this round-the-world yacht race.

The rousing welcome, organised by the STB and its race partners Sentosa Cove, PSA International, Keppel Corporation and Team Singapore, was the start of two weeks of activities to mark the first time Singapore has hosted the prestigious Clipper Race.

Mr Ken Low, Assistant Chief Executive, Brand and Communications at the STB, said, “Singapore is one of two Asian cities participating in the Clipper race for the first time. We wanted to give our international visitors and the international sailing fraternity a Uniquely Singapore experience they will not forget in their journey round the world.”

The main highlight of the Clipper Singapore stopover was the three-day Singapore Festival Village at Sentosa Cove.

Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports and Second Minister for Trade and Industry, who opened the event, did a special sail-past of all 10 Clipper yachts during the grand opening celebrations, which was open to the public.

On the weekend of 21 and 22 January, the Singapore Festival Village was transformed into a hub of sporting activity, particularly sailing, with sailing demonstrations by the Singapore Sailing Federation and opportunities for the public to sail with the federation’s members on Optimist, Pico and Byte water crafts.

Also available were try-outs on the first sailing simulator brought into Singapore by the Singapore Sports Council. For the first time, the Sentosa Cove Sail Boat Race was held. It was the largest scale race in Singapore featuring large-scale remote controlled model boats, which visitors can try out themselves.

Yet another highlight was a sailing talk by Sir Robin-Knox Johnston, founder and chairman of Clipper Ventures which is behind the Clipper Race.

The Uniquely Singapore Clipper has proudly flown the Singapore flag since the race was flagged off on 18 September 2005 from Liverpool, England. The race has already covered more than a quarter round the world, going from Liverpool to Cascais, Portugal, to Salvador, Brazil, then Durban, South Africa and Fremantle, Western Australia.

The Clipper yachts took to the water again for their next race to Qingdao, on 27 January, with Singaporeans coming out in force to join Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong in sending them off from Keppel Bay.

Mr Low of the STB said, “This is an ideal opportunity for all Singaporeans to show their support of the Uniquely Singapore Clipper. Though many are sailing novices, the crew members have put in a good fight in the race so far. The Singaporeans and permanent residents on board have also been Singapore’s roving tourism ambassadors at the various ports of call. We are proud of them and wish them the best.”