Uniquely Singapore sails from Keppel Bay in Clipper 09-10 Race to Qingdao

Amidst festive colours and traditions of the Chinese New Year in a special send-off ceremony, Uniquely Singapore and the other yachts in the Clipper 09-10 Round the World Yacht Race sailed from Marina at Keppel Bay today to start Race 6 to Qingdao after a ten-day Singapore stopover. Dr Lee Boon Yang, Chairman of Keppel Corporation, flagged off the race in the event attended by distinguished guests which included various ambassadors. Keppel is the Team Sponsor of Uniquely Singapore with the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) as Team Partner and Marina at Keppel Bay is the Host Port for the Singapore Stopover. This is the third time that Keppel and STB are working together in support of Uniquely Singapore. Uniquely Singapore Can Do! - (Front row from left) Mr William Ward, CEO of Clipper Ventures; Mr Teo Soon Hoe, Senior ED and Group Finance Director of Keppel Corporation (Keppel), Dr Lee Boon Yang, Chairman of Keppel, Mr Choo Chiau Beng, CEO of Keppel and Skipper of Uniquely Singapore, Jim Dobie Mr Choo Chiau Beng, CEO of Keppel Corporation, said, “With the slew of activities and events over this 10-day Singapore stopover, it has been a time of building networks and fostering camaraderie as well as meaningful exchanges of experiences and culture. “It is this goodwill and friendship as well as the global outlook and team spirit provided by the Clipper Race platform that Keppel continues to leverage, to share our values and build in our people.” Mr William Ward, CEO of Clipper Ventures, said, “I am pleased to say that we have had a number of our international yacht sponsors in town who have used the Clipper Race stopover as a backdrop to generate business opportunities. “All in all, it has been an exciting week. In fact, we have also received a good number of enquiries from Singaporeans interested in getting on board Uniquely Singapore for the next race and to train at Keppel’s Sailing Academy, KBSA – the only sailing centre outside of the UK which offers Clipper Training.” The Clipper Race fleet now faces a 2,600-mile race north to Qingdao, the host venue for the sailing events in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, where they will be berthed at the Olympic Sailing Marina. The first boats are expected to arrive on 19 February 2010.