Sailing legend Sir Robin Knox-Johnston has arrived in Da Nang and will be attending the awards dinner at the Furama hotel in Da Nang today.

Da Nang-Viet Nam comes to port in Da Nang after the seventh leg of the Clipper World Yacht Race. — Photo courtesy Clipper Race 

Knox-Johnston is the founder and chairman of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race.

The race organiser announced yesterday that an awards ceremony will begin at 5.30pm, and awards will be given to the winner of the 7th stage, the crew of Northern Irish Derry-Londonderry-Doire, who crossed the finish line on February 17.

Garmin came in second and Great Britain finished third.

LMAX Exchange followed, ahead of Qingdao, Viet Nam, Clipper Telemed+, IchorCoal, PSP Logistics, UNICEF, Mission Performance, and Visit Seattle.

Da Nang-Viet Nam came in sixth in the leg, after winning the fifth leg from Sydney to Hobart, and also won the Stormhoek Social Spirit award in the Albany-Sydney leg in Australia.

The race organiser noted that Sir Robin, the 76 year-old sailing veteran, was the first person to sail solo, non-stop, around the world in 1968-69, gaining global recognition and respect in the international sports and sailing communities.

As a result of his accomplishment, Queen Elizabeth II made him a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE).

In 1995 the Queen elevated him to Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, thus becoming Sir Robin Knox-Johnston.

His prominent sailing career has resulted in numerous honours, including the inaugural entry into the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) Hall of Fame. He has also been named Yachtsman of the Year an unprecedented four times by the Royal Yachting Association.

Sir Robin set the record for the fastest circumnavigation of the world with Sir Peter Blake in 1994 and was awarded the Trophee Jules Verne.

In 2007 he completed his second solo circumnavigation, when he competed in the VELUX 5 OCEANS race.

He also participated in the 2013 and 2015 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Races and finished third in class in the solo transatlantic Route du Rhum in 2014 at the age of 75.

Sir Robin founded the Clipper Race because he wanted all people to have the opportunity to race around the world, noting that fewer people have achieved this than have climbed Mount Everest. The first race was held in 1996.

The latest Clipper Race is its tenth competition and features a team representing Da Nang-Viet Nam for the first time in the 20-year history of the race. Da Nang is also hosting the Southeast Asia stopover for the first time.

Sir Robin, who is also visiting Viet Nam for the first time, said he was very impressed with Da Nang-Viet Nam Skipper Wendy Tuck and the entire team, including local crew member Minh An.

Sir Robin noted, "Sailing transcends language, territories and cultural boundaries. It is human will against nature. It's theatre that plays itself out on the high seas, where crews have to call on skill, strategy and valuable know-how to outmanoeuvre and outwit competitors."

As schedule, the crews making up 12 teams will march through the Han River Swing Bridge and the Rong (Dragon) Bridge at 7.30pm on Thursday.

Teams will start the eighth leg from Da Nang to Quingdao, China, on Saturday, after a 10-day stop-over in the central city.

Photo contest for yacht race launched

Da Nang launched a photo contest for amateur and professional photographers from Viet Nam and foreign countries to photograph activities surrounding the Clipper 2015-16 Round the World Yacht Race in Da Nang city from February 17-27.

The contest organisers said each competitor can send 15 black and white, or colour photos, featuring the beauty of Viet Nam's land and people during the Clipper World Race 10-day stop-over in the city.

The winner will receive a cash prize of VND10 million, while runner-ups win VND8 million and third place earns VND4 million .

As scheduled, the awards ceremony will be held in the city on March 29. 

VNS