With crews still getting over the sheer scale and warmth of their welcome to the city, last night, they had their breath taken away all over again. It started in the Intercontinental hotel which is located within the Olympic Sailing Centre and has become the temporary home for many of the crews.

    In an elegant banqueting hall dominated by a huge backdrop proclaiming ‘WELCOME BANQUET’, the crews were treated to numerous dishes of exquisite Chinese food washed down with some excellent red wine. Each team had a couple of tables and the Cork crew were happy to spend time together, back in their smart green polo shirts for the first time in a few weeks.

    At a grand central table sat an impressive selection of VIPs, including the Ambassadors for Finland and Jamaica, along with a representative from Her Majesties British Government. After a welcome from Deputy Mayor, Wang XiuLin, the party started and as the crews dined, Xia Geng, the Mayor of Qingdao visited each table in turn. He congratulated the ten sailing teams on their adventure and raised a glass of wine to toast their ongoing success. This was a ‘Gan bei’ (‘dry the cup’) toast, where the glass had to be emptied in one go and the Clipper crew showed that they were very adept at respecting the local culture.

    A fleet of coaches took the guests from the hotel to the spectacular new theatre facility located in the marina and the 1,000 seat auditorium was soon filled with an excited buzz.

    Mayor Xia welcome the assembled guests saying “I would like to congratulate all the teams on your remarkable performance. Qingdao, as an Olympic city, is gaining reputation as the sailing capital of China and the sailing sport is becoming a favourite of the citizens.

    He added, “An unbreakable bond has been forged between the largest amateur global sailing adventure, the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race and the city of Qingdao. We share wonderful memories of all our rendezvous here.”

    Clipper Chairman Sir Robin Knox-Johnston replied, saying “We in the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race are only too aware of Qingdao’s position as the sailing capital of China, as was shown in the last Olympic Games and we are proud to be able to use the same fantastic facilities”

    A colourful spectacle then unfolded in the form of a high quality stage production which clearly demonstrated China’s talent in music and performance art.

    Ballet dancers, a performance on traditional stringed instruments and then a duet where the singers sang the rather apt ‘Love Resides in the Blue Ocean’ kept crews entertained.

    How to top that? The appearance of Clipper Race Director Joff Bailey was the answer and he welcomed the crew of Spirit of Australia to the stage. Their first yellow pennant was clearly a popular moment and skipper Brendan Hall lead his proud crew to take the applause, wearing his floor length red cloak awarded during the arrival ceremony.

    As the Australian team departed the stage, the audience was treated to another compelling performance, this time from a highly popular female vocalist (who had flown in from Beijing and showed that she could comfortably compete with the likes of Kylie Minogue or Alicia Keys). After hitting the big end note with real gusto, she delivered a great version of ‘Big Big World’ which had the crew clapping along. If Simon Cowell had been in the audience, there is no doubt that he would have been impressed.

    Then it was the turn of Peter Stirling and his Jamaica Lightning Bolt crew. Jamaican Ambassador, Courtenay Rattray, took to the lectern to deliver the latest message from Usain Bolt – the yachts biggest fan - and then they too received garlands and the coveted second place red pennant. Much to the delight of the capacity crowd, they pulled the famous Usain Bolt ‘Archer’ pose before leaving the stage and in to a posse of media, each anxious for an interview.

    Traditional folk dancers brought a riot of colour to the show with a well choreographed performance as they twirled and spun under the bank of spotlights. And then the local yacht arrived on stage to take their first podium pennant of the 09-10 race and the show stepped up another gear.

    Having been rewarded with their pennant, the crews remained on stage for a performance of ‘Forever Friends’ – the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games song. Helping them were two singers and a cast of around 50 young school girls dressed in sailor suits. If you have seen the pulsating finale of Les Miserables, you will have some idea of how the stage looked and sounded! Chinese flags waved, the chorus swelled and it was clear that the Qingdao crew were having the time of their lives!

    Then it was the turn of Edinburgh Inspiring Capital and crew member young Angus McPhail joined skipper Matt Pike as they stepped in to the spotlight. It was Angus’s duty to hand over a collection of books by Scottish authors and having done the task at the Singapore stopover, he looked entirely at home as he greeted the Deputy Mayor to the stage. As the UNESCO City of Literature, Edinburgh is eager to create an international legacy of its global voyage in the Clipper Race by exchanging books by local authors in the ports of call around the world.

    The entertainment continued and with an extraordinary performance from a member of the Peking Opera, followed by a mesmerising and highly energetic King-Fu display, the standard kept growing.

    A surprise award for the crew of Team Finland was well received by everyone in the audience and their professionalism and attitude towards the dismasting was acknowledged with a team spirit award. Appropriately, this was presented by Lars Backstrom, the Finnish Ambassador and once again the flags (Finnish ones this time) were waved enthusiastically above the heads of the plucky crew.

    The show ended with an incredible performance by a troupe of drummers who wore some spectacularly daring costumes and beat out a rhythm with an energy that took ones breath away.

    As Sir Robin said in his speech, "this will be an event that you will remember for the rest of your lives." And he was absolutely right.