Continuing their role as major celebrities, Chris Stanmore-Major and his Qingdao crew were feted by the Hisense Real Estate company yesterday afternoon. Hisense engages in the development and construction of middle and high-end residential buildings and they put on a welcome party at one of their newest developments in Qingdao. The company have been a major supporter of the Qingdao stopover.

    VIP guests of the company – many of whom were new residents in the development - were invited to join the crew for a varied programme of events which ranged from toasts and speeches, knot tying competitions, Q&A sessions, presentations by the Chinese crew, a Calligraphy demonstration and to end it all, a rousing session of Karaoke.

    The crews were treated like Royalty, with uniformed guards lined up to greet them and snapping the sharpest of salutes as they walked by. First up was a tour of a magnificent Huf Haus that was on the market for a cool RMB 100,000,000 (£10 million). Its basement party room, home cinema and bomb proof ‘safe room’ appealed to the crews who have become especially adept in making a narrow and public bunk feel like home.

    From there it was on to the party proper and several lengthy speeches which were toasted with gusto. Crew member LiZhong Zhang (who likes to be known as Leo) gave a Powerpoint presentation that shared the highs and lows of his journey from Geraldton, Western Australia. Sitting stock still on the front row and following every word was a five year old boy who was clearly completely inspired by the adventure. When it came to the Q&A session, his hand shot up first and with microphone in hand, he earnestly enquired if the crews had dumplings for breakfast – clearly, a dumpling-less breakfast was a concept that he simply couldn’t take on board.

    Then it was the knot tying competition and Leo demonstrated how to tie a figure of eight, a reef knot and the all important bowline. With those mastered, the crews offered their arms, so that the round turn and two half hitches could be practiced. The guests were quick learners and when it came to the competition against the clock, the concentration was intense. Happily, the mother of the cute five year old proved the winner and he went home very happy with the ubiquitous cuddly toy prize.

    At the end of the afternoon, the crews were each presented with a scroll containing a hand painted message in Chinese characters and then they had one final duty to perform. Clearly, the Rod Stewart classic ‘We are Sailing’ was assumed to be the anthem of all sailors, so with microphones in hand, the massed choir of Qingdao Clipper came on stage to do their best. To their credit, it was a performance that Rod himself would have been proud of. And if the truth be known, Becky Block, Blue Dalton and Chris White looked like they were enjoying the limelight just a bit too much.

    Today, the hospitality continues. 35 excited local families arrived at the Olympic Sailing Centre to adopt crew members for the day. Each family had their own itinerary planned which ranged from rock climbing and tourism trips to traditional meals in the family homes. Tomorrow’s report will carry some of the stories of how the crew fared but as they were lead away to a fleet of waiting cars, it was clearly going to deliver yet another memorable experience of China.

    The Team Finland crew were briefed yesterday on their replacement mast. Shipping the 90-foot spar and associated rigging needs specialist help and unsurprisingly, flights are not as regular as those offered by budget airlines. To speed up the process and get the earliest flight possible, Clipper has decided to ship the mast by truck from the UK to Luxemburg where an Air China 747 with the all important opening front nose is set to depart on Friday. The first departure from the UK was not until the following week. The cargo will land in Beijing and the mast will then transported by truck to Qingdao. Some final assembly, stepping, tuning, testing and adjusting will be required before Team Finland can head to sea. The good news is that their destination is San Francisco and a departure date of between 11 and 14 March is expected. Clearly, the Clipper team both in the UK and out in Qingdao will be working flat out to expedite the situation with all possible speed.