The Clipper 11-12 Round the World Yacht Race started from Southampton on the south coast of the UK on 31 July 2011. The route will take the crews of the ten, identical 68-foot yachts, each sponsored by a city, state, country or corporation, via Madeira, Rio de Janeiro, Cape Town, Geraldton Western Australia, New Zealand, Gold Coast Australia, Singapore, Qingdao in China, California, Panama, New York, Nova Scotia, Derry-Londonderry in Northern Ireland and Den Helder in the Netherlands before returning on 22 July 2012 to Southampton.

The skipper and crew of Chinese entry, Qingdao, have been awarded the Henri Lloyd Clipper Race Seamanship Award after the team completed the Clipper 11-12 Round the World Yacht Race without a single penalty point.

Skipper Ian Conchie and his crew raced 40,000 miles around the world without reaching an amount of damage to equipment or sails to warrant the team being penalised with a penalty point.

The crew members of the Chinese entry received the award on Sunday as the Clipper 11-12 Race finished in Southampton after nearly a year at sea.

“I’m so proud of my crew after receiving this award,” explains, Ian Conchie.

“They’ve worked so hard for so long to look after the boat, their fellow crew members and more importantly learnt how to race safely while completing a circumnavigation.”

Hundreds of nominations were received for the award with five standout nominations being selected by Henri Lloyd, which moved forward to the public voting on Henri Lloyd’s Facebook page.

“We are very proud of our long standing partnership with the Clipper Round the World Race and delighted to be able to show our support to the race crews through the Henri Lloyd Clipper Race Seamanship Award,” reveals Paul Strzrelecki, Joint Managing Director of Henri Lloyd.

The award was presented to the crew on stage at Race Finish by Paul and Clipper Race Chairman and Founder, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston.

“To race around the world without losing any points due to sail or equipment damage is a great achievement. They have stayed safe and looked after the yacht well and the crew of Qingdao are worthy winners for this award,” comments Sir Robin.

The crew of Qingdao raced around the world, facing some of the most extreme conditions on the planet including the Southern and Pacific Ocean.