On June 7, 2024 at 17:00 Universal Standard Time (UTC), the 2023-24 Clipper Round the World Sailing Race - Schedule 12"Sea View Special District Cup" competition officially began. The racing fleet still started in Le Mans style, with the captain of the opening command being Nano Antia Bonadoz from the"Cape Est Sailing Club".

Captain Nano sent back a report saying,"Schedule 12 has already begun! According to the plan, the fleet will start on time at 1700 UTC, with smooth preparations and a smooth start to the race at the designated sea location. At the start of the race, the wind speed was about 13 knots and the sea conditions were good. The" Qingdao"and" Brave Forward"have performed well and are currently in a leading position."

The competition fleet departed from the sheltered port at the Atlantic end of the Panama Canal two days ago and sailed 245 nautical miles using maneuverability to reach the opening sea area. Before and after the race, they encountered a change from east wind to northeast wind, and the sea conditions were good. The weather and sea conditions made the Le Mans style race very smooth.

Shortly after the start of Schedule 12, Captain Philip Quinn of the"Qingdao" ship sent back a report stating,"We have just started Schedule 12, another Le Mans style race. Although we are at the back of the line, we have still successfully crossed the starting line. Currently, we are sailing smoothly and are in front of the fleet, heading towards Washington D.C. We hope we can achieve good results and reach the finish line smoothly through the Caribbean Islands. Go! Dragon Knights!"

Schedule 12 is the second part of the seventh stage of this season's Clipper Round the World Sailing Race. The voyage is relatively short, with a standard route distance of approximately 1560 nautical miles and an estimated time of 10 to 12 days. The fleet will sail through the Caribbean Sea before heading towards Washington D.C. along the east coast of the United States. This will be the first time the Clipper Round the World Sailing Race has visited and docked in the US capital, Washington D.C.

During the process of passing through the Caribbean waters, the organizing committee has set up several mandatory check-in routes for the fleet to choose from during the entry and exit stages: the entry stage is one out of three, and the exit stage is one out of two. All check-in gates are clearly marked in the route instructions. During the passage of this sea area, the fleet will encounter chaotic wind conditions, mainly from the low-pressure system of the North American continent. Most of the competition was warm and windy, sometimes accompanied by thunderstorms and gusts. Such weather conditions will cause the crew to frequently change and rotate their sails, and I believe that the competition between the fleets will become intense and exciting as a result.

Dale Smith, Deputy Competition Director of the Clipper Round the World Sailing Race, commented:"The first stage of sailing in the Caribbean Islands between Haiti and Cuba will encounter strong winds, which are the upwind passage into the southeast trade wind zone. It will be crucial to obtain good position and speed in short distance races in the Caribbean, which will be a real challenge. After crossing the upwind passage and leaving the Caribbean Sea, the wind conditions will continue to ease, but the fleet can use the sails and quickly sail towards the finish line near Washington D.C. Another influencing factor as it approaches the Washington D.C. finish line is the Gulf Stream, a marine sport that can effectively boost the fleet. Each racing team should closely monitor the tidal chart and find ways to utilize it." Good for this condition."

Despite the short distance, this competition still meets the conditions and sets up additional points for competition: scoring gates and ocean racing intervals, which can be chosen by the fleet to participate in according to their respective technical and tactical competition plans. Each additional point competition only rewards the top three winners with three points for the first place, two points for the second place, and one point for the third place.

The finish line of Schedule 12 is set outside the Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the United States. After the race, the fleet will gather at the entrance of the Potomac River and head together to Washington D.C. All racing fleets must pass through the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge, which is only open once during the planned time on the day of arrival before heading to the dock in Washington D.C.

The"Washington Special Area Code", which is about to return to its home port, informed the organizing committee before the start of this game that it will use a double point card (Joker), and the one-way qualifying points for this game will be calculated twice. Washington D.C., which made its debut on the route map of the Clipper Round the World Sailing Race, is ready, and the Clipper fleet is expected to arrive between June 17th and 19th.