After a week-long stopover in spectacular Singapore, the ten yachts taking part in the Clipper 11-12 Round the World Yacht Race set on Saturday morning from the exclusive Marina at Keppel Bay, where they have been based since last Saturday.

They will race from Singapore to Qingdao, where they are expected to arrive between 22 and 24 February.

The send-off was no less spectacular than the welcome festivities, with drummers upping the tempo as the teams manned their boats in preparation for race start, as well as the traditional tossing of the Yusheng, or raw fish salad, by skippers and VIP guests, to herald abundance and good fortune during the Chinese Spring Festival.

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.