Clipper Ventures Opens First RYA Sailing Academy China

19th March 2026

Afloat.ie Team

Eastern Horizons — Clipper Ventures opens its first RYA Sailing Academy in Qingdao, marking a 20-year UK-China sailing partnership and creating new pathways into offshore racing for Chinese sailors

Clipper Ventures has opened its first Royal Yachting Association (RYA) Sailing Academy in China, marking its first training base outside the UK. The new academy in Qingdao follows a 20-year partnership between Clipper Ventures and the coastal city, built through the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race.

The Clipper Race fleet has visited Qingdao ten times since the partnership began, supporting the city’s development as an international sailing hub. The new facility aims to develop sailing talent across China and provide a structured pathway into offshore racing.

Purpose-built Clipper 7 and Clipper 12 yachts will be used to deliver RYA-accredited courses, ranging from entry-level training to Yachtmaster Offshore. Clipper Ventures said the academy is the only RYA-recognised centre of its kind in China.

British Ambassador to China Peter Wilson described the launch as significant for bilateral ties. “This is a milestone and a mark in the relationship and co-operation between China and the UK,” he said. “Personally, as part of the embassy, I am very proud.”

Clipper Ventures Managing Director Chris Rushton said the project reflects two decades of collaboration. “The opening of the academy has been 20 years in the making,” he said. “To have our co-founders William Ward OBE and Sir Robin Knox-Johnston here to see this come to fruition is a testament to our long-standing sailing relationship with China.”

He said the academy will support future sailors at all levels. “It is a proud moment to see this academy open its doors to students who can now progress from Start Yachting to Yachtmaster Offshore,” he added.

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About the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race

The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race is undoubtedly one of the greatest ocean adventures on the planet, also regarded as one of its toughest endurance challenges. Taking almost a year to complete, it consists of eleven teams competing against each other on the world’s largest matched fleet of 70-foot ocean racing yachts.

The Clipper Race was established in 1996 by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the first person to sail solo, non-stop, around the world in 1968-69. His aim was to allow anyone, regardless of previous sailing experience, the chance to embrace the thrill of ocean racing; it is the only event of its kind for amateur sailors. Around 40 per cent of crew are novices and have never sailed before starting a comprehensive training programme ahead of their adventure.

This unique challenge brings together everyone from chief executives to train drivers, nurses and firefighters, farmers, airline pilots and students, from age 18 upwards, to take on Mother Nature’s toughest and most remote conditions. There is no upper age limit, the oldest competitor to date is 76.

Now in its twelfth edition, the Clipper 2019-20 Race started from London, UK, on 02 September 2019.