Seven years and four global circumnavigations later, the demand for the Clipper Race is higher than ever.

As a consequence, chairman of the Shamrock Quay based company Clipper Ventures plc, Sir Robin Knox-Johnson signed a deal at the Royal Thames Yacht Club in London on Wednesday with the Chinese firm Shanghai Double Happiness Yachts Ltd to build a ten-strong fleet of new Clipper yachts.

As part of the equation the revered Beaulieu yacht designer Ed Dubois was chosen to draw the lines for this new 68ft-long boat.

It is two tons lighter than the previous design, beamier, stronger and with a larger rig and sail area. It will be fast downwind but will also be able to march through rough all round conditions.

The increase in length will capacitate 18 paying crew, beginning with the Clipper 2005 Round The World Race.

Once launched the boats should prove to be the fastest round the world ocean racers in the non-professional field.

The first of the fleet will be shipped to Britain in a year's time.

Shanghai Double Happiness Yachts Ltd was selected above a number of other yards around the world, beating off competition from those in Cape Town and New Zealand.

The yard which is known for constructing trawler yachts for the US market is a subsidiary of Shanghai Double Happiness, one of the world's largest manufacturers and distributors of sporting goods.

The company is embracing the yacht market here in Europe and the deal with Clipper Ventures plc is worth a million US dollars and grants them the rights to promote their yacht sales through the Southampton company.

In parallel with the new boat is a new route which will be determined by those nations successful in their bid to host a boat.

Each of the ten yachts will be skippered and crewed by sailors associated with a different international city and sailed under its respective national flag. It will produce nation versus nation competition in the battle for the prestigious Clipper World Challenge Cup.