Bermudian sailor Jay Kempe put another feather in his cap after securing a podium finish with his crewmates aboard the yacht Qingdao in the fifth race of the 2013-14 Clipper Round the World Race in Australia last week.

Kempe and his crewmates finished third in the 2,150-mile race from Albany to Sydney, contested for in rough seas aboard a third-generation Clipper 70 designed by Tony Castro, the renowned naval architect.

“It was a very rough and challenging race in the Southern Ocean,” said Kempe, who is a director and founding member of the Bermuda Sloop Foundation. “It was like 2,250 nautical miles in the Gulf Stream with winds between 20 and 50 knots. That race was an absolute b****, but we made the podium.”

Echoing Kempe’s sentiments, Gareth Glover, the Qingdao skipper, said: “That was one of the toughest races so far as the weather was constantly changing, so we had to change tactics on the spot. The crew worked tirelessly and filled all the roles on board to get us the podium finish. We are always trying to do better than the last result. We came fourth into Albany, so we are very happy with third into Sydney.”

Kempe and his crewmates were second in the 12-yacht fleet 60 miles from the finish, but were overhauled by rival boat One DLL after encountering difficulties reefing the mainsail.

Qingdao is third at present on the Clipper Round the World Race leaderboard, 14 points behind leader Henri Lloyd heading into race six, which is the iconic Sydney to Hobart Race.

Kempe, who sailed aboard Spirit of Bermuda in the 2012 Newport to Bermuda Race, will also compete in the upcoming 628-mile Sydney to Hobart Race and 1,200-mile Hobart to Brisbane Race, which are the final races that make up the fourth leg of the Clipper Round the World Race.

Henri Lloyd has won the past four races of the series, which concludes in London in July.

Kempe is also due to compete in the eighth and final leg of the 44,0000-mile around the world race, which also consists of three races.

Race 14 from New York to Northern Ireland starts on June 7, race 15 from Northern Ireland to the Netherlands on June 29 and race 16 from the Netherlands to England on July 10.

Regarded as the “race of your life”, the Clipper Round the World Race is the only race in the world where organisers supply the fleet of 12 identical 70ft, stripped-down yachts manned by a fully qualified skipper employed to lead amateur crews safely around the globe.