GoToBermuda has secured its first podium finish in the Seattle Pacific Challenge by taking third place in the most recent stage of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race.

After an exceptionally close contest, and a nail-biting wait over a few days for the final results to come through, GoToBermuda was confirmed as third behind Ha Long Bay, Vietnam and Punta del Este.

This elapsed-time race saw the fleet front-runners neck and neck over the stage’s multiple Finish Gates and Qingdao making fast progress after starting the race later than the rest of the teams.

Once all teams crossed Finish Gate 3, the Clipper Race Office calculated each yacht’s elapsed time result and announced the race results. The results were incredibly close, with just over an hour separating the top two spots, despite it being a 3,078-nautical-mile slog from the Le Mans start line to Finish Gate 3.

Ha Long Bay, Vietnam completed the race in 431hr 18min 53sec. Hot on its heels, Punta del Este logged an elapsed time of 432:39:17. GoToBermuda, which had also been in the leading pack for the whole race, finished in an impressive 433:05:27.

David Immelman, the GoToBermuda skipper, said: “Finally… we have been so close so many times and even had a third taken away and now we’ve got it! It's wonderful, the crew worked so hard and they are now getting recognition for all their effort. It was a tough race and not helped by me sending us on a safari, chasing wind that did not appear, but we clawed back with the tenacity I’ve come to love in this crew.

“They are delighted and so they should be; it is a great achievement.”

Ahead of the team racing to Bermuda, Charles Jeffers II, the Bermuda Tourism Authority chief executive, said: “We are proud to welcome the Clipper Race and our GoToBermuda crew home. We congratulate all the crews and invite the teams to relax and enjoy all that Bermuda has to offer during their brief break from this exciting round-the-world race.”

After some very fast downwind sailing for the first weeks of racing, then fickle and sometimes no wind, searing temperatures and incredible tactics, the fleet put on a great show for those watching at home with numerous battles for the Finish Gates, and immensely close racing. The first stage of Leg 7: the USA Coast-to-Coast Leg was a mix of chilly temperatures as the fleet left Seattle, warming up immensely as they progressed south along the west coast of the US and Mexico.

Matt Stephens, Bermuda ambassador sailing on his team yacht, said: “The race was absolutely amazing; I had a lot of fun! We had amazing sailing down the west coast of the US, we have a great crew, a really fast boat and we had a great time!

“We scored the most points out of all the boats in the fleet after the Scoring Gate and Ocean Sprint, and we had a really great race. It’s the first podium for the team so everyone is really stoked about that. We’ll be going for the win in the next race to Bermuda, though!”

Elapsed time

1, Ha Long Bay, Vietnam 431hr 18min 53sec

2, Punta del Este 432:39:17

3, GoToBermuda 433:05:27

4, WTC Logistics 433:18:51

5, Unicef 438:54:00

6, Visit Sanya, China 442:11:38

7, Zhuhai 449:05:00

8, Dare to Lead 454:22:35

9, Qingdao 457:22:20

10, Seattle 515:32:15

11, Imagine Your Korea 517:07:47