Punta del Este claimed the opening Clipper race to Portimão in Portugal, crossing the finish line in first place at 00:45:22 UTC on Monday.
With a wide spectrum of conditions from a tough beat upwind, to surfing downwind, from gale force winds, squalls and gusts up to 40kns to the flat calm of the final day; Race 1 has had it all. And the finish only added to the drama.
The race finishers and arrivals continued throughout the early hours of Monday morning.
Second to finish was Dare To Lead just one hour behind the leader with third Qingdao at 02.26.
Taking fourth place after crossing the finish line at 02:55 UTC was an exuberant Zhuhai team.
Spending the majority of the race in the middle of the pack, Zhuhai had already added two bonus points to its tally after crossing the scoring gate third and completing the Ocean Sprint in the third fastest time.
With Race 1 now complete the entire fleet arrived within 13 hours of each other, reflecting how competitive the Clipper 2019-20 Race teams are and with the last minute changes in the leaderboard during Race 1 means it is all to play for in the next race.
The yachts will be berthed in the Marina de Portimao until the start of Race 2, to Punta del Este, Uruguay on the 15 September.
Clipper 2019-20 Round the World Yacht Race – Race 1
1st Punta del Este – – 09 September 2019 00.45 (UTC)
2nd Dare To Lead – – 09 September 2019 01.45 (UTC)
3rd Qingdao – – 09 September 2019 02.26 (UTC)
4th Zhuhai – – 09 September 2019 02.55 (UTC)
5th Visit Sanya, China – – 09 September 2019 03.17 (UTC)
6th Unicef – – 09 September 2019 03.23 (UTC)
7th Imagine your Korea – – 09 September 2019 03.25 (UTC)
8th Ha Long Bay, Viet nam – – 09 September 2019 04.09 (UTC)
9th GoToBermuda – – 09 September 2019 05.00 (UTC)
10th Seattle – – 09 September 2019 11.48 (UTC)
11th WTC Logistics – – 09 September 2019 13.38 (UTC)