Gosport'S Rory Gillard, skipper of London Clipper, announced "we were one and a half boat lengths from each other" after his duel with friend, but on the water rival, Ross Daniel as they neared Cape Town on Monday.

Gillard continued: "It was neck-and-neck after such a long leg."

Gillard and his team on board London Clipper finally slipped into port beneath the watchful eye of Table Mountain in third, claiming their first podium slot.

They crossed the finish line at 17:44 local time.

Gosport's Daniel with New York Clipper was snapping at Gillard's heels and, after an agonisingly light final few miles, finished in fourth.

Asked how the second leg with Clipper 2002 as skipper went, Daniel said casually: "Fine, we had one day of 45-50 knots."

The two crews spent the final three days of the leg into South Africa within sight of each other, eking out valuable miles on each other in the light conditions. "The leg from Mauritius produced some beautiful wildlife, which seemed to put life in perspective. Whales, sharks, seahorses and an albatross," added Daniel.

Asked of his expectations for the next leg, he replied: "To be in the top three."

An optimistic call, but his skills of working well with novice crew are exemplary. "The next leg will be less tactical anyway, get in on the trade winds, put the kite up and go." As for Gillard: "We want to keep sailing the boat fast. We lost out in not covering ourselves last time."

Fifth place went to Adam Kyffin on Liverpool, while Justin Taylor's Hong Kong crew took sixth.

The Cape Town and Glasgow yachts retired from Race 12, part of the fifth crew leg of Clipper 2002, due to adverse weather conditions. Serious wind holes resulted in these crews slipping further behind and their respective skippers, Rupert Parkhouse and Roger Steven-Jennings, who both reluctantly took the difficult but correct decision to retire.

Meanwhile, Richard Butler skippered Bristol Clipper to yet another victory in the 12th race of the round the world series.

The Bristol crew, understandably in buoyant mood, were greeted by a reception committee from the Royal Cape Yacht Club as well as the bright lights of the television crews, as they crossed the Cape Town finish line at 07:38 local time on Sunday.

Skipper Simon Rowell then clinched second place and another podium finish for Channel Islanders, as the jubilant Jersey Clipper crew crossed the finish line just behind at 08:19.

Having successfully snatched Bristol's lead on the final run into Cape Town, Jersey Clipper was denied line honours in the 11th hour.

The crews arrived dockside at the Royal Cape Yacht Club basin at sunrise both just in time for breakfast and champagne celebrations. Jersey Clipper still holds first place overall.

For the next leg to Salvador, Brazil, the eight identical Clipper yacht fleet will head up with the Trades and try to pull out some miles from leader Bristol Clipper.

Race 12 results (Mauritius to Cape Town): Bristol 82 points, Jersey 73, London 64, New York 55, Liverpool 46, Hong Kong 37, Glasgow 28, Cape Town (Rtd).

Overall standings: Jersey 702 points, Bristol 683, Hong Kong 534, Liverpool 515.5, London 476, Glasgow 447, New York 388, Cape Town 165.