After delays, Volvo Ocean Race leaves for Brazil in start to treacherous Leg 5

Chinese boat Dongfeng Race Team led the Volvo Ocean Race fleet out of Auckland's harbour for the fifth leg to Brazil on Wednesday after Cyclone Pam delayed the start for three days.

The six boats were kept in port on the advice of their skippers and race organisers to avoid the cyclone that caused massive destruction in the South Pacific nation of Vanuatu, claiming at least 11 lives.

The fleet faces a daunting, 6,776-nautical mile journey to their destination in Itajai, Brazil, battling treacherous conditions through the Southern Ocean, rounding Cape Horn and then sailing through the Atlantic for the first time since November.

It is the toughest test for the crews taking part in the nine-month, 38,739-nautical-mile round-the-world race.

By Wednesday’s latest position report, Team Brunel had taken a slight advantage, 0.1nm ahead of Mapfre and just 6.3nm ahead of Team SCA, bringing up the rear. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing were 3.1nm back in fifth.

Winds in the Southern Ocean are expected to regularly top 160 kph and waves around Cape Horn can reach 30 meters in height.

In the last edition of the race, in 2011/12, five of the six boats sustained serious damage during the leg and two were forced to retire, including Abu Dhabi’s Azzam.

Experienced sailors Stu Bannatyne of New Zealand and Damian Foxall from Ireland were recruited by Team Alvimedica and Dongfeng, respectively, to take part in the leg.

Bannatyne, a six-time race veteran, did not need much persuading. “This is the best sailing in the world,” he said.

Azzam started the stage level on eight points with Dongfeng, but are the race leader courtesy of their superior record in the in-port series, which acts as the tie-breaker.

They are trailed by Brunel on 14 points, Alvimedica and fourth-leg victors Mapfre on 16, and the all-women crew of SCA on 24.

The boats are expected to arrive in Itajai around April 7.

The fleet will cross the halfway point of the race during the fifth leg. The boats will cover nine legs, visiting 11 ports. The race is scheduled to finish on June 27 in Gothenburg, Sweden, after starting in Alicante, Spain, in October last year.

After delays, Volvo Ocean Race leaves for Brazil in start to treacherous Leg 5

Team Brunel were leading as of the latest position reports on Wednesday early into the Volvo Ocean Race's much-anticipated Leg 5 after Cyclone Pam had delayed the start in New Zealand.