Unlike other legs of the Volvo Ocean Race, this stage from New Zealand to Brazil had a very brief coastal component before the teams sought out ‘life at the extreme’.

After a day of crossing the Bay of Plenty, with Abu Dhabi and SCA reporting speed problems due to weed on the blades, all six teams have now fully separated from East Cape (NZL) and are beam reaching at 20 knots to the east toward Cape Horn.

Unlike many of the previous legs, the fleet already has a split up 60nm. To the north, Brunel and Alvimedica are paired up, and to the south is MAPRE. Among those in the middle, the top two boats overall, Abu Dhabi and Dongfeng, are within sight of each other. Welcome to the Southern Ocean match race.

Catching Tropical Storm Pam is no longer an option as a travelling high-pressure system has moved north, setting itself up as the next hurdle to navigate through. The only remnant left in Pam’s wake is a 3 to 4 meter wave state that will become uncomfortable if the wind drops.

Note: After the race started on March 18 in Auckland, our date and time references return to UTC, explaining why this day two report is also March 18. Also, if you click on the headline, you will see the selected video of the day.

Leg 5 (6,776 nm) Position Report (21:40 UTC)
1. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing, Ian Walker (GBR), 6323.4 nm Distance to Finish
2. Team Alvimedica, Charlie Enright (USA), 0.1 nm Distance to Lead
3. Team Brunel, Bouwe Bekking (NED), 1.3 nm DTL
4. Team SCA, Sam Davies (GBR), 1.6 nm DTL
5. Dongfeng Race Team, Charles Caudrelier (FRA), 1.7 DTL
6. MAPFRE, Xabi Fernandez (ESP), 3.1 nm DTL
7. Team Vestas Wind, Chris Nicholson (AUS), Did not start

Source : http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/2015/03/18/welcome-to-the-southern-ocean-match-race/