The longest and toughest leg of the Volvo Ocean Race got underway today in a brisk 15 knots of wind. ABN AMRO ONE and TWO stormed out of Wellington harbour in a comfortable second and third place on their way to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. As the start gun went, Wellingtonians in their thousands lined the quay and spectator boats filled all corners of the bay – Wellington harbour providing a huge natural ampitheatre for the Volvo 70 fleet.

Despite causing some controversy, the first pit stop of the new Volvo Ocean Race format has been especially memorable for the significant numbers of kiwi team members, who only wish that they were able to stay longer in New Zealand. The rules of the pit stop have meant that no shore crew have been able to board the boats and all repairs have had to be carried out by the sailing team using the equipment they have onboard. For ABN AMRO ONE and TWO this has meant they have both spent the last few days ensuring their bent pulpits, which were damaged as the boats ploughed into heavy seas on leg 3, are ready to face what lies ahead.

This next leg, which is 6,700 miles long, will take the fleet deep into the Southern Ocean and round the notorious Cape Horn before the upwind section north to Brazil. As the crews head into their first night the prediction is they will face 25 knots of wind. The forecast for the coming days is for strong westerlies as they return to the Southern Ocean, but with the tail end of a tropical storm added to the mix as they approach the first ice waypoint in five days time it is set to be a tough leg for the fleet.

For ABN AMRO TWO the other important part of this pit stop was a crew change. Bowman Gerd Jan Poortman has been forced to sit out leg four due to a dislocated tail bone sustained after being thrown down the deck on the first night of Leg 3. Team mate Brazilian Lucas Brun, who has replaced the injured Poortman, will get the opportunity to arrive into his home town, Rio having sailed the notorious Southern Ocean.

Mike Sanderson, skipper of ABN AMRO ONE on the dockside prior to the start: “Thank you very much to Wellington for a fantastic pit stop – they have really turned it on for us and as a kiwi I am delighted to have ‘been home’ even for such a short time. There are some nerves about this leg, I think it is healthy for anyone going down into the Southern Ocean to be a little apprehensive but we plan to sail our boat in our way and keeping ABN AMRO ONE in one piece will be a big priority for us. If we can sail a solid leg, complete the miles and keep earning points we will have done what we set out to do.”

Sebastien Josse, skipper of ABN AMRO TWO commented: “This leg is going to be a big one – it’s more extreme than some of the others, more adventure. I think we need to aim to get to Cape Horn in one piece, and then after that we will race a bit harder. The wind often changes at Cape Horn, where the oceans meet - in the Vendee Globe I arrived there in 25 knots and left in a massive 55 knot squall!! After Cape Horn it will become more tactical, you can choose to go either inside or outside of the Falkland Islands and then it’s a straight line to Rio. I think that it is definitely good to have the ice waypoints, we need to sail safely as these boats are so fast. The big change for us on this leg is that we bring Lucas onboard, he will do pit and Scott Beavis will do bow with Simeon. Scott has done this leg before in the bowman position, and I think it is better to have a bowman with as much experience as possible for this leg. We are now looking forward to getting racing and having the opportunity to sail a long leg again – it suits our boats better and should make for some good sailing.”

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