Torben Grael crossed the finish line today with Brasil 1 to take fourth position in leg seven of the Volvo Ocean Race, after an extremely difficult race across the Atlantic.

The last two days of the crossing have been especially traumatic for the crew of Brasil 1. Controlling the boat became a challenge with a wind speed of 35 knots. The boat was lurching wildly when the spinnaker pole snapped one metre from the bow. The team reacted fast and two crew went forward to collect the remaining pieces.

While Andy Meiklejohn and Stu Wilson were up on the bow, a wave washed through the deck and the spinnaker pole was projected at full speed into the cockpit. Horacio Carabelli saw the huge tube with the sharp end flying centimetres from his face. In a split second he imagined the worst: the tube hitting Torben behind the wheel. They were lucky. Torben ducked and the pole hit the wheel and stuck to wheel and steering pedestal.

It was a much relieved crew that arrived in Portsmouth this afternoon at 1530 GMT, after nine days, 21 hours and 30 minutes of racing.

“This leg has been much harder than we expected,” said Torben Grael. Navigator Marcel van Triest, added, “It has been a tough leg both tactically and emotionally. It is always good to arrive in port and we are very pleased to be here.”

Meanwhile, Brunel (Matt Humphries) is still out on the race track with 157 miles to run to the Lizard and the scoring gate. They are making 22 knots of boat speed currently with a wind speed of 36 knots. ABN AMRO TWO (Sebastien Josse), with the movistar crew safely onboard, is 253 miles from the Lizard and is averaging 16 knots.

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