Leg 7, Day 5: Trapped on the ice limit again

The Ice Exclusion Zone draws the boats like a magnet. Why? Because the shortest route to Cape Horn is the furthest south, so once again a Southern Ocean leg of this Volvo Ocean Race features crews sailing along a narrow corridor and gybing as they go.

So much for the freedom of the Southern Ocean but then again we live in a safety conscious world and the danger of hitting ice bergs - or bergy bits - is regarded as a paramount concern by the race organisers.

Today on their fifth day at sea, the fast pace continues with the seven crews blasting along in 25 knots of following wind with boatspeeds in the mid-20s and the main group clustered at about five miles north of the Zone.

Team AkzoNobel has been showing good pace and leads a tight group slightly to the south of her, consisting of MAPFRE (+8.6), Dongfeng (+9.6), and Vestas 11th Hour Racing (+10.5). The backmarker continues to be Team Sun Hung Kai Scallywag which is ploughing a lonely furrow about 40 miles north of the rest of the fleet.

Cape Horn is now 5,150 nautical miles in front of Dongfeng’s bow and there is plenty of wind in the forecast all the way there – this is a fast and furious passage and the temperatures are falling. Now Charles Caudrelier and his team are grabbing all the extra layers they can find.

Latest position report at 0700 UTC:

1. Team AkzoNobel. DTF: 5,139.2nm
2. MAPFRE. DTL: 8.6nm
3. Dongfeng Race Team. DTL: 9.6nm
4. Vestas 11th Hour Racing. DTL: 10.5nm
5. Team Brunel. DTL: 16.8nm
6. Turn the Tide on Plastic. DTL: 38.6nm
7. Team Sun Hung Kai / Scallywag. DTL: 55.2nm