Whitbread race survivors face one of the most arduous legs of the round-the-word challenge when they set off again on February 1.

The fleet leaves Auckland in New Zealand and straight back into the dangers of the Southern Ocean.

This gruelling segment of the global oceans covers 6,670 nautical miles en route to Sau Sebastiao in Brazil. It also means that the nine yachts will have to round the notorious Cape Horn on the southern tip of the South American continent.

The fleet is expected to take more than three weeks to complete the trip which is due to finish in Southampton, England, in May.

EF Language starts the fifth leg in top slot, having been the most consistent finisher in the previous four legs.

But the crew cannot afford to coast because Merit Cup, which won the race to Auckland, is now on 333 points - just 39 points behind EF Language.

Swedish Match which emerged victorious in the last major haul across the Southern Ocean to Fremantle in western Australia is in third place.

The middle of the field is still quite congested and Innovation Kvaerner, Toshiba, Chessie Racing and Silk Cut are all in contention. The third and seventh placed boats are separated by only 55 points.

With five legs remaining before the yachts arrive home in England in late spring, the race is far from over. However, EF Education and BrunelSunergy will have to pull off something quite spectacular in the coming months if they are to make a serious challenge for the lead.

Nine boats remain in the race - America's Challenge withdrew after the first leg to Cape Town.
 

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