SAILING VOLVO OCEAN RACEBLUE SKIES and a fresh southerly breeze despatched the Volvo Ocean Race fleet from Brazil on Leg Six of the 39,000-mile race that has just over two months remaining before the arrival into Galway.

A major blunder by overall leader Iker Martinez on Telefonica on Saturday while leading the rain-swept in-port race has re-invigorated the current runners-up and their relatively substantial points lead took a hammering.

Saturday’s race saw five of the six boats in the race compete together following widespread damage in the last leg from New Zealand to Brazil. All were fully repaired including Ian Walker’s Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing that performed a 48-hour turnaround on a major structural repair.

Martinez started Saturday’s race conservatively, while the others were caught up with an infringement by Ken Read’s Puma at the opposite end of the starting-line.

By the first mark, the Spaniard was opening a commanding lead and victory seemed assured.

Chasing the leader, the pack mirrored the overall race standings with Franck Cammas on Groupama 4 holding second place. The line-up held until, at the start of the final lap, Telefonica mistakenly rounded the wrong mark and continued on the next leg.

Chasing astern, the pack immediately spotted the error and rounded the correct mark thereby tipping off Martinez team who had to sail back and correct their error which counts amongst the most basic in sailing.

The fleet sailed past and it was Cammas who took victory and maximum points. In Team Sanya’s absence, slatted to rejoin the race next month in Miami, Martinez placed last but collected two points.

Initially, navigator error appeared to be the cause but skipper Martinez put his hand up to the mistake that reduces their lead to 16 points. With about 45 per cent of the race points remaining to be won, Telefonica’s outright victory is now far from assured.

The turnaround in fortunes provided a huge morale boost for the current runner-up boats that had been viewing the Spanish leader’s margin as tough to overcome.

Four legs remain and Ireland’s Damian Foxall on Groupama 4 said yesterday that this next leg should suit his team as their boat performs well in the fast reaching-conditions expected for most of the 4,800-mile leg to Florida.

Following Read’s win of the last leg and a third place on Saturday, the American remains in fourth place overall but within reach of Chris Nicholson’s Camper in third place.

All five boats plus Team Sanya from next month will be relishing the end of the boat-breaking conditions of the Southern Ocean though the transatlantic stage at the end of May from Miami to Lisbon may yet prove problematic for all.