HAMPSHIRE sailor Rob Greenhalgh was last night making his presence felt in the opening days of the Volvo Ocean Race's second leg as the newcomer helped mastermind his team Mapfre's comeback.

Race veteran Greenhalgh was parachuted in to bolster the Spanish side after they finished last in the first stage from Alicante to Cape Town.

He replaced French offshore legend Michel Desjoyeax who reportedly clashed with skipper Iker Martinez during the opening gambit.

Mapfre were at the back of the seven-strong pack as they left Cape Town for the second leg to Abu Dhaibi.

But with the Southampton sailor's help they rocketed up the standings and were last night in second place just two miles behind leg leaders, Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing.

Of his new crew, Martinez said: “We want to get rid of the bad taste in the mouth from Leg 1. We’re determined to finish on the podium in Abu Dhabi.”

Xabi Fernandez, Martínez’s right-hand man, added: “We spend all day and all night looking at our rivals.

“You want to measure the (wind) pressure in close detail, knowing that you just can’t commit any errors.

“To be so close to the lead, we have sailed at 100 percent.”

Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing, skippered by Warsash's Ian Walker, have found themselves well to the west of the fleet almost by accident.

Fortunately, for the crew on board their yacht Azzam, the wind in their location has been stronger than that of their rivals and they snatched the lead by Tuesday morning.

Walker admitted: “We find ourselves a little bit out on a limb with the fleet, so I’m a little bit nervous right now."

Hamble's Sam Davies and Titchfield's Dee Caffari were last night bringing up the rear on their all-woman team SCA.

Greenhalgh's sister Libby is the navigator on SCA and the siblings are the first brother and sister team to compete in the race since 1990.

The SCA crew was 18 miles behind Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing as the Daily Echo went to press.

Ahead lies a possible cyclone or tropical storm before a finish in Abu Dhabi in mid-December so it's certainly not all plain sailing for any of the teams from here.