Hampshire skipper Ian Walker admits the “stakes are high” on the Volvo Ocean Race fifth stage after he and other local sailors narrowly escaped unhurt from rough seas on the round-the-world event.

In the last 24 hours three of the six-strong fleet have experienced knock downs, or Chinese Gybe, and another a near wipe-out, while sailing the notorious Southern Ocean on the latest leg between New Zealand and Brazilian port Itajai.

A Chinese Gybe, otherwise known as a ‘death roll’, forces the main sail to slam over, the boat to end up in the water, with the keel on the wrong side keeping it on its side.

Walker, onboard the Abu Dhabi with Southampton’s Simon Fisher, saw his boat almost completely wiped-out.

He and his crew reported a “night of two gybes, a wild one in pitch black with a massive wipe-out and then a ‘controlled’ one at 30 knots” as they pushed to make ground on the leaders Team Brunel.

Gosport’s Dee Caffari and Hamble skipper Sam Davies on the all-female Team SCA and Rob Greenhalgh on the Spanish-backed MAPFRE yacht suffered death rolls.

The Dongfeng Race Team was the first boat to endure a knock down, but all sailors were unhurt and racing continued in the full on, fast and cold conditions.

“It’s a double-edged sword”, explained Walker, the Warsash-based double Olympic medallist.

“On the one hand if you push it hard and get away with it you can take big miles – you can’t take 10 miles a sked in light winds but you can in strong winds.

“Then again, if you push it too hard you can’t finish the leg so the stakes are high.”

Despite the drama, Walker’s boat is in second, 14.2 nautical miles behind Team Brunel, according to the latest location reports last night.

Meanwhile, Davies and Caffari are more than 100 nautical miles behind top-spot after the events.

Experienced, Hamble-based sailor Greenhalgh is in third with MAPFRE, 19.5 nautical miles behind Team Brunel.

There is still more than 4,000 nautical miles to go on this stage.

Weather conditions remain highly unpredictable in the Southern Ocean.