Hampshire sailors are tightly packed together at the beginning of the sixth stage of the Volvo Ocean Race.

The latest leg, from Brazilian port of Itajai to Newport on the east coast of the USA, started on Sunday and has seen the six-strong fleet sail northeast parallel with the coast of Brazil.

They are all, essentially, sailing in a straight line waiting for any small error to take advantage of and take the lead.

As of the last location reports Hamble-based sailor Rob Greenhalgh, onboard the MAPFRE boat, is just inches ahead of Warsash skipper Ian Walker and Southampton’s Simon Fisher on the Abu Dhabi vessel in second.

Meanwhile, the all-female Team SCA, skippered by Hamble’s Sam Davies and crewed alongside Gosport’s Dee Caffari and Rob’s sister Libby Greenhalgh, hold third place.

“Never has sailing in a straight line been so tedious,” wrote Abu Dhabi reporter Matt Knighton, in his latest blog.

“Like a group of children all running towards an invisible chocolate bar in the east, we watch each other for any flinch, any slight change in course that would upset the group.

“The herd mentality, that’s what we’re calling it.

“With minute details defining gains and losses, all of our different personalities are coming out – some are behaving, some are stirring up trouble.

“Alvimedica has been on the naughty list today. Gradually, they worked their way up to our line all morning sitting just over a half mile ahead – close enough to throw disturbed air off their sails and hurt our boat speed.

“Aggressively, Ian (Walker) has spent most of his waking minutes (and also hasn’t gotten much sleep) running between the AIS in the nav station and jumping on deck trying to break their stranglehold.

“If they sail higher, we’ll sail lower. If they sail lower, we’ll pinch to get away from their bad air. On and on the vicious game continues. Every move we make they’re meeting with a countermove.”

The fleet divided by little more than four nautical miles, sees Team Alvimedica in fourth, Dongfeng Race Team, who made repairs in Itajai after snapping part of their mast in the fifth leg, are in fifth while Team Brunel are sixth.

Time will tell who will pull away from the pack in the latest 5,010 nautical mile leg.