Hampshire skipper Sam Davies and her all-female Team SCA have won stage eight of the Volvo Ocean Race and, in turn, sent shockwaves through the sailing world.

They sealed their first offshore victory in comfortable style on the penultimate leg from Lisbon to Lorient in France.

Hamble's Davies and navigator Libby Greenhalgh, who are part of the first all-female crew to enter the round-the-world race in 12 years, silenced critics who suggested they were being outclassed by their male rivals.  

Although they'd failed to secure a podium place up until this point, the crew feel they have proved a massive point to the sailing world. 

The win was certainly no fluke in an upwind leg that tested seamanship to the full with an often heinous sea state and strong winds virtually throughout.

"Thanks to everybody for all your support. It's not really sunk in yet," said a jubilant Davies. "It probably won't hit us until we hit the dock and we see there aren't any other boats there.

"It's a reward for all the hard work we have done. It's a great confidence booster. It's going to be huge for us. We've had a mountain to climb to get here."

They grabbed the 647-nautical mile leg from Lisbon by the scruff of the neck on Monday, and strengthened that grip on Tuesday after taking an offshore course while most of their rivals hugged the Spanish and French coast approaching the Bay of Biscay.

It took them three days 13 hours 11 minutes and 11 seconds to grab their share of Race history.

Behind them, another fairy-tale was unfolding as Team Vestas Wind closed to a remarkable second-placed finish in their return to the race after six months out following a collision with an Indian Ocean reef on November 29 during Leg 2.

Meanwhile, Warsash skipper Ian Walker made another step towards winning the overall crown, when his Abu Dhabi boat sealed third place. 

Walker, alongside Southampton navigator Simon Fisher, needed simply to finish ahead of their nearest rivals in the ranking,Team Brunel and Dongfeng Race Team.

And with Libby's brother Rob Greenhalgh finishing fourth on the MAPFRE boat, Abu Dhabi have edged closer to securing the overall crown.

The boats will have a short maintenance period before Sunday’s SCA In-Port Race here in Lorient, before the fleet set sail for Gothenburg via a much-awaited pit-stop in The Hague, on Tuesday, June 16.