Hampshire sailors on the Volvo Ocean Race are locked in an increasingly close battle on stage five of the round-the-world competition.

The six-strong fleet are currently more than 3,500 nautical miles away from completing the latest leg from Auckland in New Zealand to Itajai in Brazil.

And after a turbulent period this week in which three of the boats did Chinese Gybes or 'death rolls', just ten nautical miles now separate five of the six boats.

Warsash skipper Ian Walker and Southampton navigator Simon Fisher onboard the Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing boat have slipped down to fifth after holding onto second place for a spell this week.

But they are still well in the running.

A demonstration of how quickly things can change was how Dongfeng, who were second to last just yesterday, powered into the lead in last 24 hours, according to the latest location reports.

That is bad news for Walker and Fisher, who will be hoping to beat the Chinese-backed boat, which Abu Dhabi is tussling with for the overall lead of the nine-port race.

Rob Greenhalgh, the experienced Hamble navigator, is currently in third on the Spanish-backed MAPFRE boat.

Meanwhile, Hamble skipper Sam Davies and Gosport’s Dee Caffari on the all-female Team SCA boat have made ground after being last by some distance over the last few days.

SCA are now just 63 nautical miles off Dongfeng after being more than double that distance from the lead yesterday.