Lymington's Jez Fanstone scored his first victory of the Volvo Ocean Race when he arrived first into Baltimore yesterday to win the fifth leg.

The skipper of Team NewsCorp, who was a member of Lawrie Smith's Silk Cut in the last Whitbread, found extra wind on the approach to the finish line and closed in just 26 minutes ahead of Grant Dalton on Amer Sports One after 875 miles racing from Miami.

It is the third time a Hampshire skipper has won a Volvo leg - after Neal McDonald from Hamble, skippering Assa Abloy, won both legs two and four.

And, for Fanstone, sailing with Hampshire colleagues Stuart Childerly, Gordon Maguire and Matt Humphries, it marked a reverse in fortunes after NewsCorp was one of six boats to be over the start line in Miami. When they finally turned and made a legitimate start, they were in last place.

Towards the end, they were one of four boats who shared the lead through Chesapeake Bay, but it was Fanstone's flapping of sail that earned them the ultimate victory.

"We flapped our sails better than the other guys and our flapping just paid off - good flapping," he explained. "It's just starting to sink in now. We were delighted with the speed."

McDonald arrived in third place, just 46 minutes behind the leaders to maintain their second place overall, trailing race leaders illbruck by seven points.

He and his crew are now confident of beating illbruck to take the Volvo title, according to Lymington yachtsman Jason Carrington who rejoined the boat in Rio de Janeiro after falling ill on the second leg from Sydney to Auckland.

"illbruck is only ahead by seven points now. We don't need them to suffer a disaster to beat them, we just need to be better than them."

The next leg, starting April 28, will be crucial to their chances and Assa need to finish three places ahead of illbruck to throw the race wide open.