After a first place on the previous stage, Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag also took the lead of the fleet to leave Hong Kong. The crew of 9 sailors led by David Witt crossed the start line at 11am local time, in a light breeze of 6-7 knots east-southeast ahead of Team AkzoNobel and Team Brunel.
It was then the team led by Bouwe Bekking (Team Brunel) who took over the reins as the fleet left the Hong Kong islands, heading east-southeast in a north-easterly wind, which gradually strengthened to reach a good twenty knots, then up to 35-40 knots.
This first part of the stage should be very similar to the second part of the fourth between Melbourne and Hong Kong, but in the other direction. That is to say that the 54 sailors - 9 on MAPFRE, Dongfeng Race Team, Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag, Team AkzoNobel, 10 on Turn the Tide on Plastic, 8 on Team Brunel - will mostly be sailing upwind in an east-north-easterly wind, conditions which are much less pleasant. The teams will then have to negotiate the Doldrums, which in the first leg had completely turned the classification upside down, allowing Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag to move from last to first place.
"It's even more complicated because when you get to the Philippines, you don't know where you're going to go in the Doldrums. On the way there, we knew we were going to pass right by the Solomon Islands, but there you can go anywhere. What defines your point of passage is the weather you're going to have in the south and you don't know what the weather is like, you're so far away that you don't know exactly what's going to happen..." explains Charles Caudrelier, skipper of Dongfeng Team Race.
"We're going to have to make a big decision very early for something that's going to happen 10 to 12 days later." sums up French sailor Pascal Bidégorry, who is back on this leg after missing the previous one due to injury.
The teams will therefore have to be strategic but also take risks, as Carles Caudrelier points out "It's a bit of a gamble, I think the fleet can really go either way, it's really a dangerous stage with some boats that will be successful and make a great move, others that will be punished. Everybody's afraid of that, so maybe the fleet will stick together."
The fleet will be heading to Auckland, the emblematic port of the event, which is hosting it for the 10th time in 13 years of racing. A great pleasure for the New Zealand sailors on board, including Peter Burling and Blair Tuke, the heroes of the last America's Cup, aboard Team Brunel and MAPFRE respectively, but not only : "It's one of the most beautiful stages because Auckland is a fantastic place where people are really knowledgeable about ocean racing and love the Volvo Ocean Race" concludes Charles Caudrelier.
In the overall classification, after the first 5 stages, MAPFRE is in the lead with a 4 point lead over Dongfeng Race Team, 11 over Vestas 11th Hour Racing, 14 over Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag, 16 over Team Brunel, 19 over Team AkzoNobel and 25 over Turn the Tide on Plastic.
