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Telefonica’s crew were sweating on the outcome of an
international jury which could hit their chances of overall victory in the
Volvo ocean Race.

The Iker Martinez-skippered Spanish team hold the overall
lead, but could face the prospect of a points deduction if they are found
guilty of an alleged breach of the number of sails on board.

SAIL
DAY: Telefonica take great care in loading their sails on board

Boats in the race are limited to 17 sails in their suite but
the headsail count on Telefonica is believed to have been exceeded.

The intensely tough Leg 5 from Auckland to Itajai saw five
of the six boats require repairs, and raised questions over the suitability of
the design.

HOME
ALONE: Camper quietly sails into Itajai after a gruelling 31 days at sea

Puma skipper Ken Read led the calls that increased
competitiveness pushed the boats to the limits of their design.

He said: “There is a limit to sailing these boats at this
pace before things can go catastrophically wrong.

“Going at 40 knots is the dumbest thing you could do, but
sometimes you don’t have the choice. The fact is that the race has become so
competitive, it forces us to push harder in conditions which we would
traditionally not normally have pushed.”

BREAKING
NEWS: Camper skipper Chris Nicholson is trying to find a balance between speed
without breaking boats

Camper skipper Chris Nicholson said: “You just can’t produce
these faster boats and the speed and thrills without some breakages.”

Overall race leader Martinez said: “The boats get damaged
because they are very fast. The best way to win this race is to have a very
fast boat and stop it when it needs to be stopped.”

SUSPENDED
ANIMATION: Groupama is hauled out
of the water for repairs

Camper finally finished Leg 5 Tuesday afternoon, sailing in
to the Brazilian port after a gruelling 31 days at sea.

The New Zealand/Spanish crew, led by Chris Nicholson, were
forced to suspend racing on April 3 due to structural damage and spent five
days off the coast of Chile, but they soldiered on to claim a vital 15 points
which leaves them in third place on the overall leaderboard.

SOFT LANDING: 
Telefonica is gingerly lowered back into the water after repairs.

Nicholson believes the points earned could be crucial in the
outcome of the race, and he said: “It’s a valuable 15 points we’ll get.

We won’t even know how valuable those points are until the
end in Galway, but I have a feeling they’re vital.”

Meanwhile, six days previously, Groupama team crossed the
line in third place leaving them second overall.

NUMBERS GAME: Camper crew member Mike Pammenter takes time
out for soduko.

Frenchman Franck Cammas’ crew had also endured damage to
their boat and after stopping at Punta del Este in Uruguay, they strung
together a brilliant makeshift rig and eased the boat in to Itajai to cap a
heroic recovery and keep them in touch with leaders Team Telefonica.

However, the consequences of the broken mast are still being
felt and the race was on to get Groupama’s replacement mast to Itajai in time
for the in-port race – a 6000 mile journey that posed an extreme logistical
challenge.

The other crews have been testing their boats on Brazilian
waters in preparation for Saturday’s in-port race and the subsequent start of
Leg 6, from Itajai to Miami in the United States.

With the Puma crew arriving back in Itajaí on Monday, shore
manager Tim Hacket said his team were focused on having the boat ready to sail
the following day.

BUOYS WILL BE BUOYS: The Volvo Race management team prepare
for the In Shore race in Itajai

He said: “It’s been a steady pace for us. We have been
pretty fortunate with the job list so it has all been good. 

There have been plenty of little jobs that we hadn’t been
able to do at other stopovers because they were so short, that we have been
able to take care of now.”

MOTHER
OF INVENTION: Groupama showed invention and innovation in setting up their jury
rig.

Leaders Team Telefonica are also confident that their boat
will be ready for the weekend which marks the beginning of Leg 6, and shore
team manager Horacio Carabelli claimed he was “happy” with the progress the team had made.

“We are about 80 per cent of the way to being ready,” he
said. “We have plenty of things to do but we are in a position that we can go
sailing today.