Yachting: Camper takes a battering after rounding Horn

Stuart Bannatyne and Adam Minoprio on watch as CAMPER pass into the 'furious fifties' on their way South to Cape Horn during leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race. Photo / Hamish Hooper

Camper's new bow has had a good workout after a torrid 24 hours that saw winds of up to 60 knots make for a difficult exit from the Southern Ocean in the Volvo Ocean Race.

Since the Team New Zealand boat rounded Cape Horn yesterday afternoon and took a route east of the Falkland Islands, the team has been battered by some of the worst conditions they've seen since leaving Auckland more than three weeks ago.

Despite the severe weather, Camper have made good progress and passed the Falkland Islands this morning (NZT), and they are on track to arrive at Itajai, Brazil, late on April 16. They are the only team still left out on the course, with Puma, Telefonica and Groupama having already finished and Abu Dhabi and Team Sanya having withdrawn from the leg.

Camper stopped at Chile for repairs to a damaged bow section, which has come through the 24 hours of heavy pounding and thumping without any issues.

"We got around the Horn in good shape then got a bit of a touch up between there and the Falklands," Camper skipper Chris Nicholson said. "It has been pretty hard on the boat and almost similar to when we left Auckland. So it's a been a good test for all of the new structure in the boat and, thankfully, everything looks great.

"The Southern Ocean has definitely given us one final battering and reminded us that we're not quite out its grips yet.

"The upside is that these conditions should project us north pretty quickly and get us into Itajai just that little bit sooner. We're going to need all the time on the ground in Brazil that we can get so anything that helps is a good thing.

"When you think about it, it's been quite a marathon really for all of us in the team to get here at this stage. We would have done an extra 2000 miles than everyone else, and taken 10 days longer, so I think everyone is looking forward to getting to Brazil."