THE FINAL dash for the next scoring-gate in the fifth leg of the Volvo Ocean Race began in earnest yesterday as stage leader Magnus Olsen and his “rookie crew” on Ericsson 3 came under pressure after days of holding a huge lead, reports David Branigan.

Stable-mate Torben Grael on Ericsson 4 yesterday closed the gap to just over 100 miles, down 160 miles, while third-placed Ken Read on Puma Ocean Racing was 140 behind last night.

The three boats are sailing towards Cape Horn with 1,800 miles remaining and an estimated time of arrival of sometime early next week that will probably increase the number of expected days at sea by several days, raising the prospect of rationing the already limited food supplies.

Ireland’s Green Dragon was more than 400 miles behind the leader last night, but was losing miles as a result of her course north towards the ice-gate which, once cleared today, should allow skipper Ian Walker and his team to close the gap to the leading three boats.