The six boats competing in the Volvo Ocean Race have set sail from Auckland cheered on by fans three days later than planned.
But the delay caused by Cyclone Pam did not appear to have dampened spirits as the sailors jumped on board the yachts this morning.
Camaraderie was high as the teams set off one by one into Auckland Harbour to start the next leg - which will take them through the Southern Ocean, around Cape Horn to Brazil.
Each team cheered each other as they pulled away from the dock at the Volvo base alongside the Viaduct Events Centre at Auckland's Viaduct Harbour.
Around 100 people lined the footbridge to watch the start of the fifth leg, cheering and clapping as the boats set sail. Kiwi sailor Daryl Wislang, part of team Abu Dhabi, said the atmosphere in Auckland had made for "a great stopover".Yac
"Auckland's turned it on and the weather has obviously been amazing, apart from the cyclone delaying us, that was a bit of a shame," he said.
"But the public's been awesome. They've had something like 350,000 people through the village or something like that so the turn out's been absolutely amazing.
"And having a lot of time with family and friends has been pretty special."The atmosphere when the boats arrived in Auckland was "absolutely amazing", he said.
Mr Wislang described the fifth leg as "pretty tough".
"We've had a delay from Cyclone Pam, and it was a safety concern from Volvo, and I think they made the right decision," he said.
"We were talking 8m waves and up to 70 knots, so you can't sail in that.
"So it's going to be a slightly slower leg than maybe it was looking to be, but certainly a lot safer, and I think we're going into it with a vision of obviously winning, but not being outside the top three for our overall goal."
The delay by Cyclone Pam had not dented morale, Bannatyne said.
"It's a little different having to wait around for a few days, especially not knowing until the night before exactly when the start's going to be," he said.
"But I think everyone's enjoyed the stopover in Auckland so another couple of days has been nice."
The stopover had "been like a normal couple of weeks at home" for him, Bannatyne said, and the other members of the AlviMedica team had enjoyed it.
"The stopover was long enough that a few of them got a chance to travel around the North Island a bit, so it's been a really good stopover, everyone should come into the Southern Ocean feeling recovered and refreshed."
This will be the seventh time sailing the Southern Ocean for Bannatyne, who was seen off from shore by his wife Amanda and four children.
