Hampshire sailors Ian Walker and Simon Fisher are celeberating success today as their team opened up a seven point lead at the top of the Volvo Ocean Race leaderboard.

The pair, who are part of the Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing team secured victory on leg 5 of the competition which saw crews take on the most challenging and dangerous 'Southern Ocean' stage in the round the world yacht race.

The stage took the crews from New Zealand to Brazil through some of the toughest conditions on the planet, including the treacherous Cape Horn.

But after surviving rough seas in the Southern Ocean and holding off the challenge of the fleet, skipper Ian Walker was delighted with the performance of his team.

Asked how he felt, Walker responded: "First and foremost, relief at getting in safely.

"I'm proud of the team and thrilled with the result.

"We wanted to keep the pressure on as much as we could, we really wanted to win this leg because this is the really big leg of this race and this is the leg above all else that people want to win."