Spanish crew Mapfre regained the lead of the Volvo Ocean Race while Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing slipped to fifth after holding on to third place for most of yesterday.

As the fleet headed into the sunset and prepared for another night of rain and windy weather, Mapfre stayed in front with Team Vestas Wind not too far back in second and the all-women’s crew Team SCA completing the top three. Team Alvimedica, Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing, Dongfeng Racing Team and Team Brunel completed the lineup from fourth to seventh.

Earlier yesterday, when daylight broke over the Mediterranean, Vestas Wind emerged as the leaders after the first night of Leg 1 but the seven yachts were closely bunched through a night of rain and wind shifts.

In all, three boats – Mapfre, Abu Dhabi and Vestas Wind – exchanged leads during the course of the previous night before a move by Vestas to head to the coast in the opposite direction to the rest of the fleet paid dividends yesterday morning.

Following this move, Vestas Wind and Mapfre led the game until midday, reaching Cabo de Gata in joint first. At 15:30 UTC (18:30 UAE) Mapfre and Dongfeng split from the fleet, taking the option of moving away from the land, with a maximum lateral split of 5nm. The others stuck to the north, closer to the Andalusian coast.

The lead kept changing constantly throughout the day, with Alvimedica moving ahead at 17:30 UTC (22:30 UAE) but then dropping down to fourth and handing back the lead to Mapfre.

The wind is expected to strengthen from the west as the boats leave the Alboran Sea, and the fleet is expected to cross the Strait of Gibraltar today and head into the Atlantic.

Whoever picks the Atlantic (trade) winds first will then gain some precious speed.

Before the start of the race on Saturday, Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing skipper and two-time Olympic silver medallist Ian Walker had said that he would adopt a cautious approach for the race.

“Just like in the Olympics, when you’re racing one design [boats] you don’t have to win every race of the series to win the gold.

“Our aim is to minimise risks and avoid bad scores; if we can finish in the top three every leg then we will be in good shape by the end of the race.”

Meanwhile, Vestas Wind’s onboard reporter Brian Carlin described how things had progressed the previous night in his logbook.

“Just after dark set in, a big left hand swing developed within minutes putting an all-hands-on-deck scenario for the crew,” Carlin said.

The distance between Alicante and Cape Town, the first leg, is 6,487 nautical miles, and the crews have only just completed five per cent of that distance.