Four boats from the Volvo Ocean Race rounded Cape Horn at the tip of South America on Monday, although the Chinese Dongfeng Racing Team failed to do so after suffering a broken mast early in the day.

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Team Alvimedica were the first of the fleet to head past the Cape at 14.07 GMT, just a quarter of an hour ahead of overall leaders Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing. Closely behind followed MAPFRE and Team Brunel.

The next leg of the journey sees the crews head up the Brazilian coast to the final destination of Itajai which they will reach around April 5-6.

While their are no points on offer for leading around Cape Horn, it is considered a great achievement by those competing.

“For me, most of this race is about competition, but this leg is a little bit different. This is pretty special for us,” said Charlie Enright, skipper of Team Alvimedica.

“We can see Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing behind. The match racing continues. Keep the focus!”

Ian Walker, captain of the ADOR crew, was pleased to see his boat continue on course to maintain their run of podium finishes in every leg of the race thus far.

“I’m just happy to get here safely. That’s the main thing. There is still a long way to go, but it’s a big relief. And it’s an even bigger relief because we’re in good shape,” he said.

Dongfeng, whose mast broke early in the morning on Sunday, will now look to nurse their injured boat to land before assessing whether they can continue on to Brazil.