Volvo Ocean Race starts after Cyclone Pam delay

The race has already lost one boat, Team Vestas Wind, which ran into an Indian Ocean reef during the second leg

The fifth leg of the Volvo Ocean Race in New Zealand has finally started following a three-day delay to avoid the worst of Cyclone Pam.

The nine-month round-the-world yacht race was scheduled to leave Auckland for Itajai, Brazil on Sunday.

But winds of up to 125mph in the Pacific led to a 67-hour delay.

It will take the six-strong fleet three weeks to cover the 6,776 nautical miles to Brazil, passing Cape Horn on the tip of South America.

The Volvo Ocean Race is staged over nine legs and is poised to finish in Gothenburg, Sweden on 27 June.