Volvo Ocean Race yachts start final leg to Sweden

The six remaining yachts competing in the round-the-world Volvo Ocean Race started from Rotterdam on the final 500 mile leg to Gothenburg in Sweden yesterday and should arrive tomorrow, organisers said.

After more than 32,000 miles sailed over eight months, Dutch entry ABN AMRO ONE has already clinched an overall win. But further down the leaderboard, positions can still change.

Third-placed Brasil 1, which won the penultimate leg from Portsmouth to Rotterdam, can gain enough points to overtake Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean if they finish first and Pirates finish fifth.

"The conditions approaching Gothenburg are supposed to be quite fluky and variable. This is Brasil 1's dream forecast... anything but steady conditions is their best chance to get four boats between us," Pirates skipper Paul Cayard said.

In positions four and five, ABN AMRO TWO - which last month suffered the death of Dutch sailor Hans Horrevoets - and Ericsson are only half-a-point apart.

Spanish entry Movistar is in sixth place on points, but the team is no longer competing after the crew had to abandon ship on the Atlantic crossing from New York to Portsmouth due to keel problems. Australian entry Brunel is a distant last.