A patched-up fleet reduced to five after being battered to breaking point in the Southern Ocean returns to competitive action today when the Volvo Ocean Race resumes from Brazil.

All but the US-led boat Puma were forced to take pit-stops for repairs during the leg from Auckland and one, Team Sanya, of China, is out of leg 6 to Miami because of a broken rudder which could not be fixed in time.

Another boat, Abu Dhabi, suffered serious hull damage and the shore crew has been working around the clock since arriving in Itajai to be ready for the 4,800-nautical mile trip to the US.

American Ken Read, whose crew won leg 5, defended a race which has now seen three mast breakages since it started in October last year.

“We’ve heard our whole lives that sailing is boring. Finally it’s not boring. We’re finding out that anyone can break anything and if you have a bad wave, the boat goes airborne,” he said.

“This is a great thing. It’s great for the sport, we’re putting on a great show. Sailing is finally exciting. Let’s grab hold of it.”

Spanish overall race leaders Telefonica endured their fair share of problems in the 7,500-mile last leg, too, with damage to the hull but still finished a narrow second behind Puma.

Last week, their skipper Iker Martinez was named on the Spanish sailing team for the London Olympics with crewmate Xabi Fernandez in the 49ers class. It starts 20 days after the Volvo Ocean Race finishes on July 7.

The pair won gold in Athens eight years ago and silver in Beijing in 2008.

Overall standings: 1. Team Telefonica (Spain) 147 points, 2. Groupama (France) 127, 3. Camper (NZ/Spain) 119, 4. Puma (US) 113, 5. Abu Dhabi 55, 6. Team Sanya (China) 25.