Volvo Ocean Race 2011/2012: Fleet find a battering from huge waves and 'heinous conditions' As the fleet left Auckland, the breeze had been a relatively moderate 18-20 knots which was enough to propel the fleet briskly through its course and out through the Hauraki Gulf watched by scores of leisure boats and thousands of spectators. "Our priority is to stay safe and get everyone to Brazil," said Telefonica skipper Iker Martinez, who had taken an early lead in the leg. If there is a dangerous leg, it is this one so we have to be very careful but we also need to try and beat the others. The short stopover in Auckland limited the amount of time the shore crews could devote to boat maintenance and repairs and prevented a full recuperation for sailing crews following the long leg from Sanya. "The first few days will be about making sure the boat and crew stay in one piece," added Camper skipper Chris Nicholson. I think it will be the heavy running conditions in the middle of the leg across to Rio that will sort the fleet out but these first couple of days, we need to minimize the damage though we will be hoping to get a little jump if we can before we reach the tight reaching conditions where we know we will struggle. Team Sanya made a last minute change to the crew after Ryan Houston was found to have a kidney infection. He was replaced by Martin Kirketerp, a member of the shore crew who has been hankering for a ride since the race started in November. From Denmark, Kirketerp, who only has one eye due to suffering cancer when he was 18 months, won a gold medal in the 49er class at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, fending off a challenge from a strong Spanish crew skippered by Telefonica skipper Martinez.