HAMBLE skipper Neal McDonald will have his sights set on overall victory in the Volvo Ocean Race when Assa Abloy starts the fifth leg from Miami to Baltimore on Sunday in second place.

An exhausted McDonald and his weary crew arrived in Miami last month at the head of the fleet, beating German boat illbruck by just over an hour after almost 4,500 miles of hard racing.

"It was one of the most tense moments of my sailing career - I aged five years in six hours - because we had no idea what the wind was going to do.

"At one point we were going backwards but we just kept on pushing until the end. We never gave up for a minute," said McDonald, who took over as skipper on Assa at the end of the first leg from Southampton to Cape Town.

Now revitalised after a four-day holiday with his wife Lisa, skipper of rival boat Amer Sports Too, the 38-year-old yachtsman who has taken over from Lawrie Smith as Britain's best offshore racer, was keenly looking forward to the next leg - an 875-mile sprint up the east coast of America to Baltimore.

"This leg will be similar to the Sydney to Hobart Race, which we won, so we are confident that we can produce another good performance.

"The boat is in great shape and, as a crew, we are sailing better now than we did at the start so we are keen to get going.

"We'll have nice light trades when we leave Miami but 400 miles north, it could be blowing a gale so we will be prepared for that."

With just eight points separating Assa Abloy and leaders illbruck, and 32 points still up for grabs, the race remains wide open.

"If things go well for us and not 100 per cent for illbruck then we have a really good chance, though the guys behind could still catch us up so we have to keep on eye on everyone.

"We have all pushed harder and harder as the race has gone on and that will continue right until the finish on June 9th."

His success as a VOR skipper has given McDonald ideas for raising a British campaign for the next race, if Volvo decide to continue to back the event.

"I would love to do this again. I have learned a lot and, while I know I have closed some doors by taking on this job, I hope I may have opened others.

"I'm not looking beyond June 9th at the moment, though have kept in close touch with the GBR Challenge boys so there is a chance I could get involved again," said McDonald, who left the British America's Cup campaign to spend more time with his wife when she was appointed skipper on Amer Sports One.