Neal McDonald produced another strong performance in the seventh leg of the Volvo Ocean Race to increase his chances of an eventual podium place for Assa Abloy.

The Hamble skipper, heading a crew that includes Lymington's Jason Carrington, arrived second into La Rochelle in France yesterday after a closely-fought match race with rivals Team Tyco, the Bermudan-registered entry crewed largely by sailors from the Southampton region.

After a challenging transatlantic 3,400 nm passage from Annapolis, Assa came in just three hours behind the German boat illbruck, who have proved kings of the long hauls, winning both Southern Ocean legs and the first stage from Southampton to Cape Town to give then an eight-point lead over McDonald, who arrived half an hour ahead of Tyco.

Built in Southampton by Green Marine, Assa has achieved consistency in the last five legs, recording four podium positions.

Had McDonald been appointed skipper from the outset - he took over from Roy Heiner after a disappointing first leg where they finished sixth in a fleet of eight - Assa and illbruck may now be neck and neck

While McDonald conceded illbruck were now in a favourable position, the Assa crew still had a few surprises up their sleeves.

"We're already making plans for the next leg, and we'll have a few new sails. We've only ripped one sail this whole race," McDonald said.

"Essentially every new sail we've got has been an improvement. We see three new sails coming aboard as a good thing.

"We've made it very hard work for ourselves but illbruck are in a very comfortable position," he added.

Team Tyco navigator Steve Hayles, also from Hamble, said he was struggling with missing out on an opportunity to beat McDonald, with whom he crewed in the last race on Lawrie Smith's Silk Cut.

"We were definitely in the running for second. But the result hasn't turned out too badly for us. There's a pretty interesting battle going on behind us which will also affect our overall points position."