Solid head winds are seeing the Volvo Ocean Race crews spending more time crossing the Bay of Plenty than anticipated when they set out on leg seven of the round the world race from Auckland on Sunday.

The race tracker which is live for the first 24 hours, shows Mapfre holding onto its lead on Monday morning with the bulk of the fleet bunched up near the theoretical course line well north of White Island.

Mapfre and Team Sung Hai Scallywag tacked early, sailing north of Great Mercury Island while the rest of the fleet paralleled the Coromandel coast, not making a course change until they were south east of Mayor Island.

Team Brunel with Tauranga sailor Peter Burling on board elected to remain closer inshore in slightly less breeze, but smaller seas. Team Brunel tacked across the bay and passed west of White Island about daybreak. The spread across the seven Volvo Open 60 class yachts this morning was just over 7.5nm

Leg seven of the race started in Auckland Sunday afternoon. The next stop is at Itajai, at the Itajai River mouth in south eastern Brazil – a distance of 6,470 nautical miles, or 11,982km. It is the longest and most challenging leg in the race.

Once round East Cape the fleet is expected to turn to starboard (Right) and with the wind on the beam, reach for the higher latitudes down south.

Closer to the South Pole the fleet will race from west to east, sailing within the westerly storm track, the low pressure systems circulating around Antarctica. They are expecting to encounter big waves, big seas, icebergs and freezing temperatures.