Conrad Colman: First into Auckland a special Kiwi homecoming

There's still a bit of racing to go before that happens, and my money is on AkzoNobel. Photo / James Blake/Volvo Ocean Race

The Kiwis sailing this leg of the Volvo Ocean Race will be desperate to get into Auckland first.

This leg is no more important than any other - it actually carries less points than some - but for the New Zealanders it will mean the world to get into Waitemata Harbour ahead of the rest of the fleet.

There's still a bit of racing to go before that happens, and my money is on AkzoNobel who have two-and-a-half New Zealanders on board in Brad Farrand, Justin Ferris and Cecile Laguette, who spent seven years in Auckland, but their victory is anything but assured in what has been another extraordinary leg.

DongFeng skipper Charles Caudrelier said before leaving Hong Kong that this was the leg that scared him the most. Second into Hong Kong, he watched overall leaders Mapfre spat out the back when they got stuck in the Doldrums and said that could so easily have been them.

As Caudrelier feared, this time it has been DongFeng at the back with Mapfre covering. The two boats have tried to limit potential damage by sticking close but it has meant they've match-raced themselves out of this leg.

It will help condense the scoreboard and increase interest in the rest of the race.

Even though the boats are more than halfway through the race in distance, there are still more than half the points up for grabs.

Another feature of this leg is that it has been a bit like Noah's Ark - that is, they're going two by two: Mapfre sailing with DongFeng, Brunel with Turn the Tide on Plastic and AkzoNobel with Sun Hung Kai-Scallywag. The boats have been so close at times, Dee Caffari, skipper of Turn the Tide on Plastic, said earlier this week they were able to have a conversation with those on Brunel without even raising their voices. That's even after two weeks and 4500 nautical miles at sea.

This is a race known for fire-hose conditions and life at the extreme, but calm weather on this leg saw them drifting around for days.

Cyclone Gita sucked a lot of the south-eastern trade winds with it, creating this extended patch of Doldrums which has been so challenging.

It has been a leveller and AkzoNobel and Scallywag have the most to gain. Both underperformed in the first third of the race but are starting to put it together.

AkzoNobel suffered through leadership and equipment issues but are now firing on all cylinders, while Scallywag stepped up when they sailed an unorthodox route on the leg to Hong Kong and won.

This time they both made aggressive moves out of Hong Kong, heading away from Auckland towards Japan in search of more wind. It didn't quite work out but it put them out of sync with the rest of the fleet and took them on a different route across the Pacific and away from minefields that sank the leaders' aspirations for this leg.

I'm sad I won't be there in Auckland when the boats arrive but I will be jumping on a plane the day after to head to New Zealand and the Viaduct Harbour that inspired me to become an ocean racer.

• Conrad Colman is the first Kiwi to sail in the Vendee Globe solo non-stop round the world race.

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