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Crews adjust to life back on board

A flotilla of well-wishers farewelled the fleet from Auckland Harbour

LONDON, England (CNN) -- The teams in the Volvo Ocean Race have spent a quiet first night sailing after a three-week stay in Auckland.

Tyco team members, in an e-mail posted on the official race web site, said: "the reality that we are back on the boat for at least three weeks is sinking in but the atmosphere on board is very positive.

"We are all very aware that this leg is one of extremes, so we know that we will be tested to the full."

The fourth leg takes the eight boats from Auckland to Rio, covering about 6,700 nautical miles across the Southern Ocean.

Tyco took an early lead heading from Auckland, but the race remained close after the first day.

"It has been an easier first day than we often experience and the guys have been able to get some decent rest overnight which everyone is pleased about," the Tyco e-mail said.

On Amer Sports One, which stands in second place behind overall leader Illbruck, American sailor Paul Cayard has been fine-tuning the skills which took him to victory in the 1997-98 race when he won every leg.

"Now that we have been out here for a few hours, it is all coming back to me," he wrote on the web site.

"The motion, the sounds, the small quarters. I arrived in Auckland one week prior to the start and my mission has been to try to remember what I knew and did four years ago."

Djuice skipper Knut Frostad said the first night onboard is always the hardest one.

"It takes a while to get into the rhythm and routines onboard. After having spent the last twenty nights in a very nice big bed in Auckland, it's tough to get up at midnight for your first night watch on deck."

He said it was so quiet the first night that he could hear his fellow crew breathing as they slept.

"In a week we will hardly hear our voice for all the noise on deck from waves breaking over the deck, winches grinding and crew screaming."

The teams expect to reach Rio by February 19.