The 6,100-mile stage sees the race retrace the steps it took on the fourth leg from Melbourne to Hong Kong, only instead of turning towards Australia at the finish they will point to New Zealand.
© Virtual Regatta
Just like Leg 4, the virtual fleet of almost 50,000 players will face the north east monsoon and the north east trade winds before taking on the Doldrums crossing the Equator back into the Southern Hemisphere.
There the drag race past the Pacific islands of Vanuatu and Fiji will begin – and will continue all the way to Auckland, the City of Sails.
While the six Volvo Ocean Race teams who have been prevented from heading too far south by race control to avoid a violent tropical storm brewing east of the Philippines, the virtual fleet are free to dive as far south as they want.
Two days into the leg it's Italian virtual skipper GALLINAO who leads, having opted to forge a course way below the rhumbline.
GALLINAO is currently 200 miles east of the northern part of the Philippines, where the breeze has dropped significantly. They're making just over eight knots in five knots of breeze.
A little under four miles behind in second place is French player Luc Dechilleuses, with Italy's minushabens-CVCI in third.
Just over 11 miles splits the top ten virtual skippers at this early stage, while 22 miles separates the top 50 players.
It's not too late to enter the leg – just head to www.volvooceanrace.com/game to enter.
