Sailing-Brazil's Grael charts new waters for women in ocean race

FILE PHOTO: 2016 Rio Olympics - Sailing - Final - Women's Skiff - 49er FX - Medal Race - Marina de Gloria - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - 18/08/2016. Martine Grael (BRA) of Brazil celebrates winning gold medal. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo

LONDON (Reuters) - Surviving the sometimes savage Southern Ocean brought Brazilian Olympic gold medal winner Martine Grael one leg closer to her ambition of becoming an all-round sailing great.

And the dangers of the 45,000 nautical mile (83,000km) Volvo Ocean race were brought home to Grael and her fellow AkzoNobel crew members by the loss of British sailor John Fisher, who was swept overboard from Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag in March on leg seven of the race from Auckland to Itajai in Brazil.