Excitement is building among Western Bay of Plenty yachting enthusiasts at the prospect of a Tauranga man claiming sailing's greatest prize.
To lay claim to the elusive triple crown a sailor has to win Olympic gold, the America's Cup and the Volvo Ocean Race all in one cycle.
Tauranga's Peter Burling and Kerikeri's Blair Tuke who helped Team New Zealand win the America's Cup and also won gold at the Rio Olympics, were both in the running with their teams in the Volvo Ocean Race.
Burling is part of Brunel and Tuke with Mapfre. Both boats are tied for first on 65 points with just the final sprint leg to go. Nelson sailor Daryl Wislang is on DongFeng, just one point behind but due to be awarded a bonus point for the shortest sailing time overall.
The 10th and shortest leg of the around-the-world race, from Gothenburg in Sweden to The Hague in the Netherlands, started Thursday night (NZ time). The fleet was expected to arrive in The Hague by Sunday.
