YACHTING - Rough seas for North sailors

It's anything but plain sailing for Northland sailors at the ISAF World Championships in Cascais, Portugal.
Sharon Ferris, Raynor Smeal and Shandy Buckley had a tough day at the office on Saturhday with gear breakages largely responsible for their position in the Yngling field slipping from third to sixth.
They finished 15th and 14th with Ferris saying their day never really got going.
"Everything that could break, did today. We lost the jib halyard in the first race and the spinnaker pole topping lift in the second," she said.
Yesterday's racing saw them hold onto sixth place but again, it was a dramatic day on the water.
The Yngling fleet had the pick of the wind among the several Olympic class courses on the water at the championships, with 25 knots and rough seas.
Ferris and crew started the first race of the day well but capsized while lying fourth. Water filled the boat but the crew saved it from sinking and finally finished under jib in 29th place.
The crew were able to sort out their problems quickly and staged a remarkable turnaround to win the second race of the day, helping them to retain their sixth place at the halfway point of the 11-race series.
With 35 boats sailing in the Yngling fleet there are just ten Olympic berths up for grabs which will go to the top 10 nations to finish.
Host nation China has an automatic entry, while another four places will be decided at the Yngling World Championships 2008.
Meanwhile Andrew Murdoch continued his climb through the Laser fleet, improving from seventh place overall to sixth place after six races.
The Kiwi Olympic squad sailor placed eighth and ninth in racing overnight Friday which for the Lasers, on the outer course, was sailed in winds gusting over 20 knots.
The points table is tight with a mere four points between Murdoch in sixth with 23 points and Thomas Le Breton of France in second with 19 points.
Australia's Tom Slingsby has a big leading margin at the halfway point. Counting four wins and a second he holds the lead in the fleet with just six points.
Three more Kiwis sit just outside the top 20 placings in the 149-strong field, with Michael Bullot in 21st, David Weaver in 22nd and Matt Coutts in 24th. The Lasers had a rest day on Saturday.