Yachting: First race arrival expected tonight

By JULIE ASH

Assa Abloy, the leading yacht in the round the world race, is expected to reach Auckland tonight.

Last night, the Swedish entry was less than 300 nautical miles from the finish. It is expected to arrive in Auckland between 8 pm and midnight, depending on the weather.

Assa Abloy, with New Zealand's Richard Mason and Stu Wilson on board, had a 47-mile lead over Grant Dalton's Amer Sports One last night.

A further 104 nautical miles back, illbruck, News Corp and Tyco were battling for third.

At the back of the field, djuice was 152 miles off the lead and the all-female Amer Sports Too was 592 miles adrift.

Amer Sports One, illbruck, News Corp, Tyco and djuice are all expected to reach Auckland tomorrow. Amer Sports Too is not expected until Sunday.