Yachting: Good luck played a big part in placing, says Dalton

12.30 pm

Round-the-world yacht racer Grant Dalton says good luck has played a big part in his second overall placing in the Volvo Ocean Race.

Dalton's yacht Amer Sport One will start leg four from Auckland to Rio de Janeiro on Sunday three points behind German entry illbruck and two points ahead of Australian entry Team News Corp.

However, Dalton said his second placing was "artificial".

Dalton was a latecomer to this race, after setting a record last year in a non-stop dash around the world in the huge catamaran Club Med.

Many of the other seven entries had been preparing for the race for two years but Dalton only began getting ready after the Club Med voyage. He anticipated Amer Sport One being on track after the third leg from Sydney to Auckland.

"I think we are probably doing better than expected (by being second overall)," he said.

Amer Sports One finished second in leg one from Southampton to Cape Town and fifth in the second leg from Cape Town to Sydney.

Dalton believes he is pessimistic rather than optimistic about his second overall placing.

"I hope it is pessimism because if it is making us work really hard but I think we have to lift a lot rather than outward appearance that we only need to lift a little bit."

Dalton said Amer Sport One had some good luck, especially in leg one but faced a dilemma in the third leg.

As part of the third leg the fleet competed in the Sydney to Hobart race but when leg three winner Assa Abloy headed north after Hobart, Dalton was faced with a tough choice: should he cover Assa for the short dash across the Tasman, or stick with the rest of the fleet as it took a more south-easterly course?

"We split the difference," he said.

However, Dalton said he had no chance of overhauling Assa Abloy's margin on such a short leg. Dalton is still wary of Assa Abloy which he said appeared to have shaken off its nerves and come right.

He said Team Tyco, skippered by fellow New Zealand Kevin Shoebridge, was back on the list of yachts to watch, along with illbruck.

Dalton said his big desire for leg four was to stay consistent and save some of his sail inventory for the next six legs.

Dalton said he knew the coast of South America to Rio almost as well as the coast around New Zealand.

The 6700-nautical mile leg four starts on Sunday afternoon and Dalton said he expected the traditional huge farewell from the people of Auckland.

- NZPA

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