Yachting: Sanderson back in lead after hiccup

Having his yacht's headsail plummet to the deck five minutes before the start wasn't exactly what ABN Amro One skipper Mike Sanderson had envisaged in yesterday's restart of the round-the-world yacht race.

Sanderson's team suffered a minor hiccup when a halyard, a line used to hoist and hold up a sail, broke causing the headsail to fall five minutes before the start of the fifth leg from Rio de Janeiro to Baltimore.

"We replaced the fitting but temporarily we had to go with a different jib," navigator Stan Honey reported from the boat. "We fixed it before we got out of the bay, so it was probably 10 minutes or so until we put the other jib back up."

Left in their opposition's wake ABN Amro One were the last of the six-boat fleet to head out of Rio's Guanabara Bay. With the sea breeze building to 10 knots, Ericsson held a slender lead over Paul Cayard's Pirates of the Caribbean. But the Pirates found more wind offshore and by the turning mark had overhauled Ericsson, rounding 32 seconds ahead.

But by last night Sanderson's team had their nose back in front. With nearly 200 miles of the 5000 nautical mile leg completed ABN Amro One had a three mile lead over their sister yacht ABN Amro Two.

The Pirates were four miles behind, Ericsson six miles, Brasil 1 nine miles and Movistar 14 miles behind. Before the restart Sanderson predicted light and shifty conditions would challenge the fleet during their first two days at sea.

"For us the priority is to hang with the pack. There should be a lot of sailing on this leg which suits our boat but we'll try and not put ourselves out on a limb and certainly take no risks in the early part of the race," Sanderson said.

"I am pleased that we don't have to sail back into the Southern Ocean on this leg, but I think that none the less there is going to be a lot for us to think about."