Yachting: Spirit of Sark first to Wellington

Spirit of Sark won the second leg of the Global Challenge round the world yacht race today.

After an agonising last few miles, Spirit of Sark managed to overtake BG Spirit, battle through 40 knot winds and finish in Wellington at 12.57pm.

Spirit of Sark, skippered by Duggie Gillespie, set a record for the 6100 nautical mile leg of the race from Buenos Aires, clocking 36days 7hr 2min 33sec. The previous record of 36days 10hr 53min 39sec was set by Conrad Humphreys in 2000-2001.

BP Explorer finished second and BG Spirit third in a close tussle for the line by the first three yachts.

The third leg of the race that started at Portsmouth on October 2 last year continues from Wellington to Sydney on February 6.

- NZPA