Yachting: Tyco leads Volvo fleet in light airs

AUCKLAND - A day and a half out of Auckland, Tyco holds a narrow lead on the fourth leg of the round-the-world race yesterday as the yachts head southeast down the coast of New Zealand.

The Volvo crews may have found it hard enough to say goodbye to New Zealand, because of the great Kiwi hospitality they enjoyed during their three week layover here.

Now they're finding New Zealand a difficult country to leave for a very different reason: the light winds near the Bay of Plenty coast in which the fleet is now struggling to make headway.

Tyco struggled around East Cape two miles ahead of the Grant Dalton-skippered Amer Sports One and three miles in front of Djuice.

Overall race leader illbruck, skippered by American John Kostecki, was reported a mile further back in fourth place, four miles from the leader.

llbruck have opted to sail a more easterly, offshore course.

SEB, News Corp and Assa Abloy were in fifth, sixth and seventh places as a mere half dozen miles covered the first seven yachts in the eight-yacht fleet.

Regular fleet tailenders Amer Sports Two and its all-woman crew had another poor start to a race leg on Sunday, immediately losing ground on the rest, and was around 12 miles from the leader at last report.

It may be a while before any dramatic moves are witnessed on this leg - the forecast is for light to moderate easterly breezes to continue for some time.

As the journey continues southward, though, a change is almost certain. The Southern Ocean is noted for the ferocity of its conditions, a reputation it will surely live up to as the fleet approaches the notorious southernmost tip of South America.

The fourth leg of the race takes the yachts a total of 6700 nautical miles from Auckland to Rio de Janeiro, on the eastern coast of South America.

The leading yachts could be expected to arrive in Rio around the last week of February.