Yachting: Helter-skelter, Stress, Stress, Stress

"Stressful" was Mike Sanderson's favourite word when describing his team's helter-skelter journey from Cape Town to Melbourne in the second leg of the round-the-world yacht race.

Sanderson's team ABN Amro One won the leg reaching Melbourne late on Saturday night. The Dutch yacht took 18 days, 22 hours, 8 minutes and 40 seconds to complete the 6100 nautical mile journey.

Sister yacht ABN Amro Two finished second three hours later, well ahead of Spanish entry movistar, who were third.

"I got here and I got here first, and the guys are healthy and the boats are healthy," was the New Zealand skipper's summary of the arduous leg.

"The stress was immense ever since we left Cape Town. It seems that if it wasn't the other guys breaking, if it wasn't us worrying about us breaking it was the position reports, it was the skeds, it was the most stressful leg.

"The Volvo 70 was everything we dreamed it was going to be down there. It was awesome, just awesome.

"We got here intact, but we had to work hard at that. We spent a lot of time with the foot off the throttle. A couple of times I was worried I had been a bit too conservative, but it's paid off. This has been the most worrying trip. These boats are unbelievably full-on."

While the Juan Kouyoumdjian-designed ABN Amro boats finished the leg unscathed, criticism continues to mount over the class and particularly the canting keel mechanism.

However Sanderson, who won the race on Grant Dalton's Endeavour in 1993-94, remains supportive of the new breed of ocean racers.

"The world called for grand prix boats and the world got grand prix boats, so now everyone had better not complain about it. A fantastic race boat has been delivered here, and you make of it what you want.

"It's not anyone else's fault [the breakages]. If you go hurtling into the first corner in your Formula One car with your foot on the gas, I bet you're not going to get round it. You have to work out what is the pace you can sail a Volvo Open 70 at.

"We won't be making any changes to the boat. This boat is our baby. It has been since we watched it go up and down in the tank. It has done us proud."

As was the case in the first leg, ABN Amro One led for most of the journey. However, like the first leg, their opposition, in particular ABN Amro Two, were never too far behind.

A week into the race, Sanderson's team latched on to a high-pressure system, which gave them a substantial lead over the fleet.

However their lead was eroded in light winds a few days later, and they were passed by ABN Amro Two before they regained the lead just over 1000 miles from the finish. From there it was a game of chess as the teams battled their way through fickle winds.

Trimmer/pitman New Zealander David Endean said that for a while he wondered if they were ever going to get there.

"Every time we asked how long it was going to take before we got here it was four days and then four days and then another four days. So it dragged on, but we are pleased to be here."

ABN Amro Two skipper Sebastien Josse was delighted the syndicate had again achieved a 1-2 finish.

"Six months ago I knew I arrived in a really big team because they had all this money and two boats, and I expected this would be a good campaign. This good? Oh no," Josse said.

"When you see the other teams, people like Paul Cayard and Torben Grael, they have Olympic medals, and I am just a sailor from France.

"I have my feet on the ground. This is a long race, but we have started very good and I am excited about what we can do. Why can't we do better? Not many people are challenging that suggestion these days."

PROJECTED OVERALL STANDINGS

1. ABN Amro One (NED) - 29.0

2. ABN Amro Two (NED) - 24.0

3= Brasil 1 (Brazil) - 15.5

3= movistar (Spain) - 15.5

5. Pirates of the Caribbean (USA) - 13.5

6. Ericsson Racing Team (Sweden) - 12.5

7. ING Real Estate Brunel (AUS) 11.0

Leg 3
In port race - February 4

Melbourne to Wellington - starts February 12

Expected in Wellington for 24-hour stopover on February 16