By JULIE ASH
Illbruck looks set to keep the lead in the round-the-world yacht race.
The German yacht, which won the first leg, is on track to capture the second in Sydney today, leading SEB by 20 nautical miles last night.
News Corp was 45 nautical miles behind illbruck and just ahead of
Amer Sports One and djuice.
Assa Abloy had slipped to 109 nautical miles behind, while the all-female crew on Amer Sports Too were 600 miles off the pace.
Aucklander Jamie Gale, one of at least six New Zealanders on illbruck, said the team were making good progress.
"It's still cold," he said. "Most of us are wearing the same gear we sported in the deep south. The old body is starting to seize up, especially the hands. This morning I found them fixed in a claw-like position, so stiff that I couldn't move them without hooking them [fingers] on something and gently straightening them out one by one. Painful? You'd better believe it."
The weather forecast is for solid winds and reaching conditions up to Sydney, meaning positional changes among the top three yachts are unlikely.
