Yachting: illbruck's world record run

12.45pm

Pushed by strong winds and the Gulf Stream current, round-the-world yacht illbruck this morning broke the world record for distance covered by a monohull sailing vessel in one day.

The German entry covered 473 miles at an average of 19.708 knots between 3.54am yesterday (NZT) and the same time today, beating previous record holders Franco-Swiss Open 60 Armor Lux.

Armor Lux covered 467.70 miles in 24 hours during her transatlantic record attempt last year.

John Kostecki's illbruck is leading the eight-boat field in the seventh leg of the round-the-world race, which began in Annapolis on Sunday.

A further five miles back is Tyco, skippered by New Zealander Kevin Shoebridge and Swedish entry ASSA ABLOY.

The first boats are expected to cross the seventh-leg finishing line in La Rochelle on May 11.

The fleet then heads for Gothenburg in Sweden before the race finishes in Kiel, Germany, in early June.

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