By JULIE ASH
The round-the-world yacht crews are ensuring their boats are as fast as possible as they prepare for the quick- dash sixth leg from Miami to Baltimore, which starts on Monday.
The 875-nautical-mile journey is the second shortest leg in the nine-leg race, but one of the trickiest as the
fleet battle their way through the Gulf Stream towards Cape Hatteras and into Chesapeake Bay.
Tyco's skipper, Aucklander Kevin Shoebridge, said there was no room for error in the leg, which should take three days to complete.
"It is not like the longer legs where you can afford to get behind and then catch up."
He said the past few days had been dedicated to making the boat go faster and analysing the stretch of water between Miami and Baltimore, where violent storms often hit with little warning.
"It is a very short leg and people consider it a sprint, but there are not a lot of changes between a three-day leg and the 20-day leg we've just had, where we match-raced the whole way."
"Shoebridge said that if the weather was right, Tyco's watch system would be changed slightly "so we can get more manpower on deck for longer periods."
Tyco is currentlynte fourth overall, with 24 points. Illbruck still leads the charge with 36 points, Assa Abloy has 28 and Amer Sports One 25.
Following Tyco are News Corp with 23, djuice 19, SEB 17 and Amer Sports Too 8.
Keeping illbruck out of the top three is the aim for the seven other boats.
"They have worked up a dominant lead, but it is not over yet," Shoebridge said.
"Anything could happen. Everyone has had a bad leg or has broken something along the way, so this could be their turn."
The fleet are expected to reach Baltimore on Thursday.
About the round-the-world race
Competitor profiles
Current standings
Previous winners
Volvo Ocean Adventure
