By Suzanne McFadden
Gritty Kiwi adventurer Chris Sayer has taken the lead in the treacherous transatlantic single-handed yachting race, which has already claimed the boats of some of his competitors. Four skippers in the 70-boat fleet have been rescued by helicopter after gale force winds flipped their tiny 6.5m boats off
the coast of Portugal.
But Sayer was battling on yesterday at the front of the Mini-Transat fleet, 900 miles from the Canary Islands, the only stopover in the race.
Sayer won a wildcard entry to the race which he has been working towards competing in for the past five years.
A boat builder by trade, he began constructing the cedar and fibreglass Navman on his own in 1994, labouring away every night after work.
He estimates he has put $60,000 - and 1200 hours' labour - into the project.
Sayer wanted to enter the Mini-Transat race in 1997, but his sponsor fell through.
After securing funding from Auckland-based company Talon Technology, Sayer radically rebuilt the boat and won the Round North Island race earlier this year on handicap. Although he has never sailed across the Atlantic alone, Sayer grew up on the seven seas.
His parents took him on a four-year cruise around the world when he was a teenager, and he has sailed 12,000 miles singlehanded around the Pacific.
Sayer, the only Kiwi in the race, surprised the fleet when he was fifth out of the start at Concarneau in France on Monday.
But Sayer has managed to pick his way through the leaders to get his boat up to the front after 400 miles.
It has been a nightmare start for many of the skippers - 16 did not start for fear of serious damage to their boats.
At the height of the storm in the Bay of Biscay, three Frenchman were hauled from their dismasted boats.
Englishman Paul Peggs sent out a distress signal, but could not be located for 24 hours.
He was later rescued from his upturned hull.
Frenchman Sebastian Magnen had built a decent lead on the fleet through the rough weather, but overnight had to head for Bayona, Spain, for repairs.
The second leg of the 4070-mile race, which heads to Guadeloupe, will start from the Canary Islands on October 19.
