Yachting: Speed worries ABN Amro One skipper

ABN Amro One skipper New Zealander Mike Sanderson yesterday admitted he was sick with worry as his team hurtled across the Southern Ocean on the second leg of the round-the-world race from Cape Town to Melbourne.

With Ericsson already out of the leg with keel damage, Sanderson said they were working hard to keep their boat under control.

"Then off she goes roaring down a wave at 30-plus knots ... We have done some jumps at the end of some of these waves that would make Evel Knievel proud, and it will only take one really bad one and for sure damage will follow," Sanderson said in an email.

Last night Sanderson's team had a 365 nautical mile lead over their nearest rival.