SYDNEY - Assa Abloy, sailing a more northerly course than its rivals, has forged into the lead in an eventful third leg of the round-the-world race.
The Swedish boat, which claimed line honours in an eventful Sydney-Hobart race, is steering a course 40 miles north of second-placed Amer Sports One as
the fleet head east through the Tasman Sea towards Auckland.
The move brought stronger breezes as more southerly rivals flagged in lighter winds.
Assa Abloy, skippered by Briton Neal McDonald, was 17 miles ahead of Amer Sports One.
The pair, both sailing in a wind of around 12 knots from the east, have opened up a useful gap on their nearest challengers. Tyco is 58 miles adrift of the leaders, closely followed by News Corp, overall race leader illbruck, which won the first two legs, and djuice Dragons.
"Everyone is talking about our boat speed, but it is the way it is being sailed," McDonald said. "There is more to sailing these boats than what you are sitting on - it is about what sails you put up and how you trim them.
"At times our performance has been very good and that is down to a combination of different people on and off the boat."
The leaders still have a 1000 miles to reach Auckland and McDonald is not counting his chickens.
"It is good news in the short term and we are very pleased, but it's a long leg and there are a lot of changes to come, so you don't read too much into it," he said.
Amer Sports Too, battered by a collision with a shark and rough weather, has rejoined the race after repairing a cracked rudder which forced a return to Hobart. The boat is 392 miles behind the leaders.
Team SEB is also back in the water and heading for Auckland 24 hours after limping into Eden on the Australian mainland to undertake repairs to a broken rudder, which forced it out of the third leg.
The rudder shattered in heavy seas in the notoriously rough Bass Strait on Thursday.
Skipper Gunnar Krantz said: "It was one of the most sickening and devastating feelings ever."
- REUTERS
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