OWN CORRESPONDENT, Cape Town | Thursday 6.00pm.
THE leading yacht in the Cape to Rio 2000 yacht race, the Californian maxi Zephyrus IV, is expected to cross the finish line in Rio de Janeiro early on Friday local time, organisers said.
At 07:00 GMT Thursday, the yacht, skippered by Robert McNeil, was only 255 miles from the finish line at Copacabana beach and a decisive new record.
Members of the Zephyrus shore crew in Rio said they are expecting the sleek racer at around midnight (02:00 GMT Friday) or soon thereafter.
Should this prove the case, Zephyrus will have slashed more than 24 hours off the 1996 record and will become the first yacht to finish the trans-Atlantic crossing in under 14 days.
Second-placed Sagamore still has 374 miles to cover and is expected to finish some hours after Zephyrus.
Meanwhile, Maxtec Wizard and Greenwich Warrior are battling it out for third position on handicap, with Warrior skipper Phil Gutsche and his crew fighting back overnight to regain the third position from Wizard.
They are being chased, however, by Portugal Brasil 500, which Thursday reported that the long-awaited northerly wind was finally pushing through and that their frustrating windless days seem to be over.
“It feels great to be on the move again,” said skipper Ludde Ingvall. “The big guys are long gone in winds that we never saw. Now we’ll try to catch Greenwich Warrior and Maxtec Wizard to cross the line in third position.” — AFP
19