Sailing: Endeavour with time on her side: Whitbread second leg
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Your support makes all the difference.GRANT DALTON, in the maxi New Zealand Endeavour, held a slender lead after 24 hours of the second leg of the Whitbread race from Uruguay to Fremantle, Western Australia yesterday. Already the fleet of 14 has split, one group digging south while the leaders head east.
Dalton, who carries over an eight-hour advantage from the first leg, was four miles ahead of, but further north than, Pierre Fehlmann in the Swiss maxi, Merit Cup.
A stiff south-easterly breeze at the start did not develop into the predicted gales, but the crews' cobwebs from three weeks ashore blew away quickly as they settled into what could be three days of windward work before picking up favourable reaching and running winds.
It was Chris Dickson, leader of the 60s after the first leg in Tokio, the Women's Challenge, now skippered by the American Dawn Riley, and Britain's Dolphin & Youth, with Matthew Humphries at the helm, who decided not to switch from their more southerly course when the majority of the fleet tacked on to an easterly heading. The older, and locally entered, maxi, Uruguay Natural, also favoured the more southerly option.
They are hoping they will benefit from not only more wind but a more favourable direction as they skirt a high pressure zone to the south of Uruguay. The easterly, and also more northerly, group was making better progress towards its destination but could be hit by lighter winds as well as an unfavourable swing in direction.
Taking a more central course is the Italian 60 Brooksfield, as is the third of the new maxis, Daniel Malle's La Poste. Whatever their tactical choice, all were averaging between eight and a half and nine and a half knots.
Among the leading gaggle of 60s is Britain's Lawrie Smith, who had scarcely adjusted to his new boat, Intrum Justitia, before he was putting in a perfectly timed aggressive start to lead the fleet out of the bay of the River Plate, watched by the presidents of Uruguay and Paraguay.
Despite damaging a spinnaker soon after the gun, Brad Butterworth, now solely in charge of Winston as his co-skipper, Dennis Conner, concentrates on Etchells sailing in Brisbane, was also up in the hunt. His navigator, Matteo Plazzi, reported that the breeze was easing a little, to 17 knots, and the direction constantly swinging 30 degrees, between 130 and 160.
WHITBREAD ROUND THE WORLD RACE: (Punta del Este to Freemantle) (IOR Maxi): 1 New Zealand Endeavour 7,463 miles to go; 2 Merit Cup 7,465; 3 La Poste 7,476; 4 Uruguay Natural 7,506. (Whitbread 60): 1 Galicia 93 Pescanova 7,460 miles to go; 2 Intrum Justitia 7,462; 3 Winston 7,462; 4 Hetman Sahaidachny 7,465; 5 Dolphin and Youth 7,467; 6 Yamaha 7,467; 7 Tokio 7,49; Brooksfield 7,495; Women's Challenge 7,497; Odessa 7,519.
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