Slick Davis moves into semi-finals

Sailing

STUART ALEXANDER

Rod Davis, the Olympic gold and silver medallist and America's Cup skipper, was once again in devastating form for the preliminary rounds of the Steinlager World Championship of Match Racing in Auckland, winning 13 of his first 14 races in the double round-robin.

He will be joined in the semi-finals by France's reigning world champion, Bertrand Pace, who notched up 10 wins. The chasing group is led by America's Ed Baird on eight victories.

Beating the Kiwis on the same water at the weekend was the British team of Richard Sydenham, Adam May and Ian Williams from Exe Club, who won gold in the World Youth Match Racing Championships for the second year in succession.

Looking forward to the next America's Cup in 1999/2000, the Kiwis announced there will only be one defence syndicate, which allows them to build up to four new boats, compared with a maximum of two for each of a group of challenging syndicates.

n Two boats with all-male and all-female crews, backed by EF Education, will form a pounds 10m Swedish bid to win the next Whitbread Round the World race.