Close run thing

Fleet concertinas causing chasing pack to eat into illbruck's lead

Positions at 1000

	Yacht	Lat	Long	DTF	CMG	SMG	DTL	DTL-C
1	illbruck	32 41.88S	046 43.96W	617	037	10.6	-	-
2	Tyco	33 00.80S	047 42.36W	652	030	10.9	35	-5
3	Amer One	33 30.64S	046 16.88W	657	038	12.4	40	-9
4	Assa Abloy	33 13.44S	047 44.04W	665	035	11.9	48	-9
5	Djuice	33 21.68S	047 29.36W	668	033	11.4	51	-7
6	News Corps	36 02.36S	049 01.88W	845	038	8.5	228	+10
7	Amer Too	39 20.72S	054 40.44W	1148	009	10.2	531	+5
8	SEB	53 10.16S	070 54.40W	-	-	-	-	-

The last 24 hours has seen illbruck's lead more than halved from 78 to 35 miles. Odd fluctuations in the breeze have caused yet another turn around in the positions of the chasing pack. djuice for example has dropped to fifth as she has crossed from the right hand side of the course to the left. Only Amer Sports One continues to hold the right.

"Very tricky racecourse with very uneven pressure across it. We are all starting to gybe and pick our position for the long starboard [tack] towards Rio," commented Tyco's Kevin Shoebridge this morning.

In a remarkable effort News Corp intends to proceed to Rio under their emergency rudder. This is really only designed as a 'get-me-home' piece of equipment, but Fanstone and Field believe that as conditions are relatively light for the run up to Rio, they can risk it.

Meanwhile SEB has now formally retired from leg four. Yesterday Gunnar Krantz and his downhearted crew arrived in Punta Arenas, Chile, where SEB is today being loaded onto a cargo ship bound for Rio where it is due to arrive on 24 February. The crew are due to fly to Rio tomorrow. Meanwhile arrangements are still being made for the spare mast, to be air freighted from Gothenburg, Sweden to Rio

"The important things right now is stepping the new rig, repairing the damages on the boat, and most of all; looking after the crew and mentally recharging ourselves for the remaining five legs of the race" skipper Gurra Krantz reported on his arrival.

See the following page for reports from Mark Rudiger and Knut Frostad