Silk Cut

Chessie Racing, the Baltimore-Annapolis entry in the Whitbread, has been sailing comfortably in 4th place as the fleet of 10 looks ahead to the Doldrums, passing the Equator and entering the South Atlantic.In recent days, Chessie and Silk Cut, the British entry skippered by Lawrie Smith, have been fighting over 4th and 5th places, with Chessie settled in 4th."If someone told me we would be in a gybing duel in the middle of the Atlantic with Silk Cut after a week of racing, I wouldn't have believed them," Chessie watch captain Grant Spanhake reported.

Status: Day 2, Leg 9Standings:Boat .. .. .. .. .. .. ..Nautical miles to finish1. BrunelSunergy .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ...102.42. Merit Cup .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .103.63. EF Language .. .. .. .. .. ... .. .. .. .103.84. Silk Cut .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..104.15. Toshiba .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 104.36. Swedish Match .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ...104.77. Innovation Kvaerner .. .. .. .. .. .. ...104.78. Chessie Racing .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..107.29. EF Education .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .109.

EF Education, the women's team from Sweden that was dismasted in the Whitbread Round the World Race, will step a new mast in Ushuaia, Argentina, and complete Leg 5 under sail.Race officials estimate the women's team will arrive in Sao Sebastiao, Brazil, on March 10, four days before the start of Leg 6 to Fort Lauderdale.Silk Cut, the British team that was dismasted on this leg, has taken on diesel fuel in Ushuaia and is motoring to Braazil with a skeleton crew.EF Education team officials said the decision to sail to Sao Sebastiao was made after they learned the men's team would use their engine.

LA ROCHELLE, France -- It will be fitting for this journey -- a trek across the pond that has proven to be anything but predictable.When the next-to-last leg of the Whitbread Round the World Race ends here today, surprise victors and teams long considered star-crossed are likely to be at the front of the pack.The nearly two-week trip from Annapolis to La Rochelle has been one of the wildest yet in this nine-leg, marathon sailing adventure around the globe.Battling for first are Toshiba and Silk Cut -- two hard-luck teams led by dueling British skippers.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Splashing past a handful of spectators and an occasional pelican, Britain's Silk Cut finished Leg 6 of the Whitbread Round the World Race first yesterday, ending a streak of trouble that has hampered the team since the race began last fall.After traveling three-quarters of the way around the globe, this was the first time a competitor in this international race has reached U.S. waters. Sweden's EF Language, the overall race leader, finished second little more than an hour after Silk Cut, followed by the Swedish team Swedish Match.

Late last week, Silk Cut, the British entry in the Whitbread Round the World Race for the Volvo Trophy, apparently set a world record for the fastest 24-hour run by a single-hulled sailing yacht -- 449.26 nautical miles, an average of 18.7 knots.In e-mail reports to race headquarters, Silk Cut navigator Steve Hayles recounted the 24-hour run, which began at 8: 20 GMT Wednesday as the fleet raced across the frigid Southern Ocean."We have worked hard on keeping the boat in one piece," Hayles reported Thursday morning.

Silk Cut, the British entry in the Whitbread Round the World Race, was dismasted yesterday morning while speeding across the Southern Ocean through a danger zone of icebergs and wicked weather toward Cape Horn at the bottom of South America."

Late last week, Kiny Parade, crew member aboard Sweden's EF Education, the women's entry in the Whitbread Round the World Race, wrote to race headquarters, "Sailing . . . with a damaged rig must be what it's like to push a wheelbarrow across the Sahara."And since that message, EF Education's situation on the 6,670-nautical-mile Leg 5, from Auckland, New Zealand, to Sao Sebastiao, Brazil, has only gotten worse. On Monday, a week after EF Education's standing rigging failed and temporary repairs were made, the mast broke in two places.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - From the 100-plus temperatures below deck to the "gunwale bum" rash inflicted on many racers to the fluky winds and absent Doldrums, the latest leg in the Whitbread Round the World Race was one of frustration for pretty much every team but the winner.Most sailors emerged from the 4,750-nautical-mile Leg 6 covered in the red "bum" sores, the irritations caused by sitting in saltwater-soaked shorts in the heat and humidity - aptly named for the part of the body they target with a vengeance.

LA ROCHELLE, France -- It will be fitting for this journey -- a trek across the pond that has proven to be anything but predictable.When the next-to-last leg of the Whitbread Round the World Race ends here today, surprise victors and teams long considered star-crossed are likely to be at the front of the pack.The nearly two-week trip from Annapolis to La Rochelle has been one of the wildest yet in this nine-leg, marathon sailing adventure around the globe.Battling for first are Toshiba and Silk Cut -- two hard-luck teams led by dueling British skippers.

When Chessie Racing left Annapolis 10 days ago on the penultimate leg of the Whitbread Round the World Race, team founder George Collins advised the skipper and crew, "Don't be afraid to take some risks out there."During the past few days, Chessie skipper John Kostecki and navigator Juan Vila have taken a flier, crossing the track of the fleet and positioning themselves well to the north, gambling they can race farther and faster than the other eight competitors.As of today's first position report at midnight (GMT)

Forty-eight hours after starting Leg 8 of the Whitbread Round the World Race, the nine boats racing to La Rochelle, France, yesterday were reaching easterly at 12 to 14 knots and piecing together the puzzle of navigating the Gulf Stream.The fleet has been trading positions at each position report. At today's first report at midnight (GMT), Monaco's Merit Cup had a 2.5-mile lead over second-place Silk Cut of Britain. Maryland entry Chessie Racing, which had led Monday, was in ninth place, 14.2 miles behind Merit Cup.Since leaving the Chesapeake Bay, the fleet has spread in three groups, north to south, but only .3 mile separates Silk Cut and Swedish Match, which moved into third place, 2.8 miles behind Merit Cup, after riding in last place earlier yesterday.

Status: Day 3, Leg 3StandingsBoat .............. Nautical miles to finish1. Silk Cut ............. 1,530.22. Toshiba .............. 1,533.03. Chessie Racing ....... 1,538.84. EF Language .......... 1,542.55. Merit Cup ............ 1,544.56. Swedish Match ........ 1,545.27. EF Education ......... 1,552.78. BrunelSunergy ........ 1,573.19. Innovation Kvaerner .. 1,580.8(as of 00: 10: 54 GMT)Boat beat: Silk Cut passed American yachts Toshiba and Chessie Racing, the Maryland entry, to move in front in Leg 3. Silk Cut edged out to a lead over Toshiba of less than 2 nautical miles and of slightly more than 8 nautical miles over Chessie, which led after Sunday's racing.