Sailing: Crichton has crew to beat

Persistent rain meant a less than summery send-off, but the leading boats in the annual Sydney-to-Hobart race made fast progress down the coast of Australia yesterday, once again putting themselves on course for a new record.

The two most likely were the new Australian 90-footer, Alfa Romeo, for which Neville Crichton has recruited the Americas Cup talent of GBR Challenge's starting helmsman, Andy Beadsworth, and, from Britain, Mike Slade's Leopard, in its first major competition since being stretched to 97 feet.

Slade has also turned to GBR to strengthen his crew, including the navigator, Jules Salter, and head of mid-boat operations, James Stagg. His skipper is the man who won the race last year, Neal McDonald.

This year, safety regulations have cut the fleet size to a 20-year low of 57. Only 55 made it through the first hour after collisions put both Trump Card and the badly holed Tasmanian yacht, Valharu, out of the competition.