Sailing: Finish line so close for confident Kostecki

They are already building the triumphal arch in Kiel in the expectation that John Kostecki brings illbruck into the winner's enclosure and lifts the Fighting Finish trophy as winner of the Volvo Ocean Race tomorrow.

With a five-place cushion over his nearest rival, Britain's Neal McDonald in Assa Abloy, it would need something near to a disaster to prevent the crowning of a meticulously prepared round-the-world campaign.

McDonald is on a roll, and his second overall place is secure, but the battle for third is a nail-biter. All on 40 points, light weather will suit Kevin Shoebridge on Tyco, another Briton, Jez Fanstone, prefers powerful reaching conditions for News Corp, and Grant Dalton looks in vain for a strong, upwind finish. There are few passing lanes, the forecast is for light to moderate beam winds. Kostecki has only to stay close to McDonald.

As an exercise in maximising the opportunities through minimalism, the services of the shipping agents Peters & May are in great demand as the boats leave in the containers as much as possible and carry as few stores, sails, sleeping bags and clothes as possible as they lighten ship for today's 250-mile dash. Not many of the crew are expecting to sleep at all.

As always, there are those who are looking for a final fling advantage. The most radical of these is Knut Frostad, who cut his crew from the standard 12 to 10 on the leg up to Gothenburg from La Rochelle and now goes down another one to nine. Taking 10 is Jez Fanstone, who drops three and brings in one, Peter Isler, taking time out from training with Team Dennis Conner for this autumn's Louis Vuitton America's Cup elimination trials to beef up the tactical brains trust.

However, Shoebridge leaves behind the navigator Mike Quilter, as well as the injured Guy Salter, and restores Damian Foxall to go with 11 crew members. Sticking with 12, like the rest, is Gunnar Krantz, but he brings back another America's Cup heavyweight, the New Zealander Gavin Brady of Larry Ellison's Oracle Racing.

VOLVO OCEAN RACE: Overall standings after eight legs: 1 J Kostecki (illbruck) 54pts; 2 N McDonald (Assa Abloy) 49; 3 K Shoebridge (Tyco); 4 G Dalton (Amer Sports One); 5 J Fanstone (News Corp) 40; 6 G Krantz (SEB) 29; 7 K Frostad (djuice) 25; 8 L McDonald (Amer Sports Too) 11.