Sailing: Richards beats storms to take second place

Britain's Emma Richards moved into second place in the Around Alone race yesterday after sailing through the heart of a violent Atlantic storm that dismasted one of her fellow competitors.

"It looks like I'm through the worst of it," said Richards, 28, yesterday, after a second sleepless night navigating Pindar through 50ft waves in winds exceeding 70 knots. "I've had a diesel leak and the cabin is full of diesel and water, but hopefully I'll be south of the storm soon and heading for a bit of sunshine."

While Richards had moved up into second place in the 60ft Class behind Bernard Stamm of Switzerland, Simone Bianchetti was heading for land aboard Tiscali after the brutal conditions snapped his mast in three places.

In Auckland, strong winds also threaten to disrupt the start of the second round robin of the Louis Vuitton Cup elimination trials for the America's Cup. With the last remaining race of the first round robin, between the two Italian rivals Prada and Mascalzone Latino, scheduled for tomorrow, the delay to Wednesday of the full programme means that next Sunday will no longer be a reserve day.