Hutchinson fighting hard in Mallorca

(NICO MARTINEZ)

Defending champion Terry Hutchinson was again being made to work hard in the TP52 class on the second day of its world championship regatta in Mallorca today. In the absence of an Emirates Team New Zealand, which took the Audi MedCup crown away from him this year, the American from Annapolis added a third place and a sixth in Quantum to a first and fifth on the opening day.

But he lost his overall lead to the second-placed boat in the second race, the Swedish yacht Artemis, which was equal on points but ahead on countback of the King of Spain's Bribon.

Quantum, which engineered a brilliant start in the second race only to find itself squeezed out at the first mark and dumped temporarily to last, is one point behind in third.

The top British boat Cristabella slipped from third to fifth with compatriot Weapon of Choice firmly lodged ninth in the 10-boat fleet.

The breeze was again tricky to read, but at least had enough strength at 12 knots to push these powerful boats along a seven-mile course, two legs upwind, two down, and keep crews busy and tacticians on their toes.

In the first race of the day, a tussle at the top eventually went the way of Torbjorn Tornqvist's Artemis from Bribon and Hutchinson.

Britain's Cristabella, with Tim Powell on the helm and John Cutler as tactician, were sixth, and the debutant Tony Langley's Weapon of Choice was ninth by just 12 seconds from the Argentinian yacht Matador, which had led at the first mark despite being stung by an overnight disqualification from race two.

Matador, like Artemis a new boat this season, then showed a clean pair of heels to the rest of the fleet to win the second race, but remains seventh overall.

Next year Britain's America's Cup challenger Team Origin, led by Sir keith Mills and skippered by triple gold and silver Olympic medallist Ben Ainslie joins the circuit.

In Bermuda, the reigning match race tour world champion Ian Williams and Team Pindar made it safely to the quarter finals in a breezy Argo Gold Cup. Ben Ainslie's Team Origin was also leading group three in the round-robin knockout stage

Rod Carr is to be succeeded as chief executive of the Royal Yachting Association by Sarah Treseder when he retires in March next year. Treseder, who is managing director of a "private luxury events company" is expected to reinforce the commercial exploitation elements of a national governing body which looks after everything from recreational boating inland, coastal and offshore to managing one of the UK's most successful Olympic squads.

RYA chairman Richard Langford said: "Her appointment, I believe, will bring an exciting new dimension to the RYA and to the marine leisure sector."