Sailing: No joke going round the Horn

An early tactical game will keep Whitbread round-the-world yacht skippers on edge as they watch for the first boat to dive south into the Roaring Forties and towards Cape Horn. The 14 yachts left Auckland at 0200GMT on the 5,914-nautical-mile fourth leg of the race, returning to Punta del Este, Uruguay, where the first leg also ended. To make matters more dangerous, thunderstorms have been predicted for the early hours of the leg and a strong north- wester across the start in the Rangitoto Channel.