The boat took off again on a surf but nosedived, with water coming right up to the mast, and it was that that brought the mast down. Now, all is well and I can confirm I do not require assistance.”Parlier has rigged the top part of his mainsail to the remaining 25-foot stump of mast and, instead of making for Fremantle on the west coast of Australia, has said he intends to continue in the race. In the meantime, he intends to try to build a makeshift extension to the mast by the time he reaches Cape Horn. If he fails, it would be the second time in succession he had been knocked out of the race when lying third That was briefly MacArthur’s slot. She lost no time despite the race committee asking her to divert her new Open 60, Kingfisher, but also passed the man ahead of her, Thomas Coville in Sodebo. Last night, working through a long list of her own repairs, she had dropped back a place.

Still leading is Michel Desjoyeaux, 64 miles ahead of Roland Jourdain and 450 ahead of MacArthur.The expression “press-ganged” took on a new meaning for four journalists on Tony Bullimore’s 102-foot catamaran Team Legato, out for a short run from the Bristol Channel to Falmouth. Instead they flew home from Lisbon yesterday after being on board for four days. Bullimore did not want to risk dropping them off and instead headed south at full speed to avoid stormy weather.His yacht is on the way to Barcelona to join five others for the start of The Race, a millennium-celebrating dash round the world in the fastest racing yachts ever built. “I’m very sorry for all the turmoil this has caused everyone,” said Bullimore, who was rescued from his upturned yacht in the Southern Ocean when competing in the Vendée Globe race four years ago.. Mario Matt stormed to his first triumph of the season by heading the second Austrian sweep of a men’s World Cup slalom in Madonna di Campiglio, Italy, yesterday.

Mario Matt stormed to his first triumph of the season by heading the second Austrian sweep of a men’s World Cup slalom in Madonna di Campiglio, Italy, yesterday.
Matt, second after the first run, posted a combined time of 1min 44sec to win after Norwegian first-run leader and Olympic slalom champion Hans Petter Buraas straddled a gate.Heinz Schilchegger was second in 1:44.48, ahead of Rainer Schoenfelder, with Norway’s Kjetil Andre Aamodt in fkourth.Britain’s Alain Baxter delivered another unexpected performance by finishing the day in eighth place, Britain’s best result in a World Cup slalom. He came in a surprising 13th in his debut at Sestriÿre last week.Switzerland’s Sonja Nef won her second women’s World Cup giant slalom of the season in perfect, sunny conditions in Sestriÿre yesterday, as the first-leg leader Anja Paerson had to settle for second-best once again.Nef lay 0.24sec behind Sweden’s Paerson after the first descent, but she produced an aggressive second run through the 51 gates of the Giovanni Agnelli piste to win in 2:21.67 from Paerson’s 2:21.91. It was Nef’s sixth World Cup victory.Austria’s overall World Cup champion, Renate Goetschl, was third behind Paerson in 2:22.02 to claim the first giant slalom podium of her career.. The West Indian pace bowler Vasbert Drakes could make Warwickshire his third county in six seasons. The 31-year-old, who previously played for Sussex and Nottinghamshire, has been targeted as an overseas replacement for Allan Donald next summer. The West Indian pace bowler Vasbert Drakes could make Warwickshire his third county in six seasons.