Skandia sets pace in Sydney-Hobart
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Skandia survived a collision with a sunfish.
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SYDNEY, Australia -- The anticipated duel between Skandia and Zana continued on Saturday as the super maxi pair left their smaller rivals behind in the annual Sydney-to-Hobart yachting race.
Australia's Skandia held a lead of two nautical miles over Zana of New Zealand late on the second day as the leading boats made their way across the notoriously rough Bass Strait between Australia and Tasmania.
Skandia had completed 360 miles of the 630-mile distance, and was expected to finish some time on Sunday night.
But Zana sailed within sight of Skandia's stern for most of Saturday after briefly leading on Friday.
"It has become an incredible match race in the open ocean," said Zana's sailing master Peter Sutton.
The 30-meter yachts are the biggest boats ever to compete in the bluewater classic.
Their nearest rival Grundig, the surprise leader on Friday night, was 10 miles further back, unable to keep up as the super maxis took advantage of strong headwinds.
Skandia had a scare when it hit what the crew claimed was a huge sunfish lying just below the surface.
"We stopped dead in the water and we slid sideways," said Skandia navigator Will Oxley.
"We were preparing to drop sails when whatever was on our keel came loose and suddenly we were away again.
"Thankfully no one was injured. We've checked the keel as best we can and there appears to be no damage."
With crews battling with choppy seas and three-meter waves, 55 of the original fleet of 57 boats were still racing late on Saturday.
Swedish maxi Nicorette, the 2000 race winner, was forced to pull out with a damaged keel after it had overtaken Grundig for third place.
The fleet for this year's race is one of the smallest in nearly 40 years, reflecting the high cost of insurance and safety requirements for the event.
Many of the additional costs have accrued following the disastrous 1998 event in which six sailors died when a devastating storm hit the fleet.
The race record of one day, 19 hours, 48 minutes and 2 seconds was set by Nokia in 1999.
