Sailing

Team New Zealand, skippered by Murray Jones, and the New York Yacht Club's Young America America's Cup syndicate, skippered by Ed Baird, were level at 1-1 at the end of the first day of a seven-race match race series in Auckland.

The 80-foot sloop Nicorette, skippered by Ludde Ingvall, completed 982 miles of the 2,925 from Sandy Hook Light Ship, New York, to the Lizard, Cornwall, in 72 hours and was averaging 13.74 knots in her bid to break the 1905 transatlantic record of 12 days, 4hr 12min.

More storms and 50-knot winds are keeping the crews of the 14 BT Challenge boats busy on the fourth leg from Sydney to Cape Town. Mike Golding's Group 4 leads from Chris Tibbs in Concert and Simon Walker in Toshiba.