Sailing: Golding edges ahead with 600 miles to go

BRITAIN'S MIKE GOLDING yesterday pushed the 60-foot Team Group 4 into the lead of the first leg of the Around Alone Race from Charleston to Cape Town. He gained a slender six-mile lead over Isabelle Autissier's PRB as they closed to within 600 miles of the finish of the 6,800-mile leg.

Both were doing 13 knots and are expected to finish by Sunday or Monday, depending on whether the breeze holds up.

Forty miles behind, the long-time leader Marc Thiercelin in Somewhere and Josh Hall in Gartmore Investment Management continue to chase.

In the Class II 50-footers,Brad Van Liew has re-established a 56-mile lead over Jean-Pierre Mouligne, with Britain's Mike Garside holding steady in third but 160 miles behind Van Liew, with 2,000 miles to go.

Giovanni Soldini's Fila has spent most of the last week setting a blistering pace, including two record-setting 24-hour runs approaching 400 miles, thus closing the deficit between him and the leaders to 350 miles.