Sporting Digest: Sailing

BILL KOCH, the winner of the America's Cup last year, proposed changes to the competition yesterday to 'level the playing field' for foreign challengers by instituting an impartial, international race committee. He also proposed one date for challengers and defenders to declare their boats, rather than the present schedule under which the defenders have six months to design or modify their boats after the challengers are set.

BRITISH STEEL ROUND-THE-WORLD CHALLENGE Fourth Leg (Cape Town to Southampton) positions (with combined times): 1 Nuclear Electric 151day 12hr 41min 27sec; 2 Group 4 151:16:21:59; 3 Hofbrau Lager 15:16:33:21; 4 Coopers & Lybrand 154:17:37:13; 5 Interspray 155:13:07:40; 6 Pride of Teesside 155:18:53:15; 7 Heath Insured 157:13:31:02; 8 Rhone-Poulenc 159:05:49:28; 9 Commercial Union 159:19:49:30; 10 British Steel II 163:03:38:41.

Results supplied by BT.