Sailing: Weather helps Hindley edge past Golding

A late change in the weather gave Andy Hindley, in Save the Children, a win by nearly two and a half hours in the third leg of the BT Challenge and denied Mike Golding's Group 4 its third successive victory.

Third into Sydney at the end of the 1,250 miles from Wellington was Boris Webber, who had brought Courtaulds all the way from last of the 14 to a well-deserved place on the podium.

Golding has extended his overall lead over Simon Walker's Toshiba going into the fourth leg to Cape Town, which starts on 2 March.

Meanwhile, Christophe Augin is still on target to cut three days off the solo round the world record when he finishes the the Vendee Globe race in Les Sables d'Olonne.

But while the French media are already were hailing him as a hero, boat designers and sailors have begun discussing how to avoid a repeat of the conditions that left three competitors needing to be rescued, while a fourth has disappeared.

Gerry Roufs, of Canada, last made contact on 7 January. The Chilean air force reported and then denied making brief radio contact with him a week later. A satellite search for his boat has been unsuccessful.