German yacht wins second Volvo leg

SYDNEY, Australia (AP) -- German yacht Illbruck won its second consecutive leg of the Volvo Ocean Race on Tuesday, finishing first in the Cape Town, South Africa to Sydney leg of the around-the-world race.

Illbruck, captained by American John Kostecki, crossed the finish line off the Sydney Opera House at 11:20 a.m. (0020GMT). Kostecki also led Illbruck to victory in the the race's 7,350 nautical mile first leg from Southampton, England to Cape Town.

On a warm, sunny day and in gusty 15-knot southeasterly winds, the German yacht headed home Swedish rival Seb by 73 minutes. Third was Australian entrant News Corp.

Illbruck completed the 6,550 nautical mile journey from Cape Town in 22 days, 13 hours, 22 minutes and 26 seconds.

Eight yachts set out for Sydney from Cape Town on Nov. 11, but Tyco pulled out on Nov. 20 after it suffered major damage to its steering gear.

Illbruck watch captain Stuart Bannatyne, one of six New Zealanders on the yacht, said he feared they would sink at the start of the trip from South Africa.

"It was really, really tough, definitely the toughest I've done," Bannatyne said.

The leg, which took in the Southern Ocean, began badly for Illbruck, with a hatch coming off near the Cape of Good Hope.

Water filled the bow and made the boat impossible to helm. During the incident, New Zealand bowman Stu Bethany suffered a gashed forehead, which needed stitches.

"We had a few issues on the first night and we nearly sank," Bannatyne said. "We got ourselves sorted out, and fortunately we didn't lose too much from it.

"But then we had our share of broken gear, broken sails and bumps and bruises, but managed to pull through with nothing serious."

After giving the rest of the fleet a 20-mile start, Illbruck's crew slowly closed the gap.

By the time they reached the Great Australian Bight, they were engaged in a match race with Seb, pulling ahead as the boats entered Bass Strait.

"We knew it was a long leg and it was just a matter of grinding away at it, not trying to gain all the miles at once, but just chipping away," Bannatyne said.

The next leg -- from Sydney to Auckland, via Hobart, Australia -- begins on Dec. 26.

The race began in Southampton on Sept. 23. After Sydney and Auckland, the boats sail to Rio de Janeiro, Miami, Baltimore, Maryland; La Rochelle, France and Gothenburg, Sweden, before finishing in Kiel, Germany in June 2002.

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