The intrepid crews enjoy a short break before another relatively short leg in the round-the-world challenge.

Ocean racing gets under way again on January 4, when the nine boats set out from Sydney on the 1,270-mile leg to Auckland in New Zealand's north island.

The Tasman Sea is notoriously unpredictable so the navigators will have to be alert to any changes to find the best weather and speed for the skippers.

Another short leg awaits the Whitbread crews

EF Language goes into the fourth leg with a lead of 35 points over their closest rival, Innovation Kvaerner.

The yacht skippered by Paul Cayard has been the most consistent boat in the race so far with two wins and a fifth place.

However, there is still a long way to go before the finish back in Southampton next May and any one of the top five boats can still launch a serious challenge.

Nothing can be ruled out in ocean racing, but the rest of the fleet will have to finish higher up the leader board during the rest of 1998 if they are to challenge for the title.

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