The British yacht, Silk Cut, has slipped back to second place after establishing an early lead in the opening stages of the fourth leg of the Whitbread Round the World Yacht Race.

Skipper, Lawrie Smith, and his crew were 2.3 miles ahead of nearest challenger EF Language. But then EF language skipper, Paul Cayard, regained the lead, and opened a four-mile gap.

Dennis Conner's Toshiba moved up to third, 5.5 miles behind the leader after setting the highest average speed of 12.9 knots.

Four-time America's Cup winner, Conner made amends for his error at the start on Sunday when he jumped the gun and was forced to trail the fleet up Sydney Harbour.

The United States entry, Chessie Racing, is in fourth position. Merit Cup, skippered by New Zealander, Grant Dalton, is 7.6 nautical miles behind the leader and holding fifth position in the nine-yacht fleet.

Norway's Innovation Kvaerner is sixth with Swedish Match close behind. A gap of 25.2 nautical miles separates the final two yachts from the bulk of the field.

The all-female crew aboard EF Education is in eighth position and BrunelSunergy is a further 12.2 nautical miles back.

The fleet is expected to complete the 1,270 nautical miles to Auckland on Friday.

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