Status: Day 1, Leg 8

Standings:

Boat .. .. .. .. .. .. ..Nautical miles to finish

1. EF Language .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .3181.7

2. Chessie Racing .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .3181.2

3. BrunelSunergy .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..3190.1

4. Silk Cut .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .3191.2

5. EF Education .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 3193.1

6. Toshiba .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..3197.6

7. Innovation Kvaerner .. .. .. .. .. .. ..3197.7

8. Merit Cup .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ...3198.2

(as of 00: 03: 02 GMT)

Boat beat: It took Paul Cayard, skipper of EF Language, less than 24 hours to climb from next-to-last in the fleet to his more accustomed top slot. It took EF Language six hours to climb up to sixth place and another six hours to reach third. By 1800 GMT, EF Language had the lead. "We have been in our full-race watch system all night," Cayard said. "This means we are all pretty tired and getting about two hours of sleep each."

Weather: High pressure will edge a little further southwest over the Central Atlantic and be around 40N/55W. Expect southeasterly to southerly winds around 15-25kts.

Note: Information compiled from the Whitbread Round the World Race Web site at www.whitbread.org

Pub Date: 5/05/98