Sharp fights for third

Thursday 22nd September 2005, 12:00AM BST.

MINI TRANSAT sailor Phil Sharp is hanging on to third place as the leaders dash towards the first leg finish line in Lanzarote.

But the pressure on the Jerseyman is building as the French boat, helmed by Yves Le Blevec, was this morning only 3.7 miles behind him.

At the head of the 72-strong single-handed fleet is Douguet Coretin.

But he is less than a mile in front of Sebastien Gladu as the pressure grows with less than 400 miles to go and what looks like being a record time for a Transat first leg.

Sharp in his Le Gallais 419 boat has lost ground on the two front-runners and is now 24 miles behind Coretin.

Helped by a following wind at 6 o’clock this morning the fleet leaders had passed the Straits of Gibraltar and are now expected in Lanzarote on Saturday morning.

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