French Leading in Solo Race

A USC graduate was at the head of his class for a while, but the French were out in force as the Around Alone sailboat race fleet of solitary sailors approached their first month at sea Monday.

Isabelle Autissier and Marc Thiercelin were one-two among six boats in Class I for boats up to 60 feet long, and Jean-Pierre Mouligne had wrested the lead from Brad Van Liew of Playa del Rey in Class II, which has nine boats of 50 feet and under.

Sebastian Reidl, 59, of Vancouver, Canada, withdrew Oct. 15 after a broken halyard block brought down his mainsail--the last of several problems in his underfunded Class I effort.

The 25,460-nautical-mile race started at Charleston, S.C. Sept. 26. The leaders are about two-thirds of the way along on the first, 6,865-mile leg to Cape Town, South Africa. Other stops are scheduled at Auckland, New Zealand, and Punta del Este, Uruguay, before the race finishes back at Charleston in May.

Standings

Class I--1. Isabelle Autissier, France, 2,182 miles to go; 2. Marc Thiercelin, France, 2,195; 3. Mike Golding, U.K., 2,253; 4. Josh Hall, U.K., 2,284; 5. Giovanni Soldini, Italy, 2,478; 6. Fedor Koniokhov, Russia, 4,032. Class II--1. Jean-Pierre Mouligne, France, 2,607; 2. Brad Van Liew, Playa del Rey, 2,630; 3. Mike Garside, U.K., 2,856; 4. Robin Davie, Charleston, S.C., 3,167; 5. George Stricker, Newport, Ky., 3,273; 6. Neil Petersen, South Africa, 3,457; 7. Minoru Saito, Japan 3,554; 8. Viktor Yazykov, Russia, 3,675; 9. Neil Hunter, Australia, 3,751.