TWO Hampshire sailors are neck and neck at the head of the Route du Rhum transatlantic yacht race.

Southampton's Mike Golding has almost caught up with Cowes yachtswoman Ellen MacArthur. This morning he was only two miles behind.

The fight for the lead is closer than ever and the pressure is on between the two British sailors in a race in which vicious gusts up to 30 knots in the 15-20 knot breeze has not make fast sailing easier.

MacArthur had to climb to the top of the 27-metre mast of her yacht, Kingfisher, yesterday when the lashing on the gennaker halyard block broke.

It was a very risky operation for a solo sailor, which forced her to drop the spinnaker and complete the repair job up the mast for almost two hours.

"Getting up the mast was not too bad although coming down was a nightmare - boat rolling around and nothing to hold on to," said MacArthur.

"Honestly, I'm fine though - I just talked to myself the whole way up and back down," the brave young sailor told her shore team.