Paul Standbridge's American entry Toshiba held a 4.3-mile lead over Monaco yacht Merit Cup as strong gusty winds provided the fleet in the eighth leg of the Whitbread Round The World Race with tough running conditions yesterday.

A westerly breeze of 20 to 25 knots, with gusts up to 35 knots, had the nine boats moving swiftly across the North Atlantic.

Toshiba, just under 1,500 miles from the finishing line in France, was 26.6 miles ahead of overall leader EF Language of Sweden.

Norway's Innovation Kvaerner is only 1.5 miles further back from Language, but the all-women's crew on board EF Education are starting to lose their grip on a high place.