The team will train in Saint Martin. Fla. Five days later, Tokio 's chances of winning the class were snapped when its mast broke. Tokio would finish fifth in class. Determining the weather patterns is a big part of the Whitbread, but gear failures often lead to leaders being overtaken in this crewed race around the world. Each of the nine legs in the next race carries a scoring coefficient ranging from 10 for the shorter, less demanding legs, to 13 for one of the toughest legs, from Auckland, New Zealand, to Sao Sebastio, Brazil.
Entries receive points based on the scoring coefficient multiplied by the number of entries.
The formula continues from there. In previous races, fliers have affected the way the race has been sailed. Now, it could keep the fleet closer together because there is less gain to be had by taking a flier. Woods said that he is hoping for 14 to 15 entries, and expects to have a pretty good idea by mid-April. Grant Dalton 's Merit Cup syndicate is expected to be the first to launch, sometime within the next week.