BG SPIRIT, the 72ft yacht with local men Jon Duffield and Robin Hyde aboard, has won the third leg of the Global Challenge round-the-world race.

The striking orange hull of BG Spirit crossed the line under Sydney Harbour Bridge at 3.31am Greenwich Mean Time on Sunday to win the shortest leg of the gruelling race, the sprint across the Tasman Sea from Wellington, New Zealand.

The flying carrot, as it is affectionately known by its crew, was pushed all the way to the finish, with SAIC only three miles behind and another four yachts visible on the horizon.

On arrival in Darling Harbour, there was an electric atmosphere with crowds of supporters lining the pontoons. As celebrations began, the new crew song, Tie Me Kangaroo Down, played over and over. The sea of supporters continued to cheer, and kiss and hug the crew for over an hour.

Andy Forbes, the victorious skipper who hails from Sydney, said: "What an incredible experience a win in Sydney. It has been a very intense leg, particularly the last 36 hours."

Mr Forbes said the crew took a gamble in breaking from the pack, but it paid off when they found a favourable wind.

"The crew was just awesome. They trimmed the sails in out, in out, for hours and it made the difference. We sailed BG Spirit fast and made up the miles," he said.

"The crew was elated at the end of leg three, having sailed as hard as they could for the last seven days, all 12 yachts in the race jockeying for position with the lead being gained and lost every few hours."

And the crew certainly was racing hard. Over a tumultuous weekend, the rest of the Global Challenge fleet saw BG Spirit sprint from 11th place through the ranks to first.

BG Spirit now lies in first place on the leader board, three points ahead of BG Explorer. Having sailed half-way around the world, the BG Spirit crew has a two-week stopover in Sydney, which will no doubt be filled with celebration, rest and recuperation, before departing for Cape Town, South Africa, on February 27.

The next leg involves a 6,200 nautical mile trek through the treacherous Southern Ocean taking up to 41 days to complete.

On Friday, just two days out of Sydney, Robin Hyde, who hails from West Kington, near Chippenham, reported a drop in the wind which frustrated their ambitions.

He wrote: "Why does the wind always drop so close to the finish? The same thing happened in the River Plate and at the entrance to the Cook Strait and again our nerves are shot especially after six days' very close racing.

"So to soothe our ragged nerves we are listening to some Sir Bob Marley trying to chill and trying not look on the horizon at the progress of SAIC and BP. It's very easy to imagine that all of the other boats in the fleet are powering along in 20 knots of breeze while we are wallowing, but fortunately the scheds are showing that the rest of the fleet are in a similar predicament to ourselves.

"Who knows who will come out ahead but I think luck will have a lot to do with it."

Another Wiltshire crew member, 36-year-old Jon Duffield from Urchfont, said he was delighted that the hard work of the past week had paid off and he was looking forward to the two-week rest before taking on the Southern Ocean again.

He said: "This leg was far more constant than the previous ones, with steady nights and busy days. Tactics were key. We went screaming off to the south and no one else came with us. We were told to just keep the faith. Then overnight we shot from 11th to first and thought, 'it seems to be working'. I think that it has to be one of the greatest comebacks in history."