Bangor born sailor Alex Thomson has been forced to withdraw from the Transat Jacques Vabre race after severe damage to the keel of his Hugo Boss boat.
Thompson and former Olympic sailor Neal McDonald have been competing together in the double-handed race that follows the historic coffee trading route between France and Brazil.
They had completed just over a third of the 4,350-mile course from France to Brazil at the time of the accident.
Thomson, 45, who now lives in Gossport, is bidding to win the Vendee Globe Transatlantic Race in 2020, unveiled the new £6m edition of his boat, Hugo Boss, in September and this was the first time it had raced competitively.
The 60ft Imoca class craft was racing at around 25 knots on Sunday, when they hit something in the water which ripped into the boat’s keel. The team said it was not clear what they hit when the vessel was about 420 miles southwest from Madeira and 380 miles northwest of the Canary Islands.
Thompson and McDonald, who were unhurt in the incident, are now attempting to find the safest port to navigate to. Thomson finished second in the 2017 Vendee Globe solo round-the-world race and is aiming to become the first British winner in 2020.
