Video: Drama in the Volvo Ocean Race

Volvo Ocean Race has confirmed that Dongfeng Race Team broke its mast early on Monday (GMT, March 30) but fortunately nobody has been injured and there is no immediate danger to the crew.

The incident happened 240 nautical miles west of Cape Horn at 0315 UTC on Monday, in the final hours of the night.

The crew reported that the mast broke above the third spreader, the top section of the mast. They are heading towards Ushuaia, Argentina, under their own sail.

Reached via Inmarsat, a disappointed skipper Charles Caudrelier said: "I’m gutted. As you’ve seen from the position reports we have been, on purpose, backing off a bit, not attacking in any way.

"The mast broke without warning, in about 30 knots of wind. We are unable to sail safely on starboard tack, but we are able to make reasonable speed on port tack. We will head towards Ushuaia and assess our options for getting to Itajaí."

The Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) is aware of the situation and is on standby to help if necessary.

Organisers of the race say that they are in constant contact with Caudrelier and are establishing the full extent of the damage to ensure they give him the support he needs to deal with the situation.

The Dongfeng crew is now making headway to the entrance of the Beagle Channel, a strait on the extreme southern tip of South America. They’re aiming for the entrance of Bahia Cook.

The team will most likely reach the entrance to the Channel at night, which is a tricky approach. Alicante Race Control is providing navigational support. It was reported that they may decide to go to the Strait of Magellan, for which they will be provided additional information.

It is understood they’re focused on getting to Ushuaia for now, and have Team SCA 425 nautical miles behind them.

At last report the crew was aiming to fix the fractured mast and continue sailing on the leg as coming last would give them six points to their race total whereas scoring a DNF would give them eight points. That’s only two points difference but two points that could make all the world of difference by the time this nine-leg race finishes in Gothenburg in June (don’t forget the lowest cumulative points wins).

The mast remains quite unstable on Dongfeng, as Damian Foxall explains: "We really cannot do much more to stabilise the situation right now. At some stage I think we are going to have to go up there and cut some stuff off."

The main preoccupation of the crew, apart from how they get back into the leg if at all possible, is safety onboard.

"We have 4-5 metres of the mast flying over our heads just holding on by one halyard and the big fractional sail, the one we had up, which is flying around to leeward," says Charles.

"We have to solve this problem as we cannot go to Ushuaia like that – that is my main concern now. Maybe we have to abandon the whole rig but I hope not. I’m not sure we can save our mainsail so this is what we will focus on in the next hours."

Dongfeng has not officially retired from Leg 5 as yet and the skipper is still considering the possibility of the race crew continuing on from Ushuaia under sail once the rig has been fully stabilised and the boat checked, to sail back west and around Cape Horn, and on to the finish in Itajaí.

For more information go to:  www.volvooceanrace.com