Golding's silver lining

Mike Golding, dismayed at being dismasted just eight hours into the Vendée Globe race last week, was yesterday working frantically to fit a replacement mast to his Open 60 Team Group 4.

Mike Golding, dismayed at being dismasted just eight hours into the Vendée Globe race last week, was yesterday working frantically to fit a replacement mast to his Open 60 Team Group 4.

The 85ft wing has been shipped from Southampton, together with a complete set of rigging and sails, and is due to arrive in Les Sables d'Olonne, France, today. If the newly-rigged boat runs well in a test sailing, Golding will restart the race this evening. However, he is more likely to wait until tomorrow morning, by which time he will be more than 2,000 miles behind the rest of the fleet.

His target now is to beat the single-handed, non-stop record of 105 days, set four years ago by Christophe Augin.

Out of the race is Patrick de Radigues, who ran his 50-footer aground on the coast near Lisbon. The Belgian skipper of La Libre Belgique, fell and knocked himself out for what he thinks is several hours as he switched the boat's direction away from the Portugal coast.

"When I was finally woken up by the inshore rescue people, my boat had run aground on the beach," he said. "The boat is not damaged apart from a broken rudder, but I have hurt my head and I need to go to hospital for stitches."