Sailing: Dismasted Briton in amazing race

In a remarkable piece of ingenuity and sheer determination, British shorthanded sailor Mark Turner, with crew Fred Leclere, yesterday completed the Mini Fastnet 11th out of 29 starters despite being partially dismasted in high winds north of the Scillies on Tuesday, writes Stuart Alexander.

This means that he and his 6.5-metre Finot-designed Carphone Warehouse have qualified for the singlehanded Mini Transat which starts on 28 September in Brest. Turner even hopes to do a singlehanded race across the Bay of Biscay later this month.

Turner brought his yacht into the finish at Le Trebeurden, near Roscoff, Brittany, at lunchtime yesterday having rigged a reduced mainsail and jib to take advantage of surfing conditions all the way home. He also had to repair a serious leak in the stern after the backstay, had been ripped out.