An Irishman who took part in a solo round the world race has been forced out of the competition after his yacht’s main mast was damaged.
Gregor McGuckin, from Dublin, set sail from Les Sables d’Olonne on 1 July to take part in the 2018 Golden Globe Race.
However on the 82nd day of the competition, Mr McGuckin contacted race organisers saying that he got "rolled".
This is when a wave rolled the boat 360 degrees, putting the mast vertically into the water. When the boat returned upright from the water, the main mast was broken.
This happened after Mr McGuckin’s boat was knocked on its side, breaking the mizzen mast, which is the smaller of the two masts on the boat.
The incidents happened while he was sailing in the middle of the Indian Ocean.
The 32-year-old has described sailing conditions as "savage".
He said: "I was going down a swell and a monster (wave) came in from the other side, there was nothing I could have done. I was lying on the roof but it came back up."
Mr McGuckin estimated gusts to be about 70 knots.
He is the second competitor in the race to be rolled over, while others have been forced to pull out due gear failures and other reasons.
