HERO south coast sailor Mike Golding was today facing heartbreak after a broken mast all but ended his round the world race dreams.

His boat Ecover suffered damage after the yachtsman turned around to rescue rival Alex Thomson in the treacherous Southern Oceans.

Despite lying in second place in the Velux 5 Oceans race, Mike, 46, who lives in Warsash, immediately turned his yacht around upon hearing his opponent was in difficulties.

Alex's craft, Hugo Boss, had suffered irreparable damage to its keel after capsizing , about 1,000 miles south-east of the Cape of Good Hope.

Mike sailed Ecover 80 miles against strong winds to reach the Gosport man's stricken vessel, and having waited for daylight, completed a daring rescue of the stranded skipper yesterday morning.

In a heartbreaking twist, just six hours later Golding discovered his own mast had snapped in two places.

Having attempted running repairs on his own - under strict race rules he must not receive help from his passenger - Mike is now being forced to contemplate abandoning the 30,000-mile race completely.

He is making the slow 1,000-mile journey to Cape Town, where the damage can be fully assessed, but the diversion is likely to take around ten days, and he could also be stung by a 48-hour penalty.

Last night Mike's wife, Andrea, told the Daily Echo when she first heard the news she thought it was a cruel joke.

"It's devastating for everyone following Mike - a very cruel twist of fate and it doesn't seem very fair," she said.

"But he's always been a fighter and his resilience is amazing. He will do whatever he can to get back out there."