In the South Atlantic, Emma Richards from Hamble has had her fair share of problems completing the Torbay to Cape Town leg of this solo round the world race in Pindar.

Placed second, 243 miles behind the leader and with over 2,000 miles to the finish, Emma went through what she described as Black Monday: "It was a shocker, the gooseneck fitting came off the deck and threatened to end my race.

"I spent most of the day with a single reef in the main and no boom whilst I undertook 'Mission Impossible' - trying to rebend an aluminium plate, refit it and get back racing. I managed to get the job done by sundown and somehow only lost 20 miles to the Frenchman!"

Emma did well. The same job apparently took three people to complete whilst tied up safely in the calm of Brixham Marina, and she managed to stay ahead of Thierry Dubois in third place.