After risking life, limb and boat to rescue Alex Thomson from his stricken yacht, Hugo Boss, yesterday morning, Mike Golding watched his mast break on Ecover only five hours later.
What began as a solo round-the-world race has become a battle for survival for two of Britain’s toughest sailors in the Southern Ocean, the most dangerous in the world.
Golding suspended racing, which meant that Thomson was allowed to help him while Golding nurses Ecover to the nearest port, Cape Town, 1,000 miles to the north. The sometimes bitter rivals would have been glad of each other’s help as they tried to get under sail in strong winds and heavy seas.