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| Severe weather hits Fastnet crews | Severe weather hits Fastnet crews |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| More than 90 boats competing in the Fastnet yacht race have been forced to seek shelter due to adverse weather. | More than 90 boats competing in the Fastnet yacht race have been forced to seek shelter due to adverse weather. |
| Some have even pulled out completely after suffering damage off the Dorset and Devon coastlines. | Some have even pulled out completely after suffering damage off the Dorset and Devon coastlines. |
| Around 300 yachts left Cowes on Monday to cover the 608 miles to Queen Anne's Battery in Plymouth via Fastnet rock. | Around 300 yachts left Cowes on Monday to cover the 608 miles to Queen Anne's Battery in Plymouth via Fastnet rock. |
| The prestigious race should have started on Sunday morning but was postponed after organisers received a severe weather warning. | The prestigious race should have started on Sunday morning but was postponed after organisers received a severe weather warning. |
| Portland Coastguard said a number of boats were sheltering along the Dorset and Devon coastline and in ports, including Torbay, Plymouth and Weymouth. | Portland Coastguard said a number of boats were sheltering along the Dorset and Devon coastline and in ports, including Torbay, Plymouth and Weymouth. |
| Trish Jenkins, from the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC), said: "We expect more yachts to retire as the day goes on." | Trish Jenkins, from the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC), said: "We expect more yachts to retire as the day goes on." |
| Hampshire's Dee Caffari has already withdrawn her yacht, Aviva Ocean Racing, due to damage to the bottom of the mainsail. | |
| Hole in the mainsail makes carrying on folly. Gutted Matthew Pinsent Aviva Ocean Racing | Hole in the mainsail makes carrying on folly. Gutted Matthew Pinsent Aviva Ocean Racing |
| "The 38 knots of wind created huge holes in the sea that the boat slammed into time and time again," said Caffari, whose crew of Mike Broughton and Matthew Pinsent avoided injury. | |
| "The fact that half the fleet have pulled out and even Mike, a veteran of 13 Fastnet races, is finding this race tough is testament to the severity of the conditions.? | |
| Olympic rowing champion Pinsent said the decision was hard to take. | |
| "Withdrawing from race and heading back to Southampton," he wrote in his diary on the BBC Sport website. "Hole in the mainsail makes carrying on folly. Gutted." | "Withdrawing from race and heading back to Southampton," he wrote in his diary on the BBC Sport website. "Hole in the mainsail makes carrying on folly. Gutted." |
| Salcombe lifeboat has also rescued a 36-year-old man who broke his leg on board one yacht. He has been taken to hospital. | Salcombe lifeboat has also rescued a 36-year-old man who broke his leg on board one yacht. He has been taken to hospital. |
| The 300-strong field is the largest since the disastrous race of 1979. | The 300-strong field is the largest since the disastrous race of 1979. |
| Seventeen sailors died in that event after the yachts were caught in a vicious storm off the south coast of Ireland. | Seventeen sailors died in that event after the yachts were caught in a vicious storm off the south coast of Ireland. |
| The RORC said the decision to delay the start was made after the severe weather warnings were issued by the Met Office. | The RORC said the decision to delay the start was made after the severe weather warnings were issued by the Met Office. |
| The RORC added that its policy was to only start the race "when it is safe to do so". | The RORC added that its policy was to only start the race "when it is safe to do so". |