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| Yacht race hit by gale conditions | Yacht race hit by gale conditions |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| Almost half of the yachts in a solo round-the-world race have returned to port just over 24 hours into the contest, because of bad weather. | Almost half of the yachts in a solo round-the-world race have returned to port just over 24 hours into the contest, because of bad weather. |
| The Velux 5 Oceans began with eight skippers on Sunday from Bilbao, Spain, but three yachts are heading back to Gijon in the north of the country. | |
| "Boat-breaking" gale conditions in the Bay of Biscay were blamed. | "Boat-breaking" gale conditions in the Bay of Biscay were blamed. |
| Veteran British yachtsman Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, on board Saga Insurance, was not among those who turned back. | Veteran British yachtsman Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, on board Saga Insurance, was not among those who turned back. |
| But Britons Mike Golding and Alex Thomson did return to port, along with Spain's Unai Basurko. | |
| Wind 58 knots, storm jib up, sea white with spray, surviving not racing, but okay. Irish coffee Sir Robin Knox-Johnston | Wind 58 knots, storm jib up, sea white with spray, surviving not racing, but okay. Irish coffee Sir Robin Knox-Johnston |
| Knox-Johnston in 1969 became the first person to sail non-stop around the world alone, and at 67 he is the oldest participant in the Velux 5 Oceans. | Knox-Johnston in 1969 became the first person to sail non-stop around the world alone, and at 67 he is the oldest participant in the Velux 5 Oceans. |
| He put to sea at 1200 BST on Sunday in the prestigious race and is currently in third place behind Japan's Koji Shiraishi and defending champion Bernard Stamm from France. | He put to sea at 1200 BST on Sunday in the prestigious race and is currently in third place behind Japan's Koji Shiraishi and defending champion Bernard Stamm from France. |
| Speaking by email earlier, Knox-Johnston said: "Wind 58 knots, storm jib up, sea white with spray, surviving not racing, but okay. Irish coffee." | Speaking by email earlier, Knox-Johnston said: "Wind 58 knots, storm jib up, sea white with spray, surviving not racing, but okay. Irish coffee." |
| Golding, who is on board Ecover, said the sea was "enormous", and "the main thing is just to get through this and not break anything". | Golding, who is on board Ecover, said the sea was "enormous", and "the main thing is just to get through this and not break anything". |
| He added: "There is not much I can do. I was caught out a bit and could not really get prepared for this." | He added: "There is not much I can do. I was caught out a bit and could not really get prepared for this." |
| 'Disappointed' | 'Disappointed' |
| Thomson, aboard Hugo Boss, returned after experiencing gear failure. | Thomson, aboard Hugo Boss, returned after experiencing gear failure. |
| "I am obviously disappointed but I have no other option than to suspend racing in order to carry out the necessary repair and continue in the Velux 5 Oceans," he said. | "I am obviously disappointed but I have no other option than to suspend racing in order to carry out the necessary repair and continue in the Velux 5 Oceans," he said. |
| "I am just glad this happened early on in the race before I was too far offshore." | "I am just glad this happened early on in the race before I was too far offshore." |
| Knox-Johnston was 30 when he took 312 days to circumnavigate the world in his 32ft wooden yacht Suhaili in the Sunday Times Golden Globe race. He was the only competitor to finish. | Knox-Johnston was 30 when he took 312 days to circumnavigate the world in his 32ft wooden yacht Suhaili in the Sunday Times Golden Globe race. He was the only competitor to finish. |
| "I didn't enter this race just to participate," he has previously said. | "I didn't enter this race just to participate," he has previously said. |
| "People often think that life winds down for the over 50s, but this simply isn't true." | "People often think that life winds down for the over 50s, but this simply isn't true." |
| Post-retirement return | Post-retirement return |
| Knox-Johnston is returning to racing after a self-imposed retirement since his wife died from cancer. He last raced in 1994 when, with the late Sir Peter Blake, he broke the round-the-world sailing record and won the Jules Verne Trophy. | Knox-Johnston is returning to racing after a self-imposed retirement since his wife died from cancer. He last raced in 1994 when, with the late Sir Peter Blake, he broke the round-the-world sailing record and won the Jules Verne Trophy. |
| The three-leg race includes stops in Fremantle, Australia, and Norfolk, USA. | The three-leg race includes stops in Fremantle, Australia, and Norfolk, USA. |
| The first leg of the race, which is widely considered to be the world's toughest solo round-the-world yacht race, started from Bilbao, Spain, bound for Fremantle, Western Australia. | The first leg of the race, which is widely considered to be the world's toughest solo round-the-world yacht race, started from Bilbao, Spain, bound for Fremantle, Western Australia. |
| The leg is expected to take about six weeks. | The leg is expected to take about six weeks. |
| This year marks the 25th anniversary of this solo round-the-world race, know previously as the BOC Challenge and Around Alone. | This year marks the 25th anniversary of this solo round-the-world race, know previously as the BOC Challenge and Around Alone. |