THE British entry in this year's Whitbread Round the World Yacht Race, skippered by Bury's Lawrie Smith, suffered serious damage this week on stage five of its encounter.

The Silk Cut vessel reported the accident on Tuesday morning, around 2,000 nautical miles from Cape Horn.

The yacht was in third position in the famous race at the time.

Reports suggested that the top section of the mast was lost in the accident, although the cause was still a mystery.

All on-board Silk Cut were reported to be safe and well and the remaining rig structure was not in any danger.

After the dramatic events, skipper Smith and his 11-man crew had to quickly assemble a jury rig before setting sail for Cape Horn.

The on-board systems were still fully operational and the Silk Cut crew were in communication with the Whitbread Race Office in Southampton at all times.

On hearing the news, the Silk Cut shore team were quickly forced into action and began work on a replacement rig to be flown to South America.

It had been quite a night for Silk Cut. Only hours before the mast damage, navigator Vincent Geake, who only joined the team on the fifth leg of the race in January, sent a message reporting hull damage due to a high speed encounter with ice.

A large section of skin had been ripped away, but most of the damage was above the waterline.

A Silk Cut spokesman said: "We are all tremendously disappointed to hear the news that Silk Cut has lost the top section of the mast. We are delighted that the crew are safe and well and wish them a speedy and safe passage to Chile."

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