The run of bad luck continues for Graham Dalton who has been forced to make another pit stop in the second leg of the Velux 5 Oceans. A Southern Man AGD has now reached the Atlantic island of Bermuda and officially suspended racing at 0700 local time (1100 UTC). Dalton not only has problems with his autopilot systems, but ended up with a shredded genoa and a bruised body after battling through tough conditions with 35-45 knots of wind, gusting 50 knots.

Dalton must respect a 48 hour time penalty in Bermuda for receiving assistance before continuing towards Norfolk, meaning he can re-commence racing at 0700 local time on Saturday 21 April. Under race rules, Dalton must arrive in Norfolk by 1220 local time on Sunday 22 April, as skippers are required to spend a mandatory 72 hours in a host port and then re-commence racing on the next leg within seven days of the official re-start.

A number of yachts have pulled into Bermuda to seek shelter from the storms ravaging the Eastern seaboard of the United States and Dalton will work on making the necessary repairs to continue in the Velux 5 Oceans. Race organisers will provide a further update tomorrow on Dalton’s situation.

Meanwhile, leg three is underway for the remaining competitors and Swiss skipper Bernard Stamm leads the fleet in the trans-Atlantic sprint to Bilbao (Basque Country).