Velux 5-Oceans Race competitor Graham Dalton whose yacht A Southern Man-Agd suffered electronic problems and a damaged rudder on Monday evening, is now en-route to Fortaleza.

According to David Adam, the race director, Dalton has decided to head for the Brazilian port of Fortaleza to carry out repairs to his electronics and build the cassette which holds the rudder. Dalton was forced to cut away the cassette and remove the rudder when he hit a UFO during the second leg of the race while off the coast of Brazil.

In compliance with the racing rules Dalton will have to remain out of the race for a minimum of 48 hours before he can resume racing. In the meantime Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, 400 miles behind at the tail-end of the fleet, will have a chance to make up some of the miles his lost over the last week. After days spent floundering in virtually no breeze, the wind has swung south-east and Saga Insurance is now making better progress averaging 12kts.