Having spent the night struggling in strong winds with a broken rudder, the Swedish yacht, SEB, skippered by Gurra Krantz has been forced to retire from the Sydney-Hobart race.

The incident happened at 2000 hours GMT last night (0700 local time) 70 miles off Edistone Point on the north-east tip of Tasmania. The main rudder’s bearing fell to pieces and as a result, the rudder broke away from the hull and became unattached. The crew managed to salvage the rudder before it went to pieces and installed the emergency rudder.

Crew members are well and are working closely with their shore team to make the necessary arrangements to repair the boat.

The boat is now on course for Eden, NSW, on the south-east coast of Australia to carry out necessary repairs before sailing or transporting the boat to Auckland, New Zealand.