Update from crewman Brian Thompson on Thursday 3 February 2011, 18:02:

“At 02:00 CET Banque Populaire V hit an unidentified object. At the time the maxi trimaran was doing 37 knots, but when the collision happened the boat did not stop.

The crew made the decision to stop the boat, furl the sails and try to inspect the damage. Is has since become clear that the crashbox of the daggerboard has been damaged and 40 cm of the daggerboard is missing.

The crew slowed the boat down to 25 knots, and will wait until the conditions improve before they attempt a repair. I will post more details as they come in.”

Evening update… Thursday 3 February 2011, 19:00 – Position 45 50S 10 20W:

“The fast sailing we have had earlier, knocking out back to back 700 mile days has now ended, and although we are squarely in the 40s in latitude the normal winds here have deserted us. Instead of blasting downwind in waves we are now reaching in light winds and flat water. So the long predicted light spot has arrived, and although in normal conditions we would be looking at sub 15 days to the Cape of Good Hope, but its not going to be that straightforward from now on.
 
We continue to sail at best speed possible, at present with full main and genoa; with a gennaker hooked on to the bow and ready to be hoisted if the wind angle changes at all. The sun is just setting now, although you can only tell that by the dimming of the light. Overhead its low cloud plus occasional fog banks at the moment. Water temp 11c and air temp 10c… perhaps time to put the socks on for the first time in 9 days.
 
Brian.”