At 07:45 this morning a call was received from Team Philips stating there had been significant structural failure of the port and starboard bows.

There is no immediate danger to the crew. A crisis plan has immediately been put into effect informing Falmouth Coastguard and families of the crew, the insurers and the sponsors. MRCC Falmouth have launched the St Mary’s Lifeboat. At 11:15am the following update was received: Team Philips is 12 miles from St. Mary’s in the Scilly Isles and sailing under its own power. It is escorted by the lifeboat and its e.t.a. is later this morning.

Whilst the reasons for the failure are not clearly known it is apparent that the port bow which is damaged just forward of the daggerboard, may become detached from the boat within a short time. The starboard bow is also damaged approximately 10-15 feet forward of the daggerboard.

A team are flying out from Plymouth to the Scilly Isles to make an initial damage assessment.

All the crew, whilst deeply disappointed, are well and safe and are effecting their own onboard emergency plan. In the event of one of the bows detaching, Team Philips will become her own crew’s liferaft.

We have great confidence in the crew’s ability to handle Team Philips. We are in constant contact with the skipper, Pete Goss, so that we can ensure the crew are given the support to enable them to deal with the situation. Further information will be posted here as we receive it.

Latest information : Team Philips is to be towed to St. Mary’s where the damaged will be assessed. Please tune in to the website for regular updates as they are available.