Mike Sanderson, skipper of ABN AMRO ONE, spoke to VOR Race Headquarters at 1200 GMT today and shocked radio reporter Guy Swindells with a very matter of fact report of a fire on board.

Apparently a bolt had dropped into the battery box and lodged between a battery terminal and the carbonfibre structure. Carbonfibre is conductive and the resulting short circuit took out the wiring and systems in navigation, communications and the media station.

Once the fire was controlled, navigator Stan Honey, an acknowledged electronics expert in the field of TV and films, and not just an offshore navigator, has managed to re-wire the damaged areas so that they are now able to communicate and use their electronic navigation systems.

Mike is understandably pleased to be back in contact with the world and also reported that the crew are working to repair the steering station taken out in a wipe-out.

The question is, where did the bolt come from?