Yachting: Whale sinks race hopes but solo yachtie vows to finish

By SUZANNE McFADDEN

A whale has flicked solo sailor Raphael Dinelli out of the non-stop round-the-world race for a second time in his ill-starred career.

Frenchman Dinelli has sailed into Cape Town with a damaged keel after colliding with the whale in the Southern Ocean.

He is now officially out of the running in the Vendee Globe race, after receiving outside help in port. But Dinelli is determined to carry on sailing around the world alone - a feat he failed to achieve four years ago.

In the last race, the Frenchman was dramatically rescued from his overturned boat in the Indian Ocean by English competitor Pete Goss.

Ironically, Goss was himself rescued from his damaged catamaran Team Philips this week on his way to the startline for the non-stop circumnavigation The Race.

Dinelli, aged 31, was yesterday helping with rapid repairs to his 18.3m boat Sogal-Extenso after it was lifted out of the water. He plans to be back at sea this weekend.

"We are not losing any time and I am quite happy. But still I am a bit sad," he said from Cape Town.

Spaniard Javier Sanso was yesterday heading north while the rest of the fleet slipped further south.

Sanso was trying to find calmer seas where he could make emergency repairs to his damaged mast. He has already scaled the rig in 30-knot winds and huge swells, trying to keep the mast upright.

Frenchman Joe Seeten is also having mast trouble after broaching three times in strong winds.

Compatriot Thomas Colville has hit both a whale and a rogue chunk of ice since the fleet entered the Southern Ocean.

But after diving into the freezing waters to check for damage, Colville has carried on and made leaps up the leaderboard.

He overtook Englishwoman Ellen MacArthur yesterday for fourth place, after sneaking up on her in the middle of the night.

MacArthur admitted that she had faltered when she saw her first human in 36 days at sea.

"It's very strange when you are thousands of miles away from anywhere to suddenly see another boat," she said.

"He's been there all day and I have to admit I'd rather be physically alone."

MacArthur, an early leader in the race, concentrated too heavily on trying to match-race Colville during their brief meeting - sailing the wrong side of Crozet Island and into a patch of light wind.

"I feel quite deflated and frustrated to have been so stupid," she said.

Despite their intense battle, both Colville and MacArthur are still 830km off the leading pace set by Michel Desjoyeaux and Roland Jourdain.

The pair are surfing along in winds gusting to 60 knots, and are 650km ahead of Yves Parlier, who led for almost 30 days.