The Roaring Forties under jury rig

Finnish solo sailor Ari Känsäkoski safely made landfall in Durban, South Africa, on 16 January, 25 days and 1,600 miles after dismasting in the remote Indian Ocean.

Känsäkoski, who was competing in the Global Solo Challenge - the single-handed 'pursuit' style non-stop around the world race - was dismasted on his Class 40 Fuji on the night of 21 December in the Roaring Forties.

He was sailing in the Indian Ocean at a latitude of over 41° south, when the D1 lower diagonal shroud failed after shearing off at the tip-cup. Känsäkoski dropped all sails, hoping to secure the mast at first light by rigging a Dyneema replacement D1 or similar, but in 20 knot winds the boat's violent rolling under bare poles caused the deck-stepped mast to buckle, breaking just above the first set of spreaders, and collapsing partially on deck and overboard in the middle of the night.

Fortunately Känsäkoski was not injured, there was no damage to the hull, and he was able to secure the mast against the boat.

At the time, he was approximately 1,000 miles south of Madagascar, 1,200 miles from continental Africa and 1,400 miles from Cape Town. The nearest land was lles Crozet, some 300 miles away, but these remote islands have no shore facilities that could have assisted in making a repair.