FILE PHOTO: Sailing - Vendee Globe - Les Sables-d'Olonne, France - November 9, 2024 France's Louis Burton poses for a picture ahead of the Vendee Globe REUTERS/Stephane Mahe/File Photo
(Reuters) - Last edition's bronze winner Louis Burton has pulled out of the Vendee Globe more than three weeks into the race due to serious damage to his boat, organisers of the solo, non-stop and unassisted round-the-world sailing competition said on Thursday.
Burton, who was competing in the Vendee Globe for the fourth time, had previously decided to continue in the race after repairing serious cracks in his boat a fortnight ago.
"While sailing ahead of a depression, in brisk but manageable conditions, Burton suffered a sudden damage to a mechanical element of the rigging. This means he can no longer manoeuvre his boat," the organisers said in a statement.
The Frenchman spent the next 10 hours trying to repair the damage to his 60-foot development class monohull sailing yacht, but was unable to find a solution, and decided to abandon the race and head towards Cape Town, the statement added.
Burton, 39, had also retired during his debut in the race in 2012 after a collision with a fishing boat. He is the second sailor to abandon the race this year, with Maxime Sorel pulling out in the first week.
This edition of the Vendee Globe kicked off on Nov. 10, with sailors breaking the solo monohull 24-hour distance record multiple times with the fleet being propelled by a fast-moving depression.
Sebastien Simon, who holds the record after covering 615.33 nautical miles on Nov. 27, sits second in the race according to the latest rankings. Charlie Dalin is in the lead with more than 15,000 nautical miles still to go.
(Reporting by Chiranjit Ojha in Bengaluru; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
