Club Med undamaged in collision with whale

9:15 AM

Grant Dalton's record-breaking catamaran Club Med has struck a small whale off the eastern coast of South America.

The catamaran, currently leading the around-the-world non-stop race "The Race," was undamaged, but the fate of the whale is unknown.

Dalton says the whale was 6-8 metres long, and probably a Pilot whale.

At last report, Club Med was 5473 nautical miles from the finish in Marseille, and around 930 miles ahead of second-place Innovation Explorer.

Club Med seems to have cleared the high pressure that was holding her up and is now registering an average hourly speed of nearly 10 knots, slightly better than Innovation Explorer.

Much farther back, third-placed Team Adventure is also stuck in light air, with another 200 miles to sail to reach Wellington where the crew will stop to carry out repairs.

Race officials have asked the fourth-placed yacht Warta Polpharma to also stop in the capital to have on-board broadcasting gear repaired.

Team Legato is in fifth place.