A British solo yachtsman sailor has lost a marathon race after sleeping through two alarms and crashing.
Good natured Alex Thomson was leading the 3500 nautical mile Route de Rhum transatlantic event by a massive 15 hours when his power nap went wrong and he ploughed into Guadeloupe in the Caribbean.
The 44-year-old prevented his monohull Hugo Boss from being wrecked by using his motor just 70 miles from the finish line. That led to a 24 hour penalty but he took it with remarkable grace.
The Gosport sailor, whose main goal is to win the glamorous Vendee Globe in 2020, said: "I'm going to keep a brave face, keep smiling, come back and do it all again.
"I don't think I should win the race after hitting Guadeloupe... (it was) very frustrating, but it could have been worse. I have my boat and as you can see I'm all in one piece."