Yachting: Dalton tells how he came close to total disaster

2.00pm

Solo yachtsman Graham Dalton has told race headquarters he came close to total disaster after his Around Alone yacht was dismasted in South Atlantic Ocean eight days ago.

The dismasting put Dalton out of the Around Alone race and earlier today he reported the Argentinian Coastguard was towing his crippled yacht Hexagon at six knots to Puerto Madryn in Argentina.

His sponsor is now understood to have told Dalton there is no more money to get a replacement mast to him, which effectively puts him out of the race.

However, in a message to race headquarters overnight Dalton said that after the dismasting north of the Falkland Islands, he discovered a pin holding a ram onto the swing keel had nearly come out.

The keel is swung to windward beneath the boat and held in place by a ram inside the hull.

He said he discovered the loose pin just in time.

"Had the pin fallen out the keel would have been left swinging freely beneath the boat. The result could have been catastrophic," he said.

Dalton had to ditch his carbon fibre mast after he was dismasted in huge seas. The mast broke in four pieces and Dalton had nothing left to put up a jury mast. He did not have enough fuel to motor to Mar Del Plata and called for help.

Today his brother Grant Dalton, also a round-the-world sailor, said it had been a hard learning curve.

"It's the school of hard knocks."

He said it would be very costly to get a replacement mast to South America.

Because the carbon fibre masts could not be dismantled for easy transportation he would need a large aircraft to carry it in one piece and that was a huge problem.

Dalton was in fifth place on the fourth leg and was due to arrived in port under tow tonight or tomorrow.

- NZPA