Sam Davies, the leading British skipper in the Vendee Globe around-the-world yacht race, reported this morning that she has hit a UFO – an undentified floating object. The collision caused her to slow down to assess the problem and make repairs. Davies, aboard Roxy, is currently in seventh place in the race.

Davies reported that she does not know what she hit but that it was ‘fairly solid’. She was forced to get her tools out to repair what she had already fixed once – her rudder. She had to do it while the rudder was still in the water, describing the process as ‘a bit hairy’.

She reports that something also got wrapped around keel, but after manoeuvring she managed to free it. After that the wind shifted and she was forced to furl and unfurl and restack on the other side, which tired her out. However, conditions are now ‘perfect.’

Meanwhile, fellow Britons Brian Thompson, skipper of Bahrain Team Pindar -in 9th place – has an issue with his alternator which he is trying to fix, while Steve White – 12th – is set to take advantage of the settled conditions to try to make repairs to his gooseneck on Toe in the Water.