Some of the rudder is trailing behind the boat Broken rudder

Conrad Humphreys' yacht, Hellomoto, was damaged when its rudder was hit during the Vendee Globe race on Saturday 430 miles west of Cape Town.

It happened as Humphreys lay 11th out of 20 in the 26,000-mile race.

The boat's keel was also hit. Humphreys is heading to Cape Town find a calm area where he can check the damage.

'Skin trailing'

Humphreys contacted his shore support team at 1510 GMT on Saturday to tell it of the collision which occurred while he was doing about 15 knots (17.2mph) in 35 knot (40.2mph) winds from the north.

He said: "I was at the [navigation] station and the boat suddenly jerked to a stop as something hit the keel and then the rudder.

"I then proceeded to drop the mainsail fully and check the keel first. It was then I found that the bottom half-metre of the starboard rudder had been smashed, part of which is the protective crash or false tip, but I'm unsure how much of the rudder itself has been damaged.

The 26,000-mile course is expected to take three months

"I can see the skin trailing behind in the water but some of the rudder is still there as it is still steering the boat. It could have been anything in the water that hit, I didn't see.

"There's no leak of water in the back of the boat so that's good news."

On Sunday, Humphreys said he intended to change the rudder on his own, which has never been done before.

He said: "If I can change the rudder, then I am confident that I can continue in the race. My aim is to get back into the race and this is the only way I can do it."

Hellomoto has two 6ft-long rudders that are fitted on either side of the stern under the hull. Each weighs about 66lbs (30kg).