Sailor quits race after sail tear

Jonny Malbon feared his mainsail would eventually disintegrate

An Isle of Wight sailor has decided to abandon his bid to sail solo in the Vendee Globe round-the-world yacht race following a tear in his mainsail.

Jonny Malbon, currently about 300 miles south of New Zealand's South Island in his yacht Artemis, believed the sail would eventually "disintegrate".

Dorset's Steve White, Hampshire's Dee Caffari and Samantha Davies are three of the UK sailors still in the race.

Mr Malbon, 34, from Cowes, said: "I am absolutely devastated."

Words cannot describe my disappointment that this has come to an end

Jonny Malbon

Mr Malbon, the son of Guernsey's lieutenant governor, added: "We have been through so much since the start and survived it all.

"I think I always imagined that if I went out of this race it would not be something I would have to weigh up and decide, it would just be something that happened and be beyond my control.

"It is no longer if but when the mainsail will just disintegrate completely, so heading out past New Zealand back into the Southern Ocean is just not feasible.

"My heart is telling me to go on but my head is telling me I have to stop and in the end it is true - I have no choice.

"Words cannot describe my disappointment that this has come to an end."

It is the first time that Mr Malbon had taken part in the race.

The Vendee Globe, which is a non-stop race covering an average of 27,000 miles (43,452km), got under way on 9 November 2008 from the French port of Les Sables d'Olonne.

The Vendee, which is run every four years, catapulted Dame Ellen MacArthur to fame in 2001 when she came second.