It is not a decision that he has taken lightly but a number of ongoing technical issues have pressed Golding to put his and the new boat's safety first, particularly having now completed the required 2,500 mile solo passage with the boat that will qualify him for next year's Vendee Globe.

Overnight ECOVER 3 has developed further serious engine problems, which leave the highly experienced solo sailor concerned that he would not be able to use the engine for the remaining duration of the race to charge essential batteries. Towards the end of the afternoon, the instrument and/pilot system completely failed leaving him without the automatic pilot

This together with a number of issues have compounded ECOVER 3's troubles, leaving Golding feeling that he was no longer competing at anything close to 100%.

Last night the struggling engine blew an oil seal spraying the entire cabin, damaging equipment and making the whole area very unsafe. Mike spent much of the day cleaning it down, while also continuing to wrestle and repair the engine

He has decided that the pragmatic course is to reduce sail and head to port. Time saved at this stage of ECOVER 3's development is vital. Battling on to the finish of this race could jeopardise the boat and could be unsafe.

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