Round-the world sailor Pip Hare, from Poole, makes land after mast brakes in Southern Ocean

Credit: Pip Hare Ocean Racing
Pip Hare had been aiming to become the first woman to complete the race twice Credit: Pip Hare Ocean Racing

A sailor from Poole has finally reached land almost two weeks after a snapped mast ended her aim to be the first woman to finish a 24,300 mile (39,100km) race around the world for a second time.

Pip Hare, 50, came 19th in the last edition of the Vendée Globe race in 2020. She completed the voyage in 95 days in the event's second oldest boat and becoming only the eighth woman to finish.

This time, she suffered a dismast about 800 nautical miles (1,480km) south of Australia in her 60ft (18m) yacht Medallia on 15 December.

The mast broke in two places when the boat came off a wave in the Southern Ocean. Credit: Pip Hare Ocean Racing

Almost two months into the gruelling race, she patched together a "jury rig" - essentially what was left of the mast and sail - to reach Melbourne, Australia, on 28 December.

Hare said she was "bitterly disappointed" that her race ended this way.

"I'm also grateful that I'm in one piece and was able to make my own way to safety," said Hare. "I might be out of the race, but the grit and determination I need to compete also helped me cope with what could have been a catastrophic situation."

Pip Hare landed in Melbourne Credit: ORCV

She set up her racing team in 2019 with a £25,000 bank loan and a crowdfunding appeal and was tipped as a top-10 finisher in the prestigious and gruelling race.

"For me, this is my version of a World Cup or the Olympics," Hare said, before setting off. "It's the Vendée Globe race, it's the toughest sailing race in the world."

The single-handed yacht race began off the coast of France in November, and Hare had been in 15th place when the mast snapped.

When asked about what it was like after the mast broke, "in a funny way, I enjoyed the slower pace of the voyage to Australia – ultimately, I’m a professional sailor because I love being out in the ocean and that’s where I’ve been.

"Just not quite the way I expected."

She said: "It didn’t feel like it at the time, but I was lucky.

"When something like that happens, it can damage the boat or I could have been hurt. But it happened in the daylight, and I was able to clear up the mess, rig a makeshift sail and limp to the nearest port."

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