Two British sailors were badly
injured, suffering numerous broken bones and a severed finger tip, when a rogue wave hit their yacht off Australia's south-east coast in the around-the-world BT Global Challenge race.
The wave hit the yacht Veritasearly today as it ploughed through rough seas and 45-knot winds in Australia's dangerous Bass Strait where six sailors died during the 1998 Sydney-Hobart yacht race.
Charles Smith (31) from East Sheen in London suffered a broken leg and ankle, dislocated his other ankle and has a suspected broken arm, said Southampton race officials on the official website www.btchallenge.com
Robert Brooke (61) from Surrey had the top of his little finger sliced off and broke a finger on his other hand.
The injured sailors were airlifted to a hospital in the Australian capital Canberra after Veritasreached the fishing town of Eden on the south coast of New South Wales.
A hospital spokesman said later Smith was undergoing surgery and his condition had not yet been listed. The spokesman said Brooke was in a stable condition.
The BT Global Challenge is an around-the-world yacht race from Southampton against the prevailing west-east winds and currents.
Each of the 12 yachts is identical, with crews made up of amateurs who paid for their berths and a professional skipper.