Sadly for British fans of sailing, last week saw the infamously tough Vendee Globe race claim yet another victim. Alex Thomson was forced to withdraw from the race after the hull of his yacht suffered severe damage.

His withdrawal makes him the fourth individual to retire from the race since it began. The previous unlucky victims of the event are Kito de Pavant, Marc Tjhiercelin and Yannick Bestaven.

At the beginning of last week, the individuals competing in the race had to endure extreme weather conditions, including 50-knot winds. Thomson’s yacht, the Open 60 Hugo Boss, was damaged in these stormy conditions and he was forced to return to Les Sables d’Olonne, a nearby French port.

Following some lengthy assessments of his yacht, it was decided, in the words of Thomson, that it would take “a matter of weeks, not days” to fix. The Open 60 Hugo Boss model sustained a five metre-long transverse crack, which punctured both the inner and the outer skin.

Although Thomson remains resolute that he will return to the race in 2012 and will never give up on his ambition of being successful in the event, being forced to retire was the last thing the skipper and his crew wanted this year.

During the race four years ago, Thomson suffered a similar fate when his previous yacht was severely damaged. Furthermore, during the 2006 Velux Five Oceans race, which aimed to take competitors around the world, his boat lost its keel and he had to be rescued by a fellow British competitor.