Speaking via satellite phone aboard Virgin Money – 2 days into their attempt to break the fastest crossing of the Atlantic by mono-hull, an exhausted Richard Branson said: “We’ve just experienced a night from hell when Virgin Money was struck by a massive wave from behind – washing one of our life rafts over board, damaging the spinnaker and devastatingly tearing a massive hole in our mainsail.
Luckily all of the crew were harnessed in and no one was swept overboard, which is all that matters at the end of the day.
We don’t know what the next few hours will bring. We are now frantically trying to repair the sails enough to continue.
The last two days have felt like a lifetime, we knew when we set out this late in the season that we were going to be faced with some horrific weather conditions but none of us could have predicted the huge storm systems – at times between gale force 7 – 9, seeing swells up to 40ft – that we have been bombarded with. We have pushed Virgin Money to its limits – I now fear over her limits.
We have the most amazing, experienced crew, including Olympic triple Gold medallist Ben Ainslie, onboard - who will work flat out for the next few hours to endeavour to resurrect our dreams of breaking this most historic of sailing records.
After everything we have been through in the last two days Sam, Holly (who has already been called upon several times to use her medical training with the crew suffering a variety of injuries as a result of being thrown about the boat by the severe conditions) and I will be bitterly disappointed to give up the fight for our first world record attempt together as a family.”
He added that if the boat could be repaired and ready within the next three weeks, he would have another go before the season ends.
The 30-strong crew, which included both of Branson's children, set sail from New York on Wednesday hoping to break the monohull sailing record of six days, 17 hours, 52 minutes and 39 seconds.
Branson is now heading to St George's on Bermuda in order the make the necessary repairs. "If we can get away with this season which ends in two, three weeks time, we'll do it. If not, we'll get the boat ready for another attempt in the spring of next year."