On PUMA there was a whiff of unwelcome déjà vu (followed by a moment of mirth) for navigator Andrew Cape. The Australian was a member of the movistar crew member forced to abandon their boat on a treacherous transatlantic crossing in the 2005-06. On that occasion the boat had begun taking on water after sustaining keel damage.

This time round it was a broken rudder was the cause for concern on il mostro. According to skipper Ken Read, they were blasting along in 28 knots and in an awkward sea state at around 18:00 GMT last night when the shoe boat took a right kicking.

"All of a sudden we got a pretty nasty puff and we were off – a bit on the edge and did a small spin out, I heard a bang at the back of the boat and hoped like hell that it was the runner block hitting the boom or something,” he said.

It wasn't. The leeward rudder had sheared off.

"We finally heeled the boat to windward so the weather rudder would control the boat while we assessed the damage. Then we had to stop the boat and take down the sails and fit our emergency rudder to proceed to Ireland.

"So, here we are in the North Atlantic about half way to Ireland and there is a loud bang and it is full stop on board. Everyone is a bit peeved and out of the hatch comes Capey with his duffle bag over his shoulder and says … ‘last time I was here I heard the same noise and then it was time to get off’.

"That happened eerily close to our position when the rudder snapped off. Leave it to Capey to lighten up the situation. After a good laugh, the team went to work and now we are back sailing again. I guess it is all in a day’s work.”

The mishap cost them 20 miles to the leaders. Hard day at the office on PUMA.

Image: Rick Deppe/PUMA Ocean Racing/Volvo Ocean Race