Wild Oats returns to Porto Cervo, dismasted. Peter Rusch has the picture and the early story from the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup…

Wild Oats, the super Maxi, has returned to Porto Cervo with just a stub of a mast remaining after dismasting during the second race of the Rolex Yacht Maxi Cup. All hands are safe, although one crew member may have suffered broken ribs.

It happened just three or four minutes after the start, with the boat beating upwind on starboard tack in 11 knots and a slightly confused sea state.

It’s too early to know the cause yet but the crew suspect rigging failure. The team is working hard to dismantle the boat now, but we’ll talk to them shortly, and have quotes from the sailors as we get them?