Crew is rescued after race yacht loses rudder

A RACE-WINNING yacht crew had to be rescued from rough seas off Alderney after the vessel's rudder became detached.

The seven-strong crew were racing the 38ft Vixter from Cowes to St Malo when they ran into difficulty three miles south-west of Les Casquets lighthouse.

The team, which came first in its class in the Round the Island race at the Isle of Wight in June, had only acquired the £200,000 XP38 yacht four months ago.

'The water was pretty choppy and the wind was gusting at up to 24 knots,' said Paul Alder, an internet consultancy director based in Nice.

'We started having steering problems and then realised that the rudder had dropped out.'