Irish sailor safe as race yacht hits reef

Irish sailor Brian Carlin had a lucky escape over the weekend when his team’s yacht in the Volvo Ocean Race hit a reef in the Indian Ocean, forcing the crew to abandon to life rafts.

The incident occurred on Saturday afternoon during the race from Cape Town to Abu Dhabi when the seven- boat fleet was about 430km north-east of Mauritius.

Mr Carlin, from Tralee, Co Kerry, is the on-board reporter for the Team Vestas Wind entry skippered by Australian Chris Nicholson.