Something has got to be done about the popular image of yacht racing. This fantastic sport has failed to capture the public imagination since the earliest days of the America’s Cup. And it’s not difficult to see why when flagship events like the Vendee Globe and the Volvo Race are degenerating into demolition derbies.

I feel desperately sad for great sailors like Alex Thomson and Mike Golding, not to mention French superstars Loick Peyron and Roland Jourdain, whose boats have basically fallen apart, denying them the chance of glory in the Vendee. The Everest of single-handed sailing, this race which marks the culmination of four years of single-minded preparation – now all thrown away for no less than 19 of the original 30 entrants.

Before the current Vendee started, the organisers spoke glibly of a “50 per cent attrition rate” over the event’s history.  That really isn’t acceptable, but this time it is even worse: nearer to two thirds, and likely to climb even higher, as the race is far from over yet, as Jourdain sadly proved.A seeming dead cert for a podium place, well into the home straight, he was cruelly denied when the bulb fell off his keel, the latest in a string of high profile failures.
It’s even more embarrassing in the case of the Volvo Race, with its limitless budgets and superstar crews, rerouted this year to bring in the new sailing nations of Asia, in the hope of sparking new enthusiasm.With only eight entrants, the race just about retained its credibility. But then the Russians dropped out through lack of funding, and now another three boats have been stopped in their tracks not so much by gear failure as by hull failure.

In theory, today’s high tech materials should make sailing all the more exciting – and safer. But in fact the common thread of the majority of failures across the Vendee and Volvo fleets has been failure of exotic materials, whether in hull, keel fin, sail cloth or rig.

Yes, we want these to be development classes, and the lessons learned on the race track eventually pass down to the leisure sailor, just as Formula 1 eventually benefits the domestic car market. But we need the racing boats to be fit for purpose, too.

Daring deep sea rescues may make great headlines, but it would be much better for the sport if they didn't have to happen!

Mike Golding has never quite achieved the level of celebrity where people become household names outside their own sport, because his career has been littered with “if onlys.” There’s no doubt he has the talent and character to beat the world’s best – but how often has he been let down by the hardware? This time he had battled back from a disappointing start to take the lead in the Vendee in spectacular style – and then his mast fell down.
One of the problems of a race like the current Vendee is that the achievements of the eventual winners will inevitably be somewhat overshadowed by the spectre of what might have happened if some of those masts had stayed in pace, some of those keel bulbs hadn’t fallen off.

Yes, getting the boat round and keeping it in one piece is a significant part of the skill of a single-handed circumnavigation – but the suspicion remains that the shocking failures that have beset some of the expected front runners this time were the fault of the designers, rather than the sailors themselves.

The balance between bullet-proof reliability and ultimate performance is a complex one. And of course we want boat design to progress. Today’s cruisers, which have broadly evolved from the traditional tear-drop shape to the modern wedge following the development of the Open 60, are far more rewarding and exciting to sail than many of their ancestors.

But safety must surely be given higher priority in the development mix. The failure rate should be falling, not rising. It’s an issue that has to be addressed, urgently, if ocean racing is ever going to claim its rightful place in the public imagination – or even regain its credibility among the sailing fraternity!