Clipper race skipper’s thumb almost ripped off

A skipper leading a crew of amateur sailors in the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race had to be airlifted to hospital after his thumb was nearly ripped off.

David Hartshorn was conducting a spinnaker drop with his crew, around 450 nautical miles off the coast of Portugal, when the guard rail became caught between his thumb and the sheet.

The incident, which happened on the 70ft Greenings yacht, left the 52-year-old with a partially detached thumb and a serious open fracture requiring urgent medical attention.

Mr Hartshorn said the guard rail on the yacht acted like a “cheese wire”.