Peter Ogden's straight-out-of-the-box Swan 601 Spirit of Jethou had a close shave with a buoy today, but all appears to be well.

Owen Parker, the boat's tactician explains: "Unfortunately we went a bit too close to the Mary Rose buoy off Portsmouth which has a long line running from it. We hooked it with our bulb and got caught up. There was nothing for it but to turn on the engine and reverse out and that meant that we had to retire.

"We've sent a diver down and fortunately there's no serious damage, just a few scratches."

Speaking about the new boat, which has a very un-Swan-like interior geared for racing, Parker added: "She's fantastic. And once we've learnt how to sail her she be even better. She's a lot more twitchy than the previous Spirit but loads of fun."
Sue pelling / Yachting World, 8 August 2004