Alex Thomson’s Vendée Globe could be over after he reported that Hugo Boss was taking on water, forcing him to head back to Les Sables d’Olonne. With winds of up to 50 knots and a confused sea state, the Bay of Biscay took its toll on the fleet of 30 on the second day, with six turning back to take the total of wounded participants in the race to eight.

After initially keeping pace with the leaders, Thomson reported a crack on the port side of the hull, opposite to where emergency repairs were needed after being struck broadside on by a French fishing boat three weeks ago.

Michel Desjoyeaux, the favourite, became the third solo skipper ito be forced back to port after he sprung a leak. Desjoyeaux turned back yesterday morning after less than 24 hours at sea when the ballast tanks on Foncia took on water, flooding the electrics around his engine.

Desjoyeaux won the 2000-01 Vendée Globe and is nicknamed “Le Professeur” because of his analytical approach and knowledge, but he said that he had failed to grasp the gravity of the problem. “I had a small leak in the ballast system and underestimated its importance and the damage,” he said. “This morning I started up the engine and after 40 minutes of charging, I could smell something burning. The engine was taking a swimming lesson and didn't appreciate it. I have already done part of a round the world voyage with an engine which was extremely difficult to start, but if it wasn't going to work at all...”

After the double blow on the first day, when two Swiss boats were forced to turn back, the third setback also comes before the worst of the weather has arrived in the Bay of Biscay.

Desjoyeaux was hoping to restart this afternoon, perhaps with Bernard Stamm, who expects to have replaced the front of his bowsprit after a donation from Gitana Eighty. Desjoyeaux said that he could have fixed the problem at sea in better conditions, but could not cut the power to the autopilot.

Race organisers initially suggested that Stamm, on Cheminees Poujoulat had been hit by a French fishing boat, but it was wrongly identified and police as well as the French maritime authorities have opened an inquiry.

“We are waiting for information from the police because the boat was not asking on the VHF [Very High Frequency radio] and we saw his route and he made a change and we think it's not possible for this boat not to know if he hit something,” Alain Gautier, the safety consultant for the race, said. “He [the unnamed boat] changed his route just after they hit. The AIS [Automatic Identification System] on the VHF and Bernard saw the route of the boat and the name of the boat.”

Even if Desjoyeaux and Stamm leave in the early afternoon, they will have lost two days and Gautier, who was the Vendée Globe winner in 1992, is doubtful they could make up that time.

“To sail alone and 350 miles behind is hard,” Gautier said. “It's very difficult when you see the level of the performance of the other guys.”

Those other guys were being battered in the Bay of Biscay by winds of 45 knots by yesterday afternoon and were preparing for a typically tough second night approaching Cape Finistere. Marc Guillemot on Safran tacked yesterday - “I should have done the same, but I was too lazy,” Loick Peyron, in second place on Gitana, admitted.

Dee Caffari on Aviva has surprised everyone by the speed of her progress and was 18 miles behind and the leading British boat in eighth place overall. She was a mile ahead of Mike Golding, her former boss, on Ecover 3, who also tacked and was working his way through the fleet after his mistimed start.

Bahrain Team Pindar will not appeal the four-hour penalty against them for not having all support crew off Brian Thompson's boat four minutes before the start.