The Royal Australian Navy proved to be the knights in shining armour of the Vendée Globe when, after picking up Yann Eliès, the French yachtsman who had broken a leg on Saturday, they stopped while passing Mike Golding on his dismasted Ecover 3 and gave him an early Christmas present yesterday.

HMAS Arunta dropped off 200 litres of fuel, some bread, meat and beer with Ecover 3 struggling north under a jury rig made from the boom.

Golding was still 300 miles off the Australian coast yesterday after his mast was snapped the week before last, only hours after he had taken the lead. Golding, then making 3.5 knots, estimated that he would reach Western Australia by Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.

Meanwhile, on day 42 of the single-handed round-the-world race, at the front of the 18 boats still left in chase, of the 30 that started, Michel Desjoyeaux on Foncia, retains a 60-mile lead over Roland Jourdain.

Desjoyeaux, known as “Le Professeur” and the winner in 2000-01, lost two days in port at the start with battery problems but made up more than 600 miles and took over the lead when Golding was dismasted.

He raced through the fleet in the Indian and Southern Oceans and is now in the Pacific Ocean.

Jean Le Cam, who was second in the last edition of the race in 2004-05 on VM Matériaux is with the same boat he was in back then and has demonstrated good speed to work his way within 180 miles of the leader in the last 36 hours.

Vincent Riou, the champion, has slipped back 490 miles behind the leader in sixth place.