Catamaran crew reach dry land

Happy to be alive: Andy Hindley, Pete Goss, Paul Larsen

The Team Philips crew, which abandoned their £4m superyacht to flee for their lives, have arrived safely on dry land.

The seven men stepped onto a Canadian dock after battling large waves and ferocious winds in an Atlantic storm that ripped apart a section of their boat.

They told of their eight-hour battle to escape the storm before they were rescued by a German container ship and left the stricken catamaran behind more than 750 miles west of Ireland.

A race is now on to reach the 120ft boat, made from a revolutionary carbon-fibre design, to claim salvage rights.

It was really steer for your life

Pete Goss

The crew arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia, at 0115GMT on Thursday (9.15pm Wednesday local time).

Skipper Pete Goss said he did not regret the decision to abandon ship.

"A huge sea built up and we had to run for it. It was really steer for your life."

The crew had been at sea for eight days practising for The Race, a round-the-world challenge due to start on 31 December, when the storm hit.

Fierce winds with hurricane-force gusts sent a wave smashing through the central cockpit, making it impossible to steer the boat out of the weather.

It left the crew no option but to abandon ship in the middle of the night, said Mr Goss.

Pete Goss: "It was pretty hairy"

"It was very, very sad having left her out at sea," he said, adding that the decision to do so had been "based on life".

The crew's mayday call was answered by the German container ship Hoescht Express, which in a hair-raising manoeuvre threw down a line to attach the two boats, and a net for the crew to climb onto.

"That was the scariest bit," said Andy Hindley, who was in charge of navigation and weather for Team Philips.

Race to salvage boat

Mr Goss defended Team Philips, which has been criticised for its ambitious design, featuring two hulls that pierce the waves.

"We were going into an unknown ... and ultimately you don't know if it will or won't work," he said.

The crew has now abandoned its entry to The Race.

Team Philips is trying to find a company to salvage the catamaran, but it could be a costly exercise if unofficial salvage teams get there first.

If any other vessel salvaged the catamaran, the Team Philips project would have to pay to get her back.

Project organisers are currently in negotiation with a number of salvage companies.

The catamaran, which is the size of the centre court at Wimbledon, was unveiled by the Queen in March but suffered a series of accidents during sea trials.

In her first outing, the craft's bow snapped off prompting concerns that its radical design may have been flawed.

She was re-launched having undergone £250,000 of repairs and strengthening, but a second sea trial in October ended after just a few hours when the vessel suffered a mast problem.