America's Challenge crewman Campbell Field had the end of a finger amputated in an overnight accident as the Whitbread Round the World Race entered the 27th day of the opening leg.
The 27-year-old son of skipper Ross Field lost between 510 mm from the index finger of his right hand when it became trapped in the main sheet block.
"Campbell is resting in his bunk. He's all right but is suffering a bit of shock," said Field Snr, whose yacht is currently in seventh place over 730 miles behind leader EF Language.
"It happened at night. The seas were lumpy but there wasn't much wind, so Campbell was pushing the boom across. As the sail eased out he got his finger caught in the main sheet block.
"It is a clean cut and there isn't much bleeding, but we will be keeping an eye on him. We have a well-stocked medical kit on board and well-trained medics among the crew. Unfortunately our best medic is Campbell!
"Losing the end of a finger must be a family trait. I managed to do the same thing on an electric planer a couple of years ago.
"Campbell is going to be fine, though - he'll just be a bit uncomfortable for a few days. And we might not be sending too many video shots for a while - Campbell is also our on-board cameraman."
At the head of the 10-yacht fleet, meanwhile, Merit Cup and Innovation Kvaerner made up some ground on EF Language overnight.
Paul Cayard, the American skipper of Language, is not one to rest on his laurels, and says that they will "Carry on the way they got there . . . always on the front foot.
"I agree that it looks pretty good now, but sailing can be a fickle game. The wind changes . . . that is a fact. I never like to rest on a lead," Cayard said.
The leading trio are still benefiting from stronger winds than the remaining boats and averaging over 13 knots as EF Language moved within 1,195 miles of Cape Town.
The Swedish entry is now 113 miles clear of Merit Cup, racing for Monaco, with Norwegian yacht Innovation Kvaerner another 13 miles back and Britain's Silk Cut now 416 miles off the pace in fourth place.
While Lawrie Smith's Silk Cut continues to lose ground to the leader, the boats further back are beginning to gain as the front runners meet less wind.
Mark Fischer's Chessie Racing is 627 miles astern and is being harried by the fast-gaining Toshiba of Chris Dickson which has overtaken America's Challenge and is now sixth.
Round The World Race - Latest positions (at 12.0 GMT yesterday): 1 EF Language 1,195 miles to finish of first leg, 2 Merit Cup 113.1 miles behind leader, 3 Innovation Kvaerner at 126.9, 4 Silk Cut at 416.2, 5 Chessie Racing at 627.4, 6 Toshiba at 728.4, 7 America's Challenge at 738.8, 8 Swedish Match 835.5, 9 EF Education at 972.4, 10 Brunel Sunergy at 1,065.3
