Complex sentence: Sadly, American Mike Plant, one of the entrants in the first Vendée race, failed to make the start; he was lost at sea on the way to the race, his boat found flipped near the Azores.
Split into simpler sentences: Sadly, American Mike Plant, one of the entrants in the first Vendée race, failed to make the start. He was lost at sea on the way to the race, and his boat was found capsized near the Azores.