IF the mast was damaged it may have been unusable. As light as these are built, they are probably easily damaged. They would not be able to determine how damaged it was while at sea and some of the defects may not have ever been noticeable till the mast failed later.
Keeping that in mind, how much does a set of those hulls cost? I'm sure the mast could not have been loaded onto a Rib for a 40 mile (!!) ride back to the harbor. So... where would they have had to put it? What if the now damaged and useless mast damaged the platform further while being transported and made it a lost cause as well? I suspect the decision to leave the rig was a calculated gamble to save the boat from further damage. I've been towed and have towed I20's and other boats that have dismasted and just that little mast is a beast to secure. I'm sure the VX40 mast would be even worse especially in those seas over that distance. IMHO
