It’s been a busy period for the technical team since leaving Monaco a couple of weeks ago when the boat was taken down to Barcelona for some scheduled maintenance work. At this period in our training and preparation schedule the number one priority is testing and reliability. Following a fast and furious delivery down to Monaco in May this maintenance period was extended to ensure that the boat is in the best possible shape before Alex takes it across the Atlantic.
Extended sea-trials, like the delivery down to Monaco, are exactly for the purpose of pushing the boat with a full crew to find possible weaknesses and adjustments that can be made to improve the reliability even further and while our extended maintenance period has had a small impact on the schedule it is much better to be prepared and confident in the boat.
This continued focus on reliability is key to Alex’s Vendee campaign and together with existing sponsor commitments; it has meant that the record attempt that had been planned between Cadiz & San Salvador has beenreplaced in favour of a shorter solo training passage between Gibraltar and Bermuda.
Alex will be still be sailing the boat in ‘race mode’, testing all on-board systems under race conditions so there is no doubt that thiswill still be a high-pressured passage for him! After its Atlantic crossing the boat will head up to New York, for some corporate sailing days with HUGO BOSS, before Alex makes his return with a solo record attempt between Ambrose Light House to Lizard Point, in mid-July.
With this new schedule Alex is due to set off from Gibraltar this weekend, so we wish him all the best of luck for his training crossing. He (via @AlexThomson99) and the team (@ATRacing99 and on Facebook) will be keeping you posted on progress over the coming weeks.
Monday 11th June
