Alex Thomson today departed from Cape Town, South Africa to begin the 6,500nm journey back to the UK onboard his HUGO BOSS boat. After being forced to retire from the Vendée Globe round-the-world yacht race – which is still under way – Thomson sailed his IMOCA yacht to Cape Town where the boat remained over the Christmas and New Year period. Thomson and members of his technical team this week returned to Cape Town, successfully replaced the boat’s Read More
Alex Thomson arrives safely to Cape Town and formally retires from the Vendée Globe
After irreparable rudder damage put a stop to his quest for victory in the Vendée Globe, British sailor Alex Thomson has arrived safely in Cape Town, South Africa. It took the skipper almost seven days to make the 1,800nm journey to port, sailing his IMOCA racing yacht with just one rudder. Thomson began the journey on Saturday (28th November), after he was forced to cease racing, 19 days into the solo, non-stop, unassisted round-the-world yacht Read More
A message from Alex
For the best part of 20 years, this race has been my goal. We’ve come so close before. And this time, I really thought it was possible. I have the boat of my dreams. We put together a campaign that I am extremely proud of and, despite the setbacks of the last week, I still thought it was possible. I’ve given my life to this sport and it’s a very difficult pill to swallow. So many people have supported me along the way and I can tell you, picking up the Read More
Alex Thomson ceases racing in the Vendée Globe
November 28, 2020. After incurring damage to the starboard rudder of his boat, British sailor Alex Thomson has ceased racing in the Vendée Globe and is now sailing his boat towards Cape Town. Thomson last night disconnected the starboard rudder and has since been sailing the yacht with just one rudder. After assessing the situation today, the skipper and his team have decided that the only course of action is to cease racing and sail the boat to Cape Read More
Team Statement
At approximately 19:00 UTC this evening (Friday 27th November) – 19 days into the Vendée Globe round-the-world yacht race - Alex Thomson notified his technical team on shore of damage to the starboard rudder of his HUGO BOSS boat. The team immediately advised Thomson to disconnect the rudder to regain steerage. He now has control of the yacht with one rudder, and is safe and in no danger onboard. The team is working to assess the extent of the damage. A Read More
“Back in race mode” and headed into the Southern Ocean
Alex Thomson is back in action in the Vendée Globe and preparing to enter the Southern Ocean, after structural damage onboard his HUGO BOSS boat temporarily halted his hunt for the title. The British sailor unearthed the damage to his IMOCA 60 boat on Saturday evening (21st November), 13 days into the solo, non-stop, unassisted, round-the-world yacht race. He was forced to slow the boat to make crucial repairs with support from his technical team, Read More
Team Update: Preparing for the Southern Ocean
Update from Ross Daniel, Technical Director at Alex Thomson Racing: “Yesterday evening, Alex decided to take advantage of the light conditions to further reinforce the repairs that he has done onboard HUGO BOSS in order to increase the safety factors before he enters the Southern Ocean. “To do this, he had to slow the boat down slightly so that he could work in relatively stable conditions. With the new weather front crossing the fleet today, Read More
Alex Thomson “sailing once again” onboard HUGO BOSS
Just 48 hours after he unearthed structural damage to his HUGO BOSS boat – on day 13 of the Vendée Globe round-the-world yacht race – Alex Thomson has confirmed that he is sailing once again. Thomson discovered damage to the bow area of his IMOCA yacht on Saturday evening UTC and, after alerting his team on shore, was forced to bring the boat to a stop while he carried out a complex repair at sea to reinforce the structure inside the boat. With the help of Read More
“This is the Vendée Globe. You have to be able to deal with this stuff”
Alex Thomson shares an update following the news announced yesterday by his team, that he had discovered structural damage on the HUGO BOSS yacht, 13 days into the Vendée Globe. “It was a bit of a shock at first but obviously it could have been a lot worse. It’s repairable and we’re not yet in the southern ocean. “I called my technical team and they got the right group of people together – the designers, the engineers, the team. While they were digesting Read More
Team Update
Ross Daniel, Technical Director at Alex Thomson Racing: “Yesterday evening (Saturday 21st November), while Alex was carrying out a routine inspection onboard HUGO BOSS, he spotted what he believed to be some structural damage in the bow area of the boat. He immediately notified myself and the team on shore, and we provided clear instructions to allow him to carry out a full inspection of the damage. “That inspection has revealed some structural damage to a Read More
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