After 74 days, 19 hours and 35 minutes at sea, British sailor Alex Thomson reached the finish line of the Vendée Globe on his boat HUGO BOSS at 7:37 UTC Friday 20th January 2017, and in doing so broke his own British record of 80 days for the fastest solo circumnavigation of the globe in a monohull. As well as becoming the fastest Brit to ever sail solo around the world, Thomson has matched Dame Ellen MacArthur’s second place finish which she achieved back in Read More
Vendée Globe Race Update: Wednesday 18th January
With just 390 nautical miles left to the finish port of Les Sable d’Olonne and less than two days until the leading duo are expected to complete the solo, non-stop, around the world race, the Vendee Globe, British sailor Alex Thomson is in second place with just 40 nautical miles behind French rival Armel Le Cléac’h. With 98% of the race complete, Thomson is racing towards the finish against his French rival in the battle for first place, sailing at a speed Read More
Vendée Globe Race Update: Tuesday 17th January
With just 587 nautical miles of the Vendee Globe left and just 3 days until the leading duo are expected back in Les Sable d'Olonne, British sailor Alex Thomson is in second place with just 72 nautical miles behind French rival Armel Le Cléac’h. With 98% of the race complete, Thomson is headed back to the finish port of Les Sable d'Olonne, sailing at a speed of 16 knots. The leading duo, who will be duelling all the way to the finish, are approaching lighter Read More
Alex Thomson breaks 24 hour world distance record
British sailor Alex Thomson has beaten the world sailing record for the second time in the Vendee Globe, travelling 536.81 nautical miles in 24 hours. The previous speed record of 534.48 nautical miles was set by Francois Gabart in the 2012 Vendee Globe, Thomson has sailed an additional 2.33 nautical miles. The record has been confirmed by the Vendee Globe race organisation but has to be ratified by the world sailing council. Thomson’s previous speed record Read More
Vendée Globe Race Update: Friday 13th January
With this year’s edition of The Vendée Globe approaching its final days, British sailor Alex Thomson is in second place, 160 nautical miles behind French rival Armel Le Cléac’h. Alex has claimed back 54 miles overnight in difficult conditions for the leading two IMOCA’s in the North Atlantic. With 92% of the race complete, Alex is heading towards the Azores and sailing at a speed of 13 knots with 1972 nautical miles standing between him and the race Read More
Vendée Globe Race Update: Thursday 12th January
With this year’s edition of The Vendée Globe approaching its final days, British sailor Alex Thomson is in second place, 227 nautical miles behind French rival Armel Le Cléac’h. With 91% of the race complete, Thomson is heading towards the Azores and sailing at a speed of 20.5 knots with 2211 miles standing between him and the race finish at Le Sables d’Olonne. The Vendée Globe is a single-handed, non-stop, unassisted race around the Read More
Thomson locked in battle for first place as he passes the halfway mark in the Vendee Globe
British sailor, Alex Thomson, today reached the half way point in the solo, unassisted, non-stop Vendée Globe race. Thomson, who has been locked in battle with Frenchman Armel Le Cléac'h since the race began on November 6th, was sitting in second place as he passed the half way mark - the tip of New Zealand’s south island. It is set to be a physical weekend for the leading duo as they will be met by strong winds and heavy seas as they cross the Tasman Sea. Read More
Thomson passes Cape Leeuwin in the Vendée Globe.
British Skipper, Alex Thomson, has reached the Cape Leeuwin off Australia in a time of 29d 01hrs 28mins in the Vendee Globe. The second of the three great Capes, Thomson has now completed 45% of the solo, non-stop round the world race, with 13,500 miles to the finish. The next milestone is the infamous Cape Horn, where Thomson will turn the bow north again, and point HUGO BOSS towards the finish port of Les Sables d’Olonne, France. Both Thomson and French rival Read More
Back in front
Thursday 1st December - Today at 14:00 UTC Alex Thomson has regained his lead in the solo, non-stop, around the world race the Vendee Globe. For the majority of the race Thomson has been leading the fleet, however, after an incident with his starboard foil hitting a UFO on the 21st November, Thomson moved into second place due to his damaged foil when sailing on port tack. The leading pair passed the north of the Kerguelen Islands, a Read More
Thomson closes in on first place in The Vendée Globe Race.
British Skipper, Alex Thomson, is on track to re-claim his lead in The Vendée Globe Race. Over the past 24 hours Thomson has gained 22.2nm cutting Armel Le Cléach’h’s lead on board Banque Populaire VIII from 29.9nm to 7.7nm. For the vast duration of the race so far, Thomson had been leading the fleet; however a week ago he sustained damage to his yacht, HUGO BOSS, after a collision with an unidentified floating object whilst in the Southern Atlantic. This Read More
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