News

Isolation is a concept that Alex Thomson is all too familiar with. When Alex sails solo, non-stop around the world in the Vendée Globe, he must solve problems, overcome challenges and remain mentally strong all without the support of anyone else around him. Using that experience, here Alex shares his advice on staying positive, even in the most challenging of times.

This week, Alex joined Title Partner HUGO BOSS to share his advice on managing isolation, turning negatives into positives, and making the very best of being at home.

Part of the #BOSStogether campaign, Alex – along with other well-known faces from the worlds of sport, fashion and lifestyle – hopes that, through sharing his own insight, he can help people around the world to stay strong, stay positive and stay motivated.

Alex Thomson has been named Patron of Marine and Maritime curriculum for the Gosport and Fareham Multi Academy Trust (GFM). The new Marine and Maritime curriculum, set to be introduced to schools from September 2020, will combine water-based activities such as sailing, kayaking, sea swimming and paddle boarding. The curriculum developed will also include the teaching of marine and maritime engineering, design, branding and marketing within the industry, working with local employers […]

Upon arrival from the Cape Verde Islands, HUGO BOSS was moved to Southampton. There, a full NDT (non-destructive testing) of the boat was carried out in order to assess the damage sustained during the Transat Jacques Vabre.   We can now confirm that, as suspected, the damage is contained to the keel area. The rest of the hull, the foils and rudders are undamaged. Following the NDT, our Composite team began working […]

This morning (Friday 8th November 2019), shortly after 08:00 UTC, British skippers Alex Thomson and Neal McDonald arrived safely into the Cape Verde Islands onboard the HUGO BOSS yacht. The skippers, who had been racing in the 4,350 mile double-handed Transat Jacques Vabre race from Le Havre, France to Salvador, Brazil, were forced to retire from the race when their IMOCA 60 race boat, HUGO BOSS, hit an unknown object submerged in […]

Alex and Neal are safe and making good progress onboard HUGO BOSS. They are now around 300 miles away from the Cape Verde Islands, sailing with caution at around 10 knots. They have both managed to get some sleep and are focused on getting safely to land. Members of the Alex Thomson Racing technical team have arrived in Cape Verde and are preparing for the boat’s arrival. Further members of the team […]

Together with Alex and Neal, our technical team has today been evaluating a number of different options. The decision has been made that the safest course of action is for the skippers to sail to the Cape Verde Islands, around 800nm away from HUGO BOSS’ current location. Alex and Neal are currently sailing at up to 7 knots in light winds. They will continue to sail cautiously in a south easterly direction […]

Last night Alex and Neal were both able to get some rest onboard HUGO BOSS. In the early hours of this morning the skippers resumed their attempts to stabilise the keel. Despite their very best efforts, it became clear that keeping the keel attached would put the boat at great risk. With the keel attached only by the hydraulic ram, and in an unstable position, there was a serious risk of significant […]

British sailor Alex Thomson and co-skipper Neal McDonald forced to retire from Transat Jacques Vabre after hitting object in the water Skippers are continuing to work to stabilise the boat in order to sail safely, without assistance to the nearest port Britain’s Alex Thomson and his co-skipper Neal McDonald have been forced to retire from the Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie Le Havre, the team’s debut race onboard the new HUGO BOSS boat. […]

This morning (Sunday 3rd November 2019) at around 9:37am UK time, while Alex Thomson and Neal McDonald were sailing at around 25 knots onboard HUGO BOSS, they hit something in the water. At this stage, it is not clear what they hit. Following the incident, Alex and Neal stopped the boat and carried out an inspection to assess the damage sustained. It became apparent that the keel is now only attached by […]