Our Mate Alex Thomson’s Races
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“It is a huge achievement for me and the team behind me,” said Alex. “This is the third time I have rounded Cape Horn, but the first on my own. But there has been no time to relax and enjoy the moment, in fact quite the opposite. There are about 15 icebergs around this area and although I have their location from the race office as well as my radar, passing through in the dark is a daunting feeling. I passed within 0.8miles of one this morning, but saw nothing.”
“I am going to be really glad to leave the Southern Ocean behind me over the next few days, but there is still a long way to go,” said Alex. The conditions don’t look easy ahead and the amount of strain put on the boats through the Southern Ocean could really begin to tell. But I have had one focus throughout this entire race – to finish. I will do everything I can to achieve that goal.”
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Alex Thomson Racing
Day 56, Alex still in 4th position and making his way past the Falkland Islands:"This morning I am in sight of the Falkland Islands, which is topical as I hear they have been in the news a lot this week! From what I can see they’re incredibly flat!! Today it should be another sunny day, which is good, conditions are considerably better than they have been and considering we’re in the middle of an ocean it is relatively calm out here. It’s still incredibly cold at night, but with the sunshine is relatively warm during the day which is good for the spirits. I’m also making the most of these conditions to get as much rest as I can.
I’m still happy with the progress I’m making, my route east of the Falklands has allowed me to benefit from the protection they have given me while I focus on the on-going hydro repairs. I spent a lot of the day on these yesterday, and will be starting again once it gets light down here. Hopefully the end is almost in sight with them as with around four weeks left of this race it’s still important that I get the second hydro back into action.
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The calmer conditions I enjoyed in the shelter of the Falklands yesterday have been left behind, and I am now into up-wind conditions, which are much more bouncy, uncomfortable and inevitably slower than the downwind stuff of the past few weeks. The sea also became very confused and lumpy as I cleared the Northern end of the islands as a result of strong wind over tide effect. Having said that, it is perhaps a little less stressful than the fast and furious downwind of the deep Southern Ocean.
This morning, I passed back into the Roaring Forty latitudes, after the ice-filled Furious Fifties, another step on the route back to Les Sables d’Olonne. I spent a lot of yesterday working on the on-going repairs so am feeling a little tired this morning, but am now occupied with looking at the conditions ahead as the weather looks a little complex.
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Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss) participated his first audio interview in a month today on the Vendée Globe race organisation’s English language daily live web tv show, Vendée Globe LIVE. Thomson, who has been using minimum power for the last month explained that it was critically important that he fixed his hydro-generators because he doesn’t have enough fuel onboard to complete the race without them. He was pleased to have rounded Cape Horn into some easier conditions so that he could focus on fixing them.
“I’m doing good. Rounding Cape Horn solo for the first time in my career also brought very different conditions, much milder. I haven’t had a chance to clean up a bit or to shave yet, though. I’ve had hydro-generators issues for the past month and hopefully, I’ll get a chance to work hard on them in the near future. I really need to because I don't have enough fuel to finish the race if I don't so I’m focusing on sailing the boat in a way that will allow me to make it to the finish line, I don’t get to look at the others’ routes, positions and choices too much.”
Thomson sounded determined but slightly hollow, a sociable and gregarious individual, the prolonged and enforced additional isolation must be wearing him down. It’s a testimony to his seamanship and tenacity that he has sailed a remarkable race in the face of such great adversity. The Vendée Globe is in itself a race of human endeavour when its all systems go but to race for over a month in a power blackout and hold onto fourth position is an achievement to be admired.
Thomson explained today that he had laminated the hydro and was expecting to complete the repairs in the next few days. The situation has now become race critical and we await further information regarding his progress.
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"I’m a very happy man this morning. The conditions out here are lovely, around 17.5 degrees Celsius in the cabin and the sun is out. After changing my thermals yesterday I’ve now changed again and am into my warm weather clothing for the first time in good few weeks, which is great. For the first time in a while I think everyone back home is jealous of the my weather! The winds are pretty light at the moment, which provides a good opportunity to carry out maintenance work and routine checks around the boat before it fills in again later today. I’m very happy with my current position."
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Great news Alex. Now chase those feckers in front down…...
So this is what a Vendee Globe skipper looks like after sixty days at sea and a month with hardly any power. Huge news today as Alex has completed his hydro repairs and is back operating normally. More pictures of the Hydro repair to follow, first Alex's update this morning:
"The big news is my hydro generator bracket is finally finished and the hydro is currently filling my batteries fully for the first time in a month! It has been a very long process from when it broke off in a collision a month ago but I am pleased i took my time with it and very happy to have been able to do it at sea and without stopping.
A big thank you to Caterham Composites, Farr Yacht Design and our team who together came up with a viable solution that was doable on the move.
It has been a difficult month saving power but hopefully fingers crossed i wont have any more issues and can start running the boat normally again. I cant wait to make a load of water and get this bread off my face for one!
The weather files show that I should be sailing fast downwind for the next couple of days and will eventually cross a small low pressure system situated south of Rio. I will watch the timing of this system carefully as there will be very little wind behind it so I must cross it and enter the trade winds and the optimum time.
I am a little tired but super happy to be up and running again properly."
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Go boy…..(I have so much money on you coming in 3rd or best - do not let me down).....
Thomson Takes Third Place
At the 1900 GMT ranking Alex Thomson onboard Hugo Boss has slammed dunked into third place. It's difficult to know until the fleet converges at the Equator what the true position of this weather gain will be. He is currently sailing a shorter route, in easier conditions, along the coast of Brazil, whilst Jean Pierre Dick, and the duelling duo at the front are labouring upwind in lighter winds.
The files can be deceptive, and it will be a week, or so, before we see how the leaderboard will juggle with any certainty when the fleet converges and heads into the north Atlantic. We still have the Equator and the Douldrums to cross before the final fate of the race is decided. There is everything to play for and quite frankly anything can happen. Will we have any nails left to chew in the next few weeks? Welcome aboard the race rollercoaster.
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It’s been a good 24 hours of progress but now I’m in the middle of a system that has developed, and I’m not really moving at the moment, I’m doing one knot. I don’t want to do any backslapping until I see what the result is. We should see the true position of me versus Virbac Paprec in a day or so but if you run the routes, it comes out very generous to me. The models don’t really take into account me having to cross that low-pressure area, it thinks I’m doing 15 knots right now when I’m actually doing zero.
Throughout my hydrogenerator issues, I’ve always been able to look at my routing, just not very often. I could only go on the internet twice a day, I’d look at the routes and shut the computer. In case of gustsy winds, I’d have to bite the bullet and turn the computer on for safety reasons, so I could keep an eye on where the gusts were. I’ve always been able to run the routing.
I’ve been going a little bit too fast to confidently use the hydrogenerator lately, so I’ve gone back into power-saving mode for the last 24 hours. Now I’m looking forward to crossing this front, to being able to use my phone a bit and to getting back to normal.
I definitely wouldn’t say it been a benefit, not to be able to monitor the boat performance 100%. It’s definitely not been beneficial to the end result, that’s for sure, but I don’t think it cost me an awful lot either. It’s been really painful, though.
I’m really looking forward to going, sticking the hydro down, getting on the internet and phoning the family. I love the contact and being able to phone my friends and family whenever I want to. But to be honest, I thought it was going to be much worse than it was. Once you get used to the whole thing, you just get on with it and most of the time, you have so much to do anyway… Actually, spending less time speaking to people and less time doing your routing, you are able to really get more rest. There are negatives and positives, and actually, being able to get more rest was a positive.
My only focus at the moment is to try to go through this front. Once I’m done with it, I know I’m clear for the doldrums and I’ll focus on the Azores high. It’s one step at a time, really.
I recover very quickly although I’m very tired at the moment as I haven’t slept for 16 hours. As far as the boat is concerned, I don’t really have any problems, I have a small repair to do to a sail, which I’ll do in the next 2 to 3 days, but that won’t affect my performance. I’m conscious the boat is tired, I think man recovers quickly compared to the boat. You never really know how badly tired she is until something breaks. I will make sure I’ll meet my objective, which is still just to finish.
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Exciting!
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In fourth position, Alex has his first shave of the race, and as promised starts with style you voted for here…
"I feel like I have got proper trade winds for the first time this morning which seem to be a little more consistent than yesterday and have slowly moved more to the east which is allowing me to go a little faster. The forecasted winds are not supposed to be very strong all the way to the equator.
I have been stuck in a band of cloud in the last 24 hours with very variable winds from the north to the east and from 22 knots to 6 knots. I had to tack over onto port when the breeze went to the north for a couple of hours. I hope I have a more consistent day. Not much I can do about the advance of Virbac, i hope to be able to get close to JP’s speeds in the next day or so but the pessimist in me says I will bleed till the equator. We will see, not much I can do apart from sail as fast as I can.
I got my batteries up to 100% yesterday for the first time since the Indian Ocean and filled up my water supply to the max. I celebrated with a shave just before I tacked, the first shave of the race."
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Here is the latest update from a clean-shaven Alex:
"Conditions are good onboard Hugo Boss and there seems to be a little more wind than yesterday but still up and down and shifting up to 50 degrees without the aid of any squalls. During the last two nights I have had more wind than the day time and it has been more stable allowing for more night naps. This is better as it is sweltering inside the boat during the day.The route looks fairly simple up to the equator and across the doldrums. At the moment it looks like I will have an easier crossing than those in front and I will cross further west which should theoretically be easier. You can never tell with the doldrums though! The forecasts for the north Atlantic indicate it could be difficult to cross the high pressure so there may be opportunity there. I watch with interest.
I finally got rid of the beard. My comedy beard did not quite suit me!"
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Here is his latest update this afternoon onboard HUGO BOSS:
"It’s very hot and sticky down here, 35 degrees inside the cabin during the day which drops to 30 degrees over the night. 80% of my naps are happening in the night as sleeping during the day is nearly impossible now. My skin is suffering as it normally does but absolutely nothing can be done about it.I have the doldrums ahead which I will be crossing tomorrow. In theory at this time of year the doldrums crossing should be much easier but it is always a bit of a lottery. I am looking forward to getting back in the northern hemisphere, should be in about 8 hours time."
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As he forecast, Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss) appears to have enjoyed the simplest of passages through the doldrums and averaged double-digit speeds overnight (10.7 knots since 1900hrs UTC). On his path on the westernmost part of the fleet, he should have a north wind of between 15/20 knots all morning, decreasing in the afternoon.
Thomson has lost 93 miles to the leader, Francois Gabart (MACIF), over the last 24 hours and is 739 miles behind.
After his heavy losses last week, Thomson has gained 150 miles back because of Gabart’s difficult doldrums. At this time on Wednesday, January 16, Thomson was 872 miles behind.
But third-placed Jean-Pierre Dick (Virbac-Paprec 3) has enjoyed similar success. Dick remains 237 miles ahead of Thomson and 502 miles behind Gabart. This time on Thursday, January 17, Dick was 378 miles behind Gabart, on Tuesday he had been 695 miles behind. His net gain from Gabart’s doldrums is 193 miles.
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I had my easiest doldrum crossing ever yesterday with only 2 big black clouds and a slight slow down. I was lucky that as I was crossing the area the doldrums were moving south and I was quickly into the north easterly trade winds. Feels great to have ticked off the doldrums and now the last hurdle should be the high pressure system before I get into the westerly’s for the final stretch to the finish.
The weather files I get for as far forward as 10 days and this morning’s route has me 400 miles from the finish after 10 days, its going to be great to see the route finish before the end. the weather files have consistently shown the same route through the high pressure system which gives me some confidence and it does not look too bad. Its still 5 days away so it could all change.
The wind has just shifted from the NE to the ENE NE and am tight reaching as close to north as I can get. Its pretty rough and consequently the boat is taking a bit of a pounding but not much I can do about that.
I made a load of water yesterday and had a wash, my skin breathed a sigh of relief I can tell you. I have a very itchy rash all up my arms and legs from exposure to salt in the humid conditions. I have never had it so bad but in a couple of days when it cools off it should go. Just need to not itch it!
Overnight as I exited the doldrums and got into the new breeze it was very gusty so required a lot of attention for me, not much sleep but i dont care, great to be in the trade winds. The heat affects the sleeping but also the amount I eat, both of which I do more at night when the cabin cools down to 30 degrees. Wont be long until i am back in the thermals, I actually cant wait!
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Thomson cannot see route to third
Behind them Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss) told Vendee Globe TV that he cannot see how he can catch third-placed Jean-Pierre Dick (Virbac-Paprec 3) or how Dick can catch the front two. “No one is going to give up hope until the end,” Thomson said. “But as I look at the weather ahead as I’m sure he (Dick) does, both of us are going to need extraordinary events to be able to catch this significant number of miles up. I don’t really see any big opportunities ahead for me to catch Jean-Pierre and I don’t see any big opportunities for him to catch the two in front, so I think we’re looking for something extraordinary. There’s always hope, you don’t know what’s going to happen in the Vendée Globe. I’ll just try my hardest, sail my best and see what happens. My motivation is to get the boat round in under 80 days.
Asked if he would prefer to finish third or get round the world in 80 days, Thomson laughed and said:
“Well, obviously it’s more important to finish third,” he said. “I couldn’t care if I finished fourth in 80 days or third in 120 days, I’d rather finish third.”
Thomson was slightly faster than Dick, 12.4 knots to 11.9 knots, in the last hour and lies 265 miles behind
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“I am shocked and gutted at the news that JP Dick has lost his keel. JP has sailed an awesome race and does not deserve this to happen to him. He has worked so hard and maintained his 3rd position despite having to climb the mast countless times. I am thankful that it has happened here and not in the south although JP will have to go through some significant weather to get to the Azores, potentially up to 40 knots on the 26th.
I never thought we would see a keel failure on this race. IMOCA has of course a history with keel failures but I really thought all those problems were behind us. It will be interesting to review the failures of Virbac and Safran, both penned from the same designer to see exactly why these failures have happened.
When I joined the class in 2003 I was a little surprised that I had to change the keel on my first boat because it had exceeded its mileage of 80,000 miles. Since then people have been building keels that last only one round the world race to save a few kilos of weight. I came from the world that a keel lasted for the life of the boat and that is where we need to get to. In 2009 IMOCA brought in some regulations to make keels safer but it obviously has not been enough.
Enough is enough, the keels need to be made of solid steel and last the life of the boat, before someone gets hurt.”
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What a man….
Today, we recieved this message from Alex Thomson,
"“I am back into real North Atlantic conditions again and the wind is colder and the sea state has started to get pretty rough again. Over the last few days I have been worried about JP Dick and him sailing without his keel and even though my optimum route takes me more North and West of my current course and back to Les Sables fast and direct, this morning when I experienced the conditions I decided to change course to stay with JP until I know that he is happy with the boat and he has made his decision about what he will do regarding stopping or continuing.
Tonight and tomorrow morning a front will pass over myself and JP with some strong breeze and I will stick around him to make sure there is someone close by if something was to happen to him. JP is a great sailor and I am confident in his ability to sail safely to wherever he chooses but I know that if I was in his position I would like to have someone watching my back through the strong winds that are coming.
He has not asked me to assist in any way, but I really feel that I cannot sail off and leave him until I know that he is confident and has confirmed what his intentions are. It is simple for me really, if he has a problem I will try and help him and once he has got through the worst of the weather safely and happy with the boat tonight, and if he then decides to continue with the race safely, then I will adjust my course and continue with mine. What I don’t want is to be too far away from him if he has an issue with the coming strong winds and before he knows if he is fully capable of continuing.”
This is a noble gesture from a man who has faced the icy peril of the ocean and survived. A man who has been rescued himself. It has not been requested by the race office and so he will not be compensated for any ground lost. The gap between Hugo Boss and the 5th place boat Jean Le Cam is significant enough for him to sacrifice the miles but make no mistake it is a sacrifice. This noble gesture could also sacrifice the potential to be the first British person to sail solo around the world in under 80 days but in this instance Thomson clearly has put Jean Pierre Dick's safety first.
