Our Mate Alex Thomson’s Races
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That's some James Bond shit right there.
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Yep he will, but they're taking the boat so it can compete in this:
http://www.sailweb.co.uk/offshore/18802/ocean-masters-new-york-to-barcelona-race
(Alex is not doing it as baby #2 is due soon)
The race starts on 1st June, so I guess it depends where the spare rig is and whether they can get it to NYC in time.
This is the boat that Alex bought off JP Dick that lost it's keel in the last vendee….
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I'm a few days slow in posting this, but Alex has officially announced he's getting a new boat.
For the sailing nerds, it's a Guillaume Verdier / VPLP design, which is very much the flavour of the moment in the IMOCA world.
And looking at this photo, he's already hard at work thinking of what stunt he can do this time!
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It sounds like he's into negotiations to build her at Green Marine too. Given the ramping up of Ben Ainslie's America's Cup team down that way, he could have access to some very good composite guys…
There's a comment about foiling in the press release...
McGoldrick said; “This Vendèe Globe cycle will be particularly exciting as we will almost certainly see the use of foils not too dissimilar to those used in the Americas Cup. The foils should significantly increase the performance of the boats, an increase we have not seen since the canting keel was invented. Today all the simulations are theory based and of course theory can be very different to reality, so it is going to be a fascinating next 12 months to see what emerges”.
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I saw Alex at the week end, he is both excited and daunted about the new build….
http://www.barcelonaworldrace.org/en/news/news/homage-paid-to-alex-thomson-s-keel-walk
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There's a piece up at the Daily Sail, and another at Sailing Scuttlebutt about the sorts of foils the IMOCA teams are looking at fitting to their boats for the next Vendee.
The technology is derived from Hugh Welbourne's Dynamic Stability System. Basically the foil generates a lifting force that stabilises the boat, rather than relying on righting movement from either a keel (as in a monohull), or the hull form (multihulls).
I'm looking forward to seeing what they come up with. It's possible that they'll get the boats flying…
Which would give Alex another appendage to surf on!
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I've updated the thread title to be more generic. Alex is currently doing the 2 handed non stop Barcelona World race with Pepe Ribes. I love the tag line for the race:
Two Crew Non Stop Extreme Sailing Around The Planet
Alex and Pepe are currently leading and have already broken a few records.
For those who followed Alex's last Vende, the current Hugo Boss is the boat that JP Dick lost his keel on towards the end of the race when Alex shadowed him until JP learned how to sail with no keel. Needless to say, Alex has had a new keel fitted…..
Up until the last Vende, Alex was viewed with much suspicion by the predominantly French round the world racing community because Alex and Hugo Boss actually approach the endeavours they undertake with supreme professionalism and actually do some marketing too. Alex's selfless act of sacrifice helping JP out last time around, converted him from zero to hero in the French sailors eyes over night. He's also a lovely man and a fucking good sailor.
Good luck Alex and Pepe...
http://www.barcelonaworldrace.org/en/race-live/leaderboard-barcelona-world-race
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The episode of Alex helping JP quoted below. I just re-read his entire 2013 run. Amazing!
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.
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He does have a history with keels, so he knows what it's like not to have one…..
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/12/02/sport/alex-thomson-solo-sailing/
