Our Mate Alex Thomson’s Races
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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 longitudinal beam at the front of the boat. The damage appears to be isolated to that area alone. It is yet unclear what caused this damage. There have been no incidents of concern onboard the boat during the race so far.
“Together with our structural engineers and naval architects, we worked through the night to put together a full repair plan for Alex. During this time, Alex took some rest onboard in order to prepare to begin that repair work this morning.
“Alex has now put the boat into a safe position to manage the sea state in order to reduce movement onboard while he carries out the repair. He has all the necessary materials onboard, a detailed plan to follow, and a team of world class engineers advising him. We are therefore confident in his ability to complete the repair.
“Our objective is to carry out the necessary repair swiftly and effectively, in order to minimise the miles lost and resume racing again.
“A further update will follow from the team in due course”.
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Yep, but I would not be surprised if Storm Theta did not have something to do with the damage…And frankly, I have been worried for about 48 hours at how he was dropping back. He's an amazingly experienced sailor on a good boat, he should have been pulling away, not dropping back....
And call me cynical, but this
https://www.alexthomsonracing.com/the-hub/alex/
suddenly stopping working a couple of days ago, I found a little suspicious.....
The good news is, he's not pulling any G Force
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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 the information, that was my time to sleep. Knowing it was going to be a big job to get it all done, I got myself about six hours sleep so that I’d be ready.
“Then we started running through the repair plan so that I could fully understand it and ask the right questions. The first part of that was to stabilise the hull so that involved some cutting, gluing and bolting. That’s done now and it’s been laminated. The next part is to get the rest of the repair prepped. I need to get all the materials together and do as much of the cutting now while it’s still light. Then the rest of it doesn’t matter because it’s in the bow and it’s dark in there anyway. It’s really humid up in there. But we carry quite a lot of materials – under-water resin, glues that can deal with humid conditions – so the materials can deal with it quite well. I imagine a lot of teams don’t carry as much as we do.
“I’m in a rhythm now so I’ll keep going for as long as I can. It’s quite an intricate job so I can’t rush it and I need to make sure it’s right.
“I’m disappointed obviously but this is the Vendée Globe. This is what it entails. You’ve got to be able to deal with this stuff. This is why we carry these materials and tools, and why we’re generally very good at being able to deal with these things. Normally I feel angry and sad and emotional but I don’t this time. I just need to get on with it. I’m sure at some point the emotions may go the other way but, for now, there is only one thing to do and that is to get the job done as best as I possibly can. I will do whatever it takes to stay in the race”.
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@neph93 It’s really a test of courage and determination. The sea and wind hates you and wants to destroy your boat. You’re in the middle of nowhere, where you’re closest rescue could be days away. It takes months to complete the race, and every time you think you have it figured out, something else goes wrong.
These sailors are the elite who become one with their boats, feeling and sensing everything that is going on with it. Then they have to be masters of interpreting weather conditions and understanding how to harness it to their advantage.
I have an utmost respect and admiration for these men and women.
wait and see!
