Alex thomsons race diary

CAPE TOWN FINALLY!!

 

British solo sailors finally reach Cape Town (South Africa) aboard ECOVER
 
HUGO BOSS is sadly no longer
 
One week after their dramatic ordeal in the Southern Ocean, British solo skippers, Alex Thomson (GBR) and Mike Golding (GBR), finally arrived into Cape Town (South Africa). ECOVER docked around 19.00 GMT on 1 December with two very exhausted, very relieved sailors onboard. The start of the VELUX 5 Oceans yacht race in Spain and the horrific storms of the first night, 41 days ago, now seem but a distant memory. It is time for Golding make a decision about ECOVER’s future in the VELUX 5 Oceans, whilst Thomson must come to terms with all that has happened and start to rebuild his life.
 
Nine days have now passed since Thomson, 32, suffered severe keel failure whilst in a close third place in the VELUX 5 Oceans. Forced to make the crushing decision to abandon his beloved HUGO BOSS, he took to a life raft and was rescued heroically by fellow sailor Mike Golding, who subsequently suffered a broken mast. Thrown into a very unusual situation together, the two solo sailors have undoubtedly formed a special bond. Having battled 1000 nautical miles to South Africa under vastly reduced sail, they could not have been happier to set foot on dry land.
 
“Mike has been absolutely brilliant and I am hugely grateful to him for everything he has done,” said Thomson on arrival in Cape Town. “We were both looking forward to a few beers last night and it was great to sink my teeth into a cheeseburger after six weeks of freeze-dried food. It has been a long week with an awful lot to take in and I am looking forward to starting a normal life again. I need to come to terms with the fact that life is not what it was. There is a lot to sort out when I come home and I need to switch my focus to my future.”
 
The two skippers were enjoying some of the most extraordinary and exhilarating sailing of the race when disaster struck and neither has been put off by last week’s events. A very pragmatic Golding commented: “It hasn’t worked out the way we planned it, but all of that is put into perspective. HUGO BOSS is gone and Alex is not. To some extent maybe that is the reason I was here. If that is the only reason I was in this race then that is good enough for me. I am very proud of what I did. Do I feel like a hero? No, Alex would have done the same for me. I know that with single-handed sailors, or indeed sailors – anyone who puts to sea – there is a mutual bond.”
 
“There will be a different relationship between us now. There is no onus on him or me for that to be so. Very early on I said to Alex: ‘You are not a passenger and you are not crew. Do what you feel comfortable with. Treat everything on board as if it were your own.”

With regard to Thomson’s huge loss, Golding said: “He is very disappointed to lose HUGO BOSS, much more than I think he is freely prepared to admit. To damage a boat badly is hard for a skipper, but to lose one is devastating. It is like losing a member of the family.”
 
Thomson and Golding will fly back to the UK together, where Thomson must put the VELUX 5 Oceans behind him and look to his future. His ultimate dream still stands; to be the first British sailor to win the Vendée Globe in 2008. He has a new yacht currently under construction, aboard which he will compete in the double-handed Barcelona World Race next year in the lead up to the Vendée Globe.

Counting down the hours

 

TGIF !! (Thank God Its Friday)

 

Well these last few hours are really dragging on, but there is definitely light at the end of the tunnel now, and I can almost smell the beer...

 

Mike and I have put the world to rights from pretty much every angle over the last few days, covering everything from new boats to new music.

 

It's been great to get to know eachother so much better but I think I can speak for both of us when I say we'll be happy to have our own space again. And I just can't wait for a hot shower and some clean clothes... oh, and a hamburger, and a cold beer, lots of cold beer!

 

As you all know, it's impossible to give an accurate time of arrival, but we think we should be in Cape Town by early evening, hopefully by 8pm UK time.

 

So I'll keep this short for now and promise to write more about our exploits once we've hit dry land.

I think the plan is for us to return to the UK some time on Monday and from what I understand, you could be seeing a fair bit of us on your tv screens on Tuesday but we'll keep you posted.

Thanks again for all your emails and kind wishes.

I look forward to seeing you back home.
Take care!
Alex

The Tavern of the seas beckons
 

Slow going for ECOVER today with her shortened rig has only one saving grace, with under 300 miles to complete to Cape Town, the weather for the solo skippers Mike Golding and Alex Thomson is now warm and sunny.

 

A north easterly turbo boost through last night from the Agulhas Current, or more correctly the Agulhas Return Current, a retroflective current which flows North Eastwards from the edge of the Southern Ocean towards the African Continental Shelf, amounted to a useful extra push of up to six knots which sluiced ECOVER upwind at up to 14knots at times. The slight disadvantage is that it took them more east than they wanted.

 

At the moment it is a slow waiting game making about seven knots in 10-15 knot breezes. Within the next 24 hours a new South Westerly wind will push ECOVER on her way towards Cape Town. The pair expect to reach the Tavern of the Seas some time on Friday.

 

“We were doing up to 14 knots upwind last night which was good for a rig which is now only about 40 feet, but it was uncomfortable and bumpy going into the seas. Now the rig is a bit on the small side and we are making very slow progress.” Reported Mike this afternoon.

 

Alex’s hand is on the mend, but it has been causing him some pain:
“It has been really painful, but it has taken a big leap in terms of recovery because I am not using it now. It has scabbed over and is getting itchy so I figure it is getting better. I have been on a very high dose of antibiotics. I was getting worried that Dr Golding might have to cut it off with his rusty knife, but I think I’ll live.” Explained Alex this afternoon.

 

“I have not really thought about terribly much over the last couple of days except losing the boat. I still feel pretty emotional about it, though I feel terrible for Mike losing his mast.”

 

“As soon as I get back I will sit down with my team and have a thorough debrief and decide what I do from here, have a good think about it. MY immediate plan is just to get home and see my girlfriend and my family and deal with the pressing business matters. It has been an emotional time for everybody so we need to re-group and work out where we go from here.”

 

“Obviously I have another boat in build but I am not up to thinking about that too much immediately. A holiday might be in order in the fullness of time but the first priority is the business side of things, it comes first, getting my claim together properly. Then the plan will become obvious.”

 

“I don’t know an awful lot about rigs but Mike’s rig was pretty solid and had done a lot of miles, so it is very difficult not to draw the conclusion that the reason it came down was because he turned round to get me.”

Highs and Lows
 

Hello All.
Earlier this morning, Mike and Alex called in to their shore crews and spoke of their eagerness to set foot on dry land and wet their whistles...

Having stabilised ECOVER, and Alex having climbed the stumpy mast once more, the pair are much rested and in good spirits, although the monotony of their slow but steady progress to Cape Town has well and truly set in.

 

Its very difficult to predict exactly when they will arrive in Cape Town, as ECOVER is now heading into another high pressure system which will hamper their speed, but, all being well, we expect them to arrive towards the end of this week.

 

We have kept them both up to date with the flurry of media interest here in the UK, and elsewhere in the world, and begun to discuss with them what may lie ahead. Many of you will have seen the hugely emotional coverage, including the live video of Alex leaving his beloved HUGO BOSS and climbing into the liferaft in the early hours of Friday morning. This video will very shortly be available to view on this website, and will be downloadable as a podcast from iTunes - we'll send you the details as soon as we have them confirmed.

 

That's it for now, more tomorrow.

A few words from Mike
 

It is with huge relief we heard from Alex that he and Mike are safe and well, all things considered! Though they've had plenty to do with rigging up the new much-reduced mast, Mike took some time out to send the following words back to his many followers....

 

"Since my last Blog things have changed, first my priorities, then my whole race have taken a massive change of direction. During the past 48 hours I have enjoyed the greatest feelings of success and joy at the successful rescue of a fellow competitor and then, just hours later, the crashing despair brought on by a mast failure which effectively puts me out of contention in the Velux 5 Oceans. As I write Ecover is making progress north towards South Africa, probably Cape Town, where we can make a measured assessment of what comes next.

 

Two days ago on the 23rd Nov the first sign of a change came with the 1020hrs position report. Over the previous 48 hours Ecover and Hugo Boss were making some of the fastest speeds of the race so far with 24hour runs around 450 miles. On Ecover we were seeing regular speeds in excess of 30 kts and our averages were around 20 kts. This is the most stressful sailing humanly possible - the speed is electrifying and the Southern Ocean is the most fearful location.

 

Here the wind and waves have been uninterrupted by land for 15000 miles and this makes it the best place for high speed sailing but also the most terrifying for the sheer hostile and uncontrolled power exerted by the elements. But for us, huge strides were being made on Bernard Stamms lead, all indications were that within the next few days the race, the challenge for overall pole position would be firmly up for grabs. But on seeing this particular position data file, with Alex and Hugo Boss making only 8 kts to my 19 - an intuition told me that things were about to change radically.

 

I immediately called the race office and asked them to find out what was happening, minutes later they confirmed that there was indeed a problem on Hugo Boss though Alex had not at this time requested any assistance. I told the race office that it was my intention to slow until such time as we could confirm that Alex was indeed OK - I would not normally do this, but something here was not right and at the speeds Ecover was doing we were rapidly putting a big and difficult distance between each other, if I did need to turn around, the job of getting back was getting much harder by the minute.

 

I put the deep reef in the mainsail, slowing the boat measurably but still averaging over 16kts - then waited. Fifty minutes later David Adams called to tell me things had changed dramatically on Hugo Boss. The keel head had snapped, the keel was swinging uncontrolled in the boat, which was now taking in water - it was just a matter on time before the situation turned from a dangerous one into an potentially fatal one. Alex was now asking for assistance and Ecover was the closest to render it.

 

I put the phone down, looked at the B&G which was showing that the wind was 42kts, I climbed into the cockpit just as we screamed off huge wave at 25kts and I set about rigging the boat with storm sails to turn around. Twenty minutes later Ecover was crashing through freezing waves at 9 kts on the reciprocal heading - Alex was 90 miles away and we had 5 hours before darkness set in.

 

Ecover did not enjoy this massive change of direction, the Fleet 77 sat com packed up immediately, next the engine got up to its tricks agin and with the batteries now desperately needing a charge, I was once more buried in the engine bay, covered in diesel as the boat lurched and crashed back wher we had just come to the west. This time I had to fix the problem in a fully reliable manner, the engine would be needed to manoeuvre to get Alex on board and had to be 100% reliable. I ditched all advice, and rigged a jerry can filled with diesel as a gravity feed direct to the HP pump on the engine skipping the fuel pump and secondary filter. The engine ran - and it now ran reliably - at last I could concentrate on preparing the boat and myself for the job of collecting Alex safely.

 

The wind moderated and headed me as I closed the distance, the sea state did not, if anything the waves got steeper and it became harder and harder to make progress and eventually I ended up with full sail as the ridge passed then began reefing again as the breeze built back to 25kts. We were still not going to quite make the rendezvous in daylight but with accurate and regular information coming through Gringo from the Race Office we moved ever closer together. In the final few miles Alex and I conferred over satphone and radio to make last small navigational adjustments.

 

Finally out of the blackest night imaginable, a flare shot into the air, in the glow cast down from the scudding low cloud I could see Hugo Boss's mast and was able to pickup his masthead strobe light and finally his deck level nav lights. A transfer was absolutely too dangerous during the night, if during the transfer I lost sight of him, even for a moment - he would be gone. I dropped sail and tried to match his drifting course and speed, Alex slept, I fretted and tinkered with my engine, tested the controls, gathered my rescue kit, coiling down throw lines into buckets and in the end playing Solitaire on the PC - I was nervous about the transfer. At some point, it was clear that Alex may well end up in the water and in 5C temperatures there would be no time for a screw up.

 

Sunrise was at 0259GMT, I called and woke Alex. we both ate some food and generally got our acts together before he rigged in his survival suit and set himself up for me to come close. The plan was that he would inflate his raft on his leeward side, throw some supplies in and jump in. He would then send a line across to me with his rocket line thrower before letting himself adrift from Hugo Boss. A good basic plan which meant he would never be unattached.

 

I manuovered Ecover under engine, the controls were stiff - being unused for three weeks but otherwise all seemed OK. I experimented to see if I could drive the bows through the wind and wave - nope - she would no go, I gunned the engine and - Bang!!! - the shear pin between the engine and drive leg failed - now I had a reliable engine but with no ability to drive the propeller. I called Alex and just stopped him from jumping into the raft. Then I did possibly the quickest sheer pin change in history, even reducing the chance of a further failure by pushing the broken piece of pin into the slot and taping to give the whole thing twice the strength. Then we began again

 

The first part went OK, he was in the raft and in fact he let a painter out so that he was 50 ft behind his boat, I positioned myself to leeward of both the raft and Hugo Boss bringing the boats together would be a full on disaster in the steep waves. He aimed the rocket thrower, I ducked - it looked like he was aiming at me! - but nothing, the rocket line did not work. I grabbed my first pre coiled down line and ran to the rail and did possibility the worst line throw imaginable. I turned and went around again.

 

This time it looked better I got a line to him but - the throttle/gear control now would not work and I could not kill my speed or control the gearbox for ahead or astern. We dropped the line and I pulled some sail out to make another pass. By now he had dropped his line to Hugo Boss, he could see the danger we would be in if the boat came together and realised that I needed some room to manoeuvre around him without getting any lines in the prop. Hugo Boss slowly headed away to the South looking low in the water but otherwise perfect - a deeply sad sight.

 

Then I unfurled some headsail and we had another go. This time I got a line on him and he secured the raft but in the process the bows blew down and Ecover began to sail too fast, a big wave started us on a surf. Alex clung on desperately, injuring his hand in the process, he yelled in pain and fright as the raft was being towed at 5/6kts with the rope twisted around his hand. Looking for all the world like a doughnut skier, Alex moving his weight to the backof the raft but the raft still flooded with water - we dropped the line and round I went again.

 

Perhaps the most bizarre image - which will stay with me - is the sight of Alex alone in his raft, Hugo Boss now a quarter mile away, and in the steep seas the world's largest albatross sitting in the water just feet from Alex - this could have been almost funny - but to me it began to look like a vulture moving in for the kill - this was just not happening....

 

This time I took off most of the sail and used the engine which was now stuck permanently in 'ahead', leaping below to adjust the throttle setting under the sink and in the very last moment killing the engine completely with the kill switch in the Nav station. But this time the approach was near perfect, the raft arrived on my bows, bounced down the hull, I virtually passed Alex the line which he made fast, I killed the engine and winched him back into the leeward side - we had him!

 

We hugged as I welcomed him aboard, I apologised for my shabby pickup - " I probably would have failed my Yachtmasters on that one" I said - but we had him - and oh what a fantastic feeling!!!.

 

We took a couple of photos grabbed his luggage out of the raft - we are not going to starve - and chatted and then chatted some more. The relief from both of us was tangible. As we talked Hugo Boss now a mile away disappeared from view, the boat was taking in water and this morning (25th) we hear that the Sat C stopped transmitting - Hugo Boss has gone forever.

 

Slowly we set about getting Alex sorted, I cut away his glove and we cleaned and dressed his hand injury which is painful but not too serious. He climbed out of his survival suit, we tidied up, drank some coffee then some more. Then we slowly set about getting moving. I unrolled some headsail, and hoisted some mainsail, aiming the boat back towards Fremantle. Over the next two hours we cruised, talked, drank lots of tea and coffee - in 24 hours we had both been through the mill and back, Alex was and is clearly deeply upset by the loss of his boat - but he was now safe.

 

I was not about to immediately charge back into the race full throttle - we had enough adrenaline in the past 24 hours to last us a good time yet and the race seemed distant and somewhat less important than what we had just done. Alex was safe.

Six hours after the transfer, Ecover was moving well again, the wind had built to match our reduced sailplan and we were seeing speeds of 15 - 20 knots. Still conditions were such that the boat was very much in control - I loaded the aft ballast and moments later a squall hit us from astern. The wind jumped up from 25kts and sleet and snow accompanied a truly icy blast from Antarctica. The boat healed over to 20 degrees or so as altered the pilot to come down 10, released the vang (which had no load), and moved towards the mainsheet to take the pressure off the boat. Nothing here was unusual in these boats but as I did so my second intuition in 24 hours made me look up the rig - as I did so - the mast tube exploded 1.5m above the main spreader, shards of carbons of carbon scattered and a terrible grinding bang followed. The mast had broken and my competitive Velux 5 Oceans race was over.

 

We were blown away, in shock, call it what you will, we could not believe all that had just gone down - it was just too bizarre. Instead of rushing headlong into this new development - we ate the meal we had been preparing, rigged to work on deck and set about 12 crushing hours of cutting away the broken sections of Ecovers beautiful mast and setting the boat up to continue sailing. This was mind numbingly hard and disappointing. For me the competitive race is over, for Alex there is the loss of his boat a totally misplaced feeling of guilt. But the work to make the boat safe and sailable remained. Alex volunteered to go aloft and spent a treacherous hour dangling with 20ft of mast crashing around him.

 

More squalls, more snow and an icy deck made working hugely difficult and dangerous. But working together, we achieved what would have ironically been completely impossible alone and as dark descended on an extraordinary 48 hours I hoisted the staysail and we altered our course once more away from Freementle to the North and South Africa.

45 foot of our mast remains in place, the 2 broken upper sections are lashed on deck. We only lost the Code Eco sail and even the mainsail which was at the first reef is undamaged. Everything about this is bizarre. We have stabilised the situation, we are in full control and we are making fair progress north which will improve once we have attached the main and hoisted it to the third reef point. The weather is now foul, 35/40 kts of wind and these icy squalls which have given both of us the first stages of frostbite in our fingers from our labours on deck. We are resting, eating, sleeping and chatting about the future, right now we have few concerns other that the immediate ones.

 

As for the cause of the failure, we know some facts. No element of the rigging or its attachments to the mast or boat failed. Nothing in our teams preparation of the boat was responsible. We know this because we have all the evidence here - nothing was broken except the tube. The conditions at the time of failure were incomparably small when compared to the loads which were being excerted just 24 hours before when we were clocking of huge milages and sailing on the brink of control. The failure was therefore most likley there in the carbon tube before I collected Alex. It could have happened anywhere, during the first brutal gale in Biscay, in a squall in the Doldrums or when we turned upwind to come get Alex - we won't ever know for sure.

 

One thing I am sure of right now, we may have lost an expensive mast, we may also have lost our place in this race, but I would not trade any of it for what we have gained in getting Alex off Hugo Boss - right now we might all be looking at a far more tragic outcome than a lump of broken carbon mast.

 

As for our future in this race, well Gringo and the team are exploring all the possibilities, we have a mast in Southampton, it is possible to ship it but this would take time, we could fly it but this is prohibitivly expensive. For now I think we need to concentrate our thoughs and efforts on getting safely to shore, only then can we make a proper valued judgment on what sensibly comes next.

 

Even from here in the wastes of the Soutern Ocean we are both touched by the huge outflowing of support and positive wishes we have recieved from all around the world - these are not easy times and we fully appreaciate all the sentiments.

 

However, when we do get to wherever we choose to go in South Africa - they had better watch out - cause two Angry Bulls are coming to town and its going to get very messy!"

Shattered British solo sailors battle on aboard ECOVER after dramatic rescue
 
Saturday 25 November sees the skippers, teams and followers of the VELUX 5 OCEANS digesting the extraordinary events of the past 48 hours. British duo Thomson and Golding were battling along under staysail this morning in 30-40 knots of wind and extreme cold in the Southern Ocean. They have been making good progress aboard ECOVER on a course between North and 030 degrees and were poled making seven knots last night.
 
A very long night saw work going on until they could do no more. The two exhausted and very drained skippers finally managed to get their head down and catch up on some good solid sleep, although much more is needed to recover from their ordeals.
 
When Thomson called the Shore Team at about 22.00 GMT last night, his first words were of concern and respect for his rescuer Mike Golding. "Saying goodbye to HUGO BOSS was very gutting, but even that seems like an eon ago now. I just feel so bad for Mike. To make such an enormous effort to come back for me, only to have this happen is just too fantastic to be true - if you saw it in a movie you would never believe it,” said the HUGO BOSS skipper.
 
Thomson continued: “Even though we are both shattered, we are in reasonable shape and have even managed to share the odd joke or two. The journey ahead of us will be an interesting and I guess we are going to have plenty of time to put the world to rights. The priority now is to get plenty of rest, get some food down us and work out what to do next. Even if we were so inclined (which neither of us are) there is no time for self pity!”
 
Today Thomson and Golding hope to finally get the mainsail set. After setting up a halyard system, some work is still required on the batten cars, which will take another few hours.

 

/Annabel

CRUEL BLOW TO ECOVER AND GOLDING AFTER HEROIC RESCUE OF THOMSON
 
Mike Golding’s ECOVER was dealt a cruel, punishing body blow just hours after he had completed the difficult rescue of fellow Velux 5 Oceans competitor Alex Thomson, when the mast of his Open 60 broke in two places.
 
The incident was reported at 11.50 GMT this morning, less than six hours after Golding had taken Thomson off his stricken yacht HUGO BOSS, which he was forced to abandon to due to a severe keel failure.
 
Since the alarm was raised on Thursday morning, Mike had sailed more than 80 miles back upwind in big seas and strong winds before plucking Thomson from his life raft. After reaching Alex yesterday evening after nightfall, the pair spent a nervous night waiting for daylight, planning and discussing the execution of Thomson’s evacuation from HUGO BOSS. The operation took the best part of two hours. Hampered by engine failure which made manoeuvring the Open 60 ECOVER in close proximity to HUGO BOSS extremely hazardous, in the bucking 15 foot swell, Golding and Thomson required four attempts before the stricken skipper had to cast his life raft adrift from his yacht to be plucked to safety by Golding.
 
The failure of ECOVER´s mast occurred when the boat was hit by a 40 knot squall while both skippers were still recovering from their respective ordeals below decks.
 
Golding said: “It was slightly odd the way it happened but since then we have both come to the conclusion here that it was probably damage that was already there. Yes, it was a squall. Yes, we were going fairly fast, but we were not pushing. We were drinking coffee, catching up and generally recovering from the ordeal we had both been through. We had not invested a great deal of energy in making the boat go fast.”
 
He continued: “We were going along downwind with the wind at 135 to 140 degrees true wind angle, just white sails one reef in the main and the Code Eco (a big all purpose headsail) and a squall came in. We dialled down and the boat started to round up a little. I eased the vang (to de-power the mainsail) but it was already soft. I went for the mainsheet and just then I looked up only to see it explode just above the main spreaders.”
 
There are two breaks in the mast, one about a metre and a half above the third reef and the other is on the first reef, however it is not know which happened first. Thomson and Golding have been busy tidying up the boat, with Thomson climbing up the mast to get the two parts that have broken.
 
“This just doesn’t seem terribly fair after what has happened in the last day and what we have both been through,” said Golding. “It is rubbish for me and rubbish for Alex. The last thing Alex wanted to do was get plunged into the middle of another problem, and it is clearly rubbish for me, but it is one of the things that can happen when you are engaged in racing like this. We are fortunate that we have been left with the tools to continue sailing and make some choices about where we are going.”
 
Thomson gave his own account of the incident: “I was down below when it happened. It was a fairly windy gust but nothing massive and the boat didn’t broach. It was probably the easiest sailing we had done all week. It is just one of those things - highly unfair considering what Mike has been through to come and pick me up. It is unbelievable, totally unbelievable.”
 
“It is definitely helpful to have each other – it’s very difficult to cope with a mast breakage on your own. I think Mike is glad I am here because otherwise he’d have to go up the mast! I feel very sorry for Mike though obviously it’s not ideal for me either to go from one disaster to another. We’ve just got to get this mast down now and get under easy sail tonight and get some rest. We will get the main sorted tomorrow and then it is up to Mike to decide where he needs to go and I will be here to support him. I think everyone must be in disbelief after this. Hopefully we can all learn something from it.”

 

/Annabel

DRAMATIC DAWN RESCUE
 

British solo sailors perform emergency rescue in Southern Ocean

Between the hours of 04.45 and 06.30 GMT this morning a dramatic rescue operation took place in the treacherous icy waters of the Southern Ocean. Devastated solo sailor Alex Thomson (GBR) abandoned his yacht HUGO BOSS, after it suffered severe structural failure to the keel, and undertook a tricky transfer via life raft to Mike Golding’s yacht ECOVER. Thomson and Golding (GBR) both highly experienced yachtsmen and fellow competitors in the VELUX 5 Oceans race, carried out the rescue operation with the utmost caution. It took four attempts to get Thomson safely onboard ECOVER and the transfer took one hour and 45 minutes.

At 20:30 GMT on 23 November, HUGO BOSS and ECOVER established visual contact with each other. However, after assessing the situation the two British solo skippers decided not to carry out a transfer until first light. Thomson made sure he got plenty of rest before beginning the rescue operation and was fuelled with energy bars and fluid. He changed into his survival suit with plenty of thermals underneath, foul weather gear, gloves and a life jacket.

ECOVER maneuvered as close as possible to HUGO BOSS whilst maintaining a safe distance, whilst Thomson launched the life raft and loaded it with grab bag containing, flares, EPIRBS and fully charged VHF, together with food, emergency water and sailing gear. Once the life raft was loaded, Thomson attempted to launch a rocket line to ECOVER and boarded the raft, saying a final emotional goodbye to his yacht HUGO BOSS which has been his three year companion, his partner in the 24 hour world speed record and his home for the past four weeks at sea. He then hauled himself closer to ECOVER and eventually climbed onboard.

Alex Thomson made the following statement from onboard ECOVER:
“This has been without doubt the most terrifying and emotional experience of my life. This yacht has been my life for three years. It’s wrong to leave her down here and I would have done anything to save her. But to be stranded in big seas 1000 nautical miles from land, with an irreparable keel which was swinging uncontrollably, I really had no other choice. It was really distressing to look back and see HUGO BOSS in such a sorry state. I am hugely grateful to Mike for turning back to rescue me. The operation was fairly hairy and the sea was lumpy which wasn’t very pleasant for either myself or Mike. At one point I caught my hand between the life raft and ECOVER and it wasn’t until this point when I cut my hand that I thought to myself ‘this is actually quite scarey’. It took four attempts for me to board Mike’s yacht, but all things considered it went very well and I am hugely relieved to be in the warmth and safety of ECOVER’S cabin.”

 

Mike Golding will now return to full racing mode and continue sailing towards Fremantle, Australia. He has asked Alex Thomson not to assist in any way and will apply for re-dress to the race committee, meaning that ECOVER will not be penalized as a result of the rescue. Sadly this is the end of the VELUX 5 Oceans for Alex Thomson. His attention must now turn to the future and his campaign to be the first Briton to win the Vendee Globe on his new yacht which will come out of the shed in April.

Live rescue!

 

Friday 24th November 2006
06.30 GMT

It is with huge relief that we can tell you that Alex is now safely onboard Ecover with Mike Golding.

 

On a personal note, having worked with Alex for the last 4 years, i have watched him grow and develop both as an individual and as a professional racer. He has always possessed an extraordinary degree of natural talent and drive but the maturity he has demonstrated throughout not only this recent exercise, but throughout this race, has really impressed me and reminded us all of why we (his team) do what we do. His decision to abandon his pride and joy, HUGO BOSS, was gut wrenching and not reached lightly. I think the rest of us can only begin to imagine how it must have felt to look back at HUGO BOSS from the deck of ECOVER this morning and watch her slowly disappear from view.

 

The much commented on banter and on-the-water rivalry between Mike and Alex has today been put into prospective as the two skippers breathed a sigh of relief when Alex finally boarded ECOVER and the two embraced in a manly hug.

On behalf of Alex and the rest of the team, I would just like to thank all those of you who have texted, emailed or phones - your support has been invaluable and has really kept us going. Now that Alex is safe onboard, the team here will scale down and try get some rest, as its been a very long 26 hours! Please bear with us as we settle back into some kind of normality - it may take a day or so!

 

I would also like to thank Mike and his ECOVER team, to Dave Adams and the Race Office crew, to Richard Simmonds and all the gang at APP, and most especially to Annabel Merrison at Pitch PR without whose assistance we would not have been able to deal with all the media interest.

 

And last but not least, our own team here at Alex Thomson Racing. Clarkee, Ross, Scot, Bryony and Julien, and new recruits Andy Tourell and Hannah White, all of whom have spent most of the last 26 hours here manning the phones, keeping the tea and the good humour flowing. Their commitment and dedication is tireless. Thank you.

Forced to abandon ship
 

Rescue on the high seas for British solo sailor

 

Alex Thomson forced to abandon ship in treacherous Southern Ocean

 

Alex Thomson’s dream to become the first British sailor to complete three round the world yacht races in the next three years have today been dramatically torn apart. Thomson’s yacht HUGO BOSS suffered severe structural failure to the keel in the early hours of this morning. He has been liaising with his shore team to bring the keel under control but sadly the breakage is irreparable. It is with great reluctance that Thomson and his team have concurred that it is not safe for him to continue in the VELUX 5 Oceans. At 11.00 GMT, Thomson made a formal decision to abandon ship and seek rescue from his nearest competitor Mike Golding aboard Ecover.

 

Thomson is unhurt and is currently drifting downwind 1000 nautical miles south of Cape Town (South Africa) in the desolate Southern Ocean, and 80 miles due west of Ecover. He has reduced sail up and is making 4-5 knots. Mike Golding will have to sail upwind in 30 knots of wind and big seas in order to rendez-vous with Thomson and he expects to reach HUGO BOSS in around 7-8 hours time. Thomson will abandon ship and transfer via a life raft to Ecover - no easy task in big seas and high winds.

 

Alex Thomson’s shore team issued the following statement:

“Alex and his shore team have found a temporary solution but it is just not reliable enough for him to risk continuing in the VELUX 5 Oceans yacht race. Alex is very tired and hugely disappointed but he is being extremely focused and pragmatic. His safety is of utmost importance and the priority now is to get Alex safely off the boat.”

 

Alex Thomson explained what happened:

“I was in my bunk grabbing a quick power kip when I was suddenly thrown across the cabin as the boat broached. I ran up on deck and went to ease the mainsail but nothing happened. I then went to try and cant the keel, but again nothing happened. By this stage the boat was leaning right over on its side with the spreaders in the water, so I went back down below to look inside the keel box. The structure which attaches the rams to the keel had completely snapped off, allowing the 3.6 tonne keel bulb to swing around freely, but staying to leeward effectively pinning HUGO BOSS on her side. I went back up on deck and took all of the sails down, then finally the boat righted itself.”

 

“I can’t believe it, I am absolutely gutted. I have learnt so much already in this race about how hard to push the boat and when to hold back, in order to maintain the right balance between speed and safety. I was just one nautical mile from second placed Mike Golding when the incident happened, sailing under reduced sail area in order to avoid over-powering the boat. To have such a severe mechanical problem with my keel at this critical stage in the race, something which I have no control over, is absolutely devastating. If there was anyway that I could continue in the race then I would, but I have no option other than to abandon ship. I am very grateful for the support from Mike and Koji.”

 

Dubbed the ultimate solo challenge, the VELUX 5 Oceans is a 30,000 nautical mile single-handed around the world yacht race, taking the skippers through some of the toughest and most extreme conditions on the planet. Thomson was en route from Bilbao (Spain) to Fremantle (Australia) when disaster struck and where the first yachts are expected to arrive around 6 December.

Back on line
 

Wednesday 22nd November
Time: 08:00 GMT
Wind:
Speed:

Food: Porridge (again!)
Tunes: yesterday it should have been Slow Patrol !!

 

Apologies for not sending a report back yesterday but hopefully this will explain.

 

Well its back on the highway for me but it was good to have a break from the action for 24 hours. The weather ahead shows that we should have a very fast passage at least to the Kerguelen Islands and from there it is not far to Fremantle. It is possible that we may only have two weeks left on the water so I will be making the most of it!

 

Yesterday, as you may have noticed, was not a good day for me, losing considerable miles to Golding and allowing him to get south of me. After we passed though the front, Golding sailed a more southerly course and whereas I went more south-eastery. Unfortunately I ended up sailing into a ridge of high pressure which Mike managed to sail around.

The ridge did not look too bad on the grib (weather) files, but I should have realised there was bugger all wind in it. The stupid thing was that my strategy was to stay to the south of Golding, as the winds would be stronger, and generally the south has the advantage. But I let him just sail past me, choosing the east instead.

 

Mike would have always closed on me to some extent anyway, but I could have retained the advantage.
Note to self number one: watch out for ridges of hig pressure between the systems.

Number two: When you make a game plan stick to it.
The result will be that Golding could take second from me and so the hunter becomes the hunted. Sometimes its better that way but we will see.

 

Yesterday when there was no wind I caught up on some sleep. There was little I could do in 4 knots of wind (or less) and in a massive sea. When the breeze filled in, I could really have done with a masthead spinnaker but unfortunately the sock (condom like thing that allows me to handle the spinnaker alone) is damaged so could not fly which means I could not travel at my usual speeds. The wind will build slowly today to 30+knots, but Golding will get it first, if he has not got it already.

 

No problems with icbergs so far, alhough we did get a message from the race office giving us the possible position of a large 'Berg. When I then plotted its position, I discovered it was right on my projected route! Great news, am thrilled to bits over that!

 

Everything else onboard seems ok although I had an interesting time when I had to modify the instrument system whilst ragging it, doing 30 knot surfs in 45 knots of wind, and the boat then falling over. I was gettng a little shut eye at the time so awoke with a jolt and rushed up on deck to sort it out and get her sailing again. I thought at first that the problem was the anometer at the top of the mast, and as I was sailing on a wind angle that was why she wiped out.

 

Well, the next day in 25knots of wind I was sitting at the chart table when I noticed the course the boat was sailing to change by 10 degrees. I changed it back at the push of one button but it did it again and then again and again! It was like there was someone in the cockpit pushing the +10 button all the time! Weird. Sometimes it would change by 10 and other times by 60. We were crashing down waves at 20 knots and as you can imagine, I was very uncomfortable about it. Luckily for me it was always trying to make it go towards the wind, which meant the worst result would be that we slowed down and the sails would flap, or maybe tack if it was very severe. If it had been going the other way I would not have been as calm about it! I sat at the nav staton pushing the -10 button and decided to call 999 - B&G. They quickly isolated the problem to be my port pilot display in the cockpit and had just told me what to do when the pilot got pissed off with me trading minus 10s with its +10s and did a -100. I dropped the phone and legged it for the tiller, turning the pilot off in the process just averting a nasty crash gybe. Then I had to stop the boat, find the tools, locate a control box under the cuddy and disconnect the green and white wire from the top pcb board.

 

Thankfully that did the trick so big thanks to B&G but it does mean that I only have one pilot display on deck. They are situated next to each tiller so presently the working one is on the leeward side, the side closest to the water. The slight issue is, if I have to take the tiller to stop a wipe out, I have to go down to the low side to turn the pilot off and then try and get back up to the high side to take the windward tiller as the leeward one is completely under water in a wipe out. Not ideal but I will just have to be more alert and make sure I have no wipeouts! All in a days work in the life of a solo ocean racer!!

Its cold now, very cold, don't envy Bernard much at all without his thermals!

Secure in Second
 

Monday 20th November
Time: 13.30 GMT

Wind: 20-25 knots SW
Speed: 18-20 knots
Sea state: Lumpy!!

Last meal: Porridge - I quite like this really
Tunes: Still Lou Reed

 

Well it is nice to be off the train for a while, although we aint going that slow now!

Yesterday was painful for me, undersailing the boat and watching the miles between Golding, and Koji, and HugoBoss get smaller and smaller. I guess it was the right thing to do as I have not broken anything, and last night was fun when the sailplan I had up came into range and the breeze climbed to 45 knots.

 

Have managed to top the record for the boat speed now at 31.2 knots. It was fun, but it was hard with the boat leaping off waves into the pitch black. It felt like you were falling in space, not knowing when you will crash back to earth.

 

This morning the front passed through us and I have gybed heading SE, still with good speed, but not quite as fast and not as uncomfortable.

Next few days will continue to be interesting!

Regards
A

Learning to go slow! 
 

Sunday 19th November

Time: 12:30 GMT

Wind: 25-30 knots
Speed: 20-23 knots
Last meal: Beef Curry
Tunes: Lou Reed

 

Sorry this is late but I have been catching up on some much needed rest. Hammering along at speed really does take it out of you, even just sitting in my nav seat takes huge effort, as its like being in a rally car that is cornering, accelerating fast and breaking hard, sometimes very hard.

 

The expression chucking the anchors out is a good one for this situation. I have been true to my word today, and last night, and have kept the foot firmly off the pedal, changing sails early and reefing early but she still rockets along, often over 20 knots! These boats are amazing to sail in these conditions. It seems crazy to me that there is noone at the steering stick, guiding her through the waves, a real testament to the progress of auto pilots. In the Vendee Globe, like Robin, I had very little faith in my pilots. Not a very nice situation to be in but now it is the opposite, sometimes I fear that they are so good us skippers will soon be redunadant! Thanks B&G, can you put my redundancy cheque in the post please?!

 

There is new breeze now, over 35 knots at times, which has been coming from behind, allowing those behind to catch me up. I could, of course, be going faster and that hurts like a knife in the guts, but I know how to go fast, very fast, and right now I should be trying to learn how to go slower. But noone told me it would hurt so much!

 

I managed to get some jobs done yesterday, in particular I finished off 'bodging' (technical term) my solent stay so that it would furl properly because I knew I was going to need it today. While doing some checks, I noticed that the pin in the bottom of my staysail stay was half out - thank god i noticed. It was not easy to get it back in, especially while surfing down waves at pace, but it had to be done.

 

Its pretty cold out here now and I will be adding layers tonight as it will be bitter especially, when the front associated with this low pressure passes over us, and the wind direction changes from NW to SW - bringing the wind directly from Antartica. Brrrrrrrr!

 

After that it will be more of the same, hopefully I will be able to hold Golding at bay!

 

Enjoy your Sunday

A

Firing through the freezing South
 

Saturday 18 November
Time: 11:30 GMT

Wind: 25-30knots NW
Speed: 15-20 knots
Last Meal: Pasta Carbonara

 

Well I guess you probably noticed that Hugo Boss and I have entered the southern ocean and last night was a baptisim of fire, 35 knots of wind and hooning along, often with boat speeds into the high 20s. Even broke my top ever speed on the boat when we went down a wave and hit 30.8 knots. Glad I was down below at the time!!

 

I'm also very thankful that my tactics to go around the high pressure have paid off. I have sailed soooo many more miles than the other boats, often at speed, and its been hard work maintaining the pace, remembering not to push too hard and rounding the outside of the bend. I guess its like being an athelete and being given the outside lane. But hey its worked and yesterday I overtook Koji on SOY who has been doing an awesome job. And finally, early this morning I went past Golding and moved into second pace in the race, my highest placing in the race since the start nearly 4 weeks ago.

 

Christ 4 weeks, that is a long time, this will soon be my longest time at sea ever but life has settled into some kind of normality now. Last night I was very nervous, even scared at points. I have not done these speeds for such a long time, it seemed a bit alien at first, especially when the boat was really steaming along in the dark and through the night.
Its not something I'm very accustomed to but I felt very alone then. I battened down the hatches so to speak, reduced sail and settled in for the night. I did manage to get some sleep, but it was very fitful, as the movement of the boat was pretty extreme.

Although not wanting to push too hard, I was concious that I had to try to stay ahead of the weather, and of course take second place from Golding who was further north and in lighter wind.

My wind is lighter now but still gusting, and the boat still launches itself off the waves at an alarming angle. I had a major broach (falling over) about an hour ago and had forgotton to close the breather on the fuel tank - bugger! diesel everywhere, followed by a headache from the major clean up!! Thankfully not too bad.

 

There's a new low pressure building behind us, with more 30 - 40 knot winds which will build over night and be strong tomorrow morning. My priority now is to check the boat over and get ready for another foam up. Although I am up to 2nd place and very happy about that I have to be concious of my overall goals.

1. finish,
2. learn especially for the new boat,
3. Compete.

Golding will not be happy to be behind me especially as he had a good 200 miles on me a week ago and sailing a faster, newer boat. He is also a master down here in the South. It seems he spends most of his winters down here going eastabout or westabout, and during the Vendee he was fast, very fast. I need to be careful not to be drawn into a 5000Nm match race in big winds and big seas, it would be all to easy to bust something and all three goals would be history.

However, in saying that, its not in my nature to back off but I'm very mindful of goal 2, LEARN and backing sometimes is a good thing to learn.

For Golding I guess its a little different. He needs to win this race, having never won either this one or the Vendee before, so i think there's a good chance he'll push the guts out of his boat and work hard on his race strategy. This will be interesting for me to watch and learn from. Bernard is still on fire, and from the weather.

A different kind of rush hour!
 

Time: 09.15 GMT
Wind: 20-25 knots NW
Speed: 18-22 knots
Last meal: Porridge to give me strength to take on the Southern Ocean
Tunes: Fleetwood Mac, Go your own way OR Arctic Monkeys although it may as well be Kylie for all I can hear up on deck – it’s pretty windy out there!

 

It’s been a busy night with lots of sail changes and little rest, but I’m feeling very positive about the choices I have made and the course I’ve taken. It’s great to have some decent breeze again and I am really flying along topping 25 knots at times. I’d forgotten how bumpy it can be but it’s exhilarating. The report is short today as I have quite a lot on keeping the boat steady and maximizing the gains that I’m hoping to make over the next 48 hours. I had an encounter with a large fish or a small whale last night which was a bit weird in the dark as its so black at night, you really can't see anything. Good to have some company, albeit for a short while!

 

All is well onboard HUGO BOSS! Looks like its going to be an interesting weekend so keep watching and keep those emails coming. Think the winner of email of the week goes to Rob Melotti! Thanks Rob - you've really been keeping me amused.

 

Have a good one !
A

 

Wind: 13-14 knots
Speed: 12 knots
Last meal: Can't remember but I'm looking forward to my eggs for lunch!
Tunes: iPod is on shuffle so not sure whats coming next.

Mast finally climbed!

 

Hi there.
The mast has been beckoning me for ages now, and finally there was no more avoiding it. So with a quick call to the shore crew, I strapped on my helmet, dug out the harness and faced the job I have been dreading. You might have noticed that I really was not looking forward to it and if I am honest I have been putting it off with the excuse that I did not want to slow or stop the boat to do it. Yesterday was really productive and I got loads of jobs done - got the keel sorted I hope, got the boat dry but by the afternoon I had already started talking myself out of it again.

 

"The conditions just aren't stable enough to do it, and I have done enogh jobs for the day" I told myself!
But eventually common sense won out and I had to admit that the conditions were perfect, so I left the spinnaker set and went up. After all my procrastination, the climb was relatively painless and I was back down in just over an hour, with all jobs done, whilst managing to maintain a healthy 11 knots! I know that it was possibly not the best idea in the world to leave the chute fying and being up the 28m mast with nearly 600sqm of sail flying but hey, there's no way I could stop, not now, when there are gains to be made!! Even though we were sailing downwind, there's been a large southern ocean swell which we continue to drive into, so it was pretty rough up there. It was really good for me to do it, as i realised it wasn't as bad as I remembered, and actually, as far as climbing the mast at sea alone goes, that was the easiest assent I have done.

 

It was great to have a sunny day yesterday and a dry boat too, although I suspect, or rather hope, there will not be many more of those between now and Freo. Currently, I am still trying to skirt this high pressure but it is proving to be a pain in the prevobial! I'm pretty pleased as I made some really good progress last night, although its still very stop start, as it has been for the last couple of days. I am conscious that I really need to get further south to get away from the high but it is not very easy as it means more miles away from the mark. HUGO BOSS is currently on a starboard gybe heading south, and hopefully will get the new wind soon and then be able to rocket east.

 

Bernard is off like a robbers dog and well done to him. I always knew what an awesome sailor he was, but in this race so far, he really has held it all together and deserves his lead as far as I can see. As for Golding and Koji, well we will just have to see, it all looks more positive for me but until I find some proper breeze and they are out of the high pressure I am not counting on anything. By the looks of it they will have to cross through the centre of the high and that will not be good for them, so keep your fingers crossed for all of us out here. When this wind does come, the speeds will quickly rise, and we will have to push hard not to fall off the back of the system too early. I do like a bit of speed and I'm looking forward to a proper foam up I can tell you.

 

Foodwise, it was a good day too, I found some eggs so I'm just boiling some up for lunch!
Keep the emails coming and look out for the video of my mast climb which should be up on the website by Friday morning.

 

A

Wind: 10-12 knots N
Speed: 10 knots
Tunes: SnowPatrol - i really like their new album, and Razorlight to get the blood pumping when i'm about to go on deck
Last meal: Porridge - its quite good actually, apart from the pesky sultanas!!
 
Hi.
Its been another busy night but i did atleast manage to get some rest, albeit in small intervals.
 
Well as you can see i'm still heading west and it just feels wrong! But i'm working really hard to avoid that high pressure system, trying to make sure i don't get to close to it, as its still possible it could head my way in the hours to come. Like Bernard said yesterday, i haven't really had any option but to take the course i have, and i really worried about getting trapped in light, upwind conditions - that really would have been too much to bear. Though the winds a bit quiet at the moment, hopefully there will be stronger winds ahead.
 
I've been keeping an eye on the guys behind me and was shocked to hear of Robin's situation and the damage to his mainsail - i've tried calling him a couple of times, but i guess he's got a bit on right now! But if anyone can get through it, its Robin and i can't wait to have a beer (or two) with him when we get in to Fremantle.
 
So, the priority for me now is get myself and the boat in proper order before hitting the Southern Ocean. I know i have been putting it off for more than a week now, but looks like today could be the day to climb the mast. The only problem is my wireless remote vision which enables me to control the boat from the top of the mast isn't working and so its only really safe for me to go up when the wind is more stable. I'm also concentrating hard on monitoring the weather, as its critical that i pass down the western edge of the apex of the high pressure system. For the first time in a while, the boat is beginning to dry out but there's still some water to get rid of. The great thing is the weather is still pretty warm and i'm running around in just a Tshirt and lightweight trousers, something i want to make the most of, as in just a few short days the temperatures will start to drop dramatically. Beef and potato stew for lunch i think!
 
A

Westward ho!

 

Its so difficult to effectively sail away from where you are going, no matter how fast you are going. And that's what I have been doing - going fast in the wrong direction but its the only way I can go.  I have to continue like this for another day and then hopefully I can begin to round the high pressure and start sailing east towards freemantle. 

 

But the high pressure is remaining in the same position as forecast, which means there will be no gains to be made for me.  Stamm will gain as he is the only boat at the moment able to sail in the right direction, the rest of us will suffer and I suspect i could be one to suffer the most. That said, it would still have been worse for me if I had tried to cross east of the high pressure, so I am not beating myself up about it, its just a fact of life.

 

Life onboard the last 24 hours has been very unpleasant. The sea swell has been very confused, and big boat speeds have had HB jumping all over the place, slamming into waves and being completely emersed in water.  Its not good news for the boat so I have been trying to limit the punishment where possible. It can sometimes be difficult to judge when to push hard, gauging when the boat will break versus the speeds required to make good progress. But its never good to push to the edge in these situations, better to chill and come home in one piece! 

 

The nights now are black, making it difficult to see anything or figure which way the boat will move next, so balance is a problem and I was forced to crawl around at the boat last night. I got very little sleep and didn't get much chance to eat as I was trying to keep the boat safe and fast.  I really have not enjoyed the last 24, and even felt very nervous at times about the punishment she was taking. Thankfully the wind has calmed down a little now, and  so I am off to boil the kettle and get some fodder inside me, and then maybe finally get my head down.

 

A

Its been really nice to be making so many miles on the others but I am afraid it may be short lived as my route around this high pressure will be long.  Mostly it should be fast but I will pass close to the middle of it, so will almost certainly slow down for a bit. Then once I get south of it, I will be into good westerly winds and am looking forward to making good progress towards Freemantle. 

 

In about a week I will pass close to the spot where my incident happened in the Vendee and I look forward to making it beyond that spot! Yesterday and last night were good although it was very hot again, but cooler in the evening which is nice. Not much sleep last night as lots of sail changes - again!
 
Fingers (and everything else) crossed for the days ahead

OCEANS APART

 

The South Atlantic has been so different from the North Atlantic - one with wind and the other with none, no prizes for guessing which one I prefer!! 

I have had a few problems to solve with the aid of my team over the last 24 hours.  The first is my keel, which seems to have gone a little limp but can't be because of age, as it hasn't even reached its first birthday! It has been dropping under load, so when at full cant, it is at 40 degrees, and when bowling along like I have for the last few days, it has been dropping to under 30 degrees.  This is definitely not good, and the boat quickly becomes overpowered, and trys to fall over. I hate it when the boat falls over. I worry about the potential damage, as well as the tidying up afterwards,  as the inside ends up lookig like a war zone!  I am pretty sure that the problem is with the pressure relief valve, which i have been adjusting, so all being well, that is the end of that task. 

 

The other major issue is the starboard rudder which has started creaking like a staircase in a haunted house.  Yesterday I took the spinnker down and tacked the boat with the keel on the wrong side and leant over the side of the boat as far as possible. There was nothing there, which is definitely a good thing, but sadly that does mean it must be something else, so I will be listening out for that horrible sound again and will then further investigate.  I hope its ok, as going into the Southern Ocean with a dodgy rudder will not be a good move. 

 

Last of all I still have to climb the mast and sort the top of the headsail out.  I did have a small window to do it north of the Cape Verde islands, and now really wish I had, but like most jobs we dislike, I put it off and have not had the conditions since.  Right now I have a large southerly swell which wont help, but if needs be, I will slow down and get the job sorted in the next couple of days.

 

My route has become very clear for me as the corridor of wind that the others find themselves in will not allow me through. So unfortunately I am heading out to skirt to the west of the new high prssure system and get into the Southern Ocean that way.  This will mean many more miles than those in front, but there is just no choice I am afraid.  I do feel better knowing that atleast I will leave the high pressure to the east of me, as there is nothing worse then getting trapped in it and then having to sail upwind around it, or worse still straight in to the middle of it.

Hopefully those in front will get held up allowing me to keep catching them,but I'm not holding my breath!

 

Enjoy your Sunday dinner - I'm looking forward to tucking into my freeze-dried beef curry!

Its great to see the degrees of latitude get bigger and bigger so quickly, it really feels like we are making good progress and clocking up roughly 300miles per day in the right direction. 

 

Yesterday was another easy day and that allowed me to get some jobs done.  I managed to rip the Big Fella - only a small tear but it took some time to find it and then get it dried, it ready for repair. I had a good sort though my sail locker getting ready all the sails I will be needing over the next few days and also managing to get rid of the water that always seems to find its way to the bottom of the locker! 

 

I have been having a few problems with the keel and so have been adjusting the settings with guidance from my team.  Its not perfect yet but its coming along well. Shaun (my trainer) will be pleased to read I have been able to get loads of sleep in during the day and night, which is great as it will be good to arrive in the Southern Ocean in a good physical shape. 

 

The route to the southern ocean is still not clear for me yet, although I suspect the choice may soon be made for me.  There is a window in the current weather that makes the best route one that takes us towards Cape Town, but the further forward you are, the easier it is.  Bernard will almost certainly get through, and there's a good chance Mike and Koji will
make it too, but it is not so likely for me. I have been making good speeds however, and the faster I go the better it is. If I don't make it I will have to sail southwest away from the finish around an area of high pressure before getting into the southern ocean.  This will mean many more miles for me, which would be rubbish, so I am hoping that the other option pays off.

 

And while I'm hoping you're all keep your fingers crossed for me, spare also a thought for Pompey playing at home today - hang on to the top of the table boys!

That Friday feeling...

 

Hi Guys
Sorry I didn't get round to sending a report yesterday. I actually really enjoy scribbling down some thoughts about how its all going, and knowing that you're all following my progress, but on Wednesday evening I seemed to be busy right through the night and didn't actually get my head down until 6am! ('Ahh' I can hear the sympathy!)

 

So, what's been happening out here in the glorious South Atlantic? Since crossing the equator on Wednesday the progress has been excellent and I cannot believe I am so far south already, maybe my initation of George the Bear as I crossed the equator has brought me the fair winds it was supposed to!  Err, actually, I do have a small confession to make... I know this is a solo race but I actually have three companions onboard - George who's a memeber of the RNLI, Stephen from Newbridge Junior School in Portsmouth and StJohn from StJohns Primary School in Alverstoke. The two school bears were given to me when pupils from both schools came to the Southampton Boat Show to look around HUGO BOSS, find out about the race, and try my lovely freeze dried food! And a big thank you to all the kids who have been emailing me - keep them coming! Then there's George from the RNLI, an organisation that is completely funded by volantary donations.  It’s a fantastic organisation, saving thousands of lives every year and I'm taking George with me around the world to try and raise awareness and at the end of the race he will auctioned off to raise funds. You can follow his progress at www.bluesheets.co.uk.

 

But back to the equator story - before crossing the equator the bears drew lots to see who would be inducted into the Court of Neptune, and George's name was drawn. Some of you may have caught us on BBC News 24 as I filmed
the ceremony, and Neptune must be happy because since then the winds have been great and the latest positions have just come in and it seems I have been the fastest for the last 24 hours. That’s a big bonus as I did not expect to make miles at this stage but hey I'll take any miles I can get at the moment!

 

Yesterday was relatively easy sailing for me, as the boat can be pretty much left to its own devices.  HUGO BOSS revels in hard reaching conditions and that is what we have been experiencing over the past 24 hours.  I have almost felt redundant - she just has not needed me apart from the odd ease of the mainsheet or a minor trim on the headsail, so I've been taking the opportunity to catch up on some sleep and generally chill out a little.

 

Keep the emails coming in - I have been complaining to the team that I haven't received as many as I did during the Vendée Globe! I know there have been some challenges in tracking the boats' progress on the official site but hopefully these have been resolved now and on www.alexthomsonracing.com you can now check out the progress each skipper makes compared to the last position report and in the last 24 hours.

Enjoy your weekend !
A

 

The next stage in the race is to get into the southern ocean and generally that means getting past the south atlantic high and into the strong westerly winds south of it.  At the moment the high is placed to the east and there is the opportunity for the leader, Brnard to cut the corner. Golding andKoji may have that opportunity too but I'm afraid that option will not be open to me as by the time I get there a new high pressure will block my route so I will have to sail around it, longer distance for me but hopefully little risk of getting trapped in te middle of it like I did in the Vendee.
Will be interesting to see how this pans out.

Back on the pace
 

I felt invigorated yesterday having good wind and good speed, and my little adventure with that 35 knot squall the day before. Speeds were good all day although it was very stop start - AGAIN, one minute I had 16 knots of wind and the next 8 knots, but thankfully more of the 16 knots, so I managed to claw a few miles back on the two guys directly ahead of me.

 

There was not much chance for rest though as my sail plan needed lost of attention to keep the boat on the pace. The wind all day was moving towards the SE which was indicating I was getting into the SE trades and out of the doldrums and I was happy about that! There were large black clouds everywhere though and last night I sailed straight into the worst squall I have ever experienced. I had 45 knots of wind but it was in the right direction, and although I had too much sail up and the boat was a little out of control, I was going the right way which always makes you feel better! The scary part of the storm was not the wind, but the lightening. Fork lightening coming down within a few miles of me, pitch black otherwise as the moon was comletely obscured and the thunder was deafening. I have to say, not normally being afraid of very much, but standing outside on one of the worlds best electricity conducters frightened the living daylights out of me - and it went on and on and on!

 

Finally I could see light ahead and slowly I sailed out of it and into the wind I have now, which is a SE force 4-5. Hurray out of the doldrums at last! Next its crossing the equator which I should do later this evening, and then high tail it south. The weather ahead looks fairly stable but I expect the guys in front to extend their lead as they move into winds more easterly. But hopefully as they slow, I will be onto them, 2 steps forward 3 steps back!!

 

The other race that’s going on at present is the Route du Rhum which left St Malo on October 28th. Its great to see Bilou leading the Open60 fleet, although I'm also hoping that Brian Thompson (currently in 5th) will hang on to the leaders.
I managed to speak to Phil Sharp yesterday who is leading the Class 40 fleet. He is doing a fantastic job and feeling happy and relaxed, hopefully he can nail the last 1500Nm and finish first!

 

A

Clawing back the miles...
 

Well yet again the last 24 hours have been a fairly painful experience for me; a loss of over 50 miles to the leaders and absolutely nothing I could do about it. Yesterday morning started ok with some wind, but come 10.00 am, the plug was pulled and the wind shut off. Shut off is the right term, zilch, nothing, zero wind until 19.00 yesterday evening. So, so frustrating flopping around the ocean with not even enough breeze to pull the dial up from 0.00, whilst all the time the leaders are zooming away at 10 knots.

 

At one point I got pretty angry but what can you do? I shouted and screamed a little, a few profanities left my otherwise clean lips, but hey makes no difference, so I chilled, had a cup of tea and calmly waited. At 19.00 the breeze filled in from the north east, I had my large light luffed, furling gennaker up but was forced to put the spinnaker up as I was sailing too high. The spinnaker allowed me to sail lower and therefore nearer to the course. However I hate using the chute as in the doldrums the wind is so changeable and there is nothing worse than being caught out in a big squall with 30+ knots of wind.

 

Anyway I had been on deck for hours as the wind was very changeable and the pilot struggled to keep the kite filled. When the breeze steadied I went below, grabbed the weather and gave my mate a call. I was on the phone to his wife when suddenly the wind direction changed and the wind went up, I rushed on deck and there was the mother of all clouds behind me. I half panicked as I had been caught out and I had visions of 30+ knots, a wiped out boat and spinnaker in tatters so I rushed onto the foredeck and wrestled the kite down in 25 knots of wind and pulled up my reaching headsail. Twenty minutes later the wind was back to what it was so I had to drop the headsail and pull the spinnaker backup. Typical!

 

After I had done all that work I put my head down and woke when the boat lurched. I rushed up on deck and there was another squall - a massive one. A voice said inside my head, take it down, take it down but alas, I already had my fingers on the off button of the pilot and my hands on the helm. The afterburners were fired, the wind built from 15-25 and topped out at 35 knots, 400 sqm masthead spinnaker and full mainsail. The voice inside my head was still saying 'get it off, get it down' but one hand was on the tiller and the other was on the spinnaker sheet and there was no way I was going to stop.

 

The frustration of the last couple of days got the better of me and despite the spinnaker sheet nearly being ripped from my hand, I was going to make something back no matter how small. I toughed it out and got away with it, sitting at 24 knots at times – little old me in a lonely ocean blasting along at 28 knots with way too much sail up, wearing a pair of boxer shorts and a t-shirt. After that I kept some wind and have been averaging good speeds, but I am not out of the woods yet. I am still getting big black clouds and still finding holes in the wind. I just hope I can continue like this until I reach the south easterlies and stop the rot and maybe even crawl back a few miles.

 

Alex

Island Hopping
 

Morning !
This voyage to the equator is proving to be very difficult indeed for me.

Due to my easterly position since maderia, I was last night forced to sail between two of the the Cape Verde islands, Santiago and Fogo. It was not the best move I have ever made and I struggled to get through, but finally made it after many gybes, even more sail changes, and very little sleep. I was so set on getting through them that I forgot to turn on my mobile phone - I was gutted, as it would have been wicked to recieve some text messages!!

Anyway, the further south I get, the less wind there seems to be, and I am finding it hard to go the way I want to with any kind of speed. So there seems no more avoiding it, the water is pretty flat and it looks like I may be able to get up the rig today.

The Doldrums are next, so its scatch your head time and pin the tail on the donkey time!
Have a good Sunday

Alex

 

Surf Central!
 

Finally we have the trade winds and Hugo Boss has been revelling in them, surfing down waves at over 20 knots at times!

 

Yesterday morning the wind veered to the NE and I gybed and headed for the equator. I had hoped to continue on starboard for a while longer and thereby clear the Cape Verde islands but alas no, my course has taken me straight for them. Its no major problem, but land has an effect on the wind and these islands are very high, causing big wind shadows downwind of them. The other problem is of the course afterwards, towards the Doldrums and equator. By leaving the islands to the east, the wind angle thereafter is better and faster and it allows a larger choice of doldrum crossing. By passing through the Cape Verde Islands, I may end up crossing the Doldrums in a less favourable position, but on the other hand it may be the perfect place. Stamm looks like he is nearly through the Doldrums with little problems and good speed, unfortunately they don't look likely to be as kind to us following behind, and the further back you are, the worse it looks, ie for me! Its the sort of place though that can change very quickly and I have been studying it carefully for some days now. Fingers crossing I don't get held up too badly!

 

During the Vendee Globe I passed through the Cape Verde Islands and had a relatively easy Doldrum crossing so this is not unfamillar territory. However the boats behind got trapped in light winds for ages, leaving them nearly a 1000Nm behind the leaders, so I am quite anxious about it.

 

Last night was difficult with big wind shifts and gusts. I gybed a couple of times to try and gain some westing but everytime I did, the wind changed and I was pointing at the Carribbean. I was careless in one of my gybes and got the downline for the ATN sock (the condom like thing that slides down over the spinnker snuffing it and allowing us to handle such massive sails) tangled on the deck. This caused some delay to the snuffing and in that short time the spinnaker wrapped around the forestay. Bugger!! Now this is not a good situation but thankfully, I was quick and managed to drop it to the deck and get my other masthead spinnaker up in no time. Shame, as I'm sure I lost a few miles and I was bitterly angry with myself but very pleased to have reacted to the problem so well.

 

You may recall, I was supposed to go up the mast yesterday but the wind built too quickly in the morning and so I have had to delay. The problem I have is that my brand new sail will not furl in any wind which causes me a massive problem as not being able to shorten the sail is very dangerous. I have spoken to my team and adviors from North Sails NZ and Southern Spars and we think we have a solution which i will try as soon as it goes light. The last straw would be to drop the sail and make it a conventional up and down sail, which would be a pain for me but at least I can still use the sail, be safe and not have to stop for 48 hours!

 

But anyway, I am a little tired but in good spirits and looking forward to catching the sight of land in a few hours, wish I could stop for a pint!

Never say never...
 

I always say that this time I am not going to have to do it but I always, always have to climb the mast. This race is no exception and today I will go up my 28m mast to try and solve the problem of my non furling headsail. Two days ago, whilst sailing upwind in 20-25 knots, I had one reef and my solent (the headsail that was shredded)up, when the breeze increased to 30-35.

 

"Time to put the sail away and pull out something smaller" I said to myself, and so, as normal mainsheet in one hand, jib sheet in the other, I put the boat downwind and rolled the sail. It was 90% completed when I heard a flogging sound and looked forward to see that the top of the sail had unfurled and it now resembled the shape of a wine glass.

 

"Here we go again" I thought, with no choice but to pull it out again quickly (before it wrapped itself into a knot), and carry on. The boat was completely over powered and the auto-pilot couldn't handle it so I had to hand steer until the wind dropped - which thankfully it did not too long afterwards!

 

On closer inspection, the stay the sail is attached to is not turning equally all the way up and so potentially I have a big problem. I cannot sail the rest of the race like this, because if it got really windy and I could not put it away, or if it unfurled itself again, I could be putting both the boat and myself at risk. Not such a smart move...

 

We have been looking at the various options to resolve this, and one of them is to stop and replace the stay. However I am not into this idea, as I have already had 48 hours in port, and as the saying goes 'port rots ships and men' - not to mention that I just cannot afford another stop.

 

So the other options all involve a mast climb; one of them is to rig an external halyard (rope that pulls the sail up and down). Its worth mentioning that presently this sail stays up all the time and is lashed at the top and the bottom, ensuring it cannot come down unless I go up and cut the lashing. Rigging an external halyard would mean that the sail would become an 'up and down' sail not a rolling sail, which would be bloody hard work to say the least, as its a pretty big sail!

 

The other option is to tie a rope from the top of the stay to the bottom so when it turns at the bottom, the rope tightens and forces the stay to turn - or at least not ‘un-turn’! This is the option I am going to try. Conditions should be perfect, flat seas and a light to moderate downwind breeze.

 

Hopefully I will get some pictures for you all to see.

 

Position wise I am ok and managed to make some miles on the others in the last 24 hours, however I should be in less wind than them now and so they will probably extend slightly. This concertina situation can be a bit frustrating, 3 steps forward 2 steps back, but that's just the way it is sometimes I guess. In a way, this is good for me, as its forcing me to gain a little patience and bide my time, and so I am doing exactly that.

 

Not long now till I cross the equator and then it will be spring time - although its not exactly winter here, just shorts and t-shirt right through the night! I'm guessing, any sympathy you had for me is gone as I have heard how cold it is in the UK!

 

That's it for now. Don't forget to email me your news and keep me posted on your gossip - it’s always great to hear from you all.

More tomorrow

Alex

Flying smelly missiles!
 

Wind speed: 3 knots
Wind direction: North-westerly
Boat speed: 1 knot

 

I know we are making progress and getting south as a flying fish has just flown onto HUGO BOSS and is having a fit in the cockpit as we speak. Why oh why did god create a living smelly scud missile? You can be minding your own business in your own cockpit at night sipping a cup of tea when one of these things whacks you in the chops, no notice, just whack. Once you have got over the subsequent heart attack, it’s time to search for the little bugger and get rid of it.

 

Trying to grab one of these things when it’s fitting in your cockpit is like something out of a carry on film, always slipping out of your hands and finding its way into every nook and cranny. Once you have captured it and disposed of it, you are then guaranteed to stink for a week!! I have known skippers to eat them - not me, no thanks.

 

It’s been a fairly easy 24 hours with only two sail changes, which includes losing a reef and having a good check of the weather ahead. I now have to negotiate a small high located to the west and get into the trades which are blowing south of it. In theory there should be no more upwind work until after the doldrums. It will be nice to have the chute up for a few days.

 

It’s been a lovely clear night and the stars are out in force. I saw the brightest shooting star and wished for......can’t tell you as it wouldn't come true! An amazing sight not to be missed. Been tidying up all day, draining all the ballast tanks completely and filling the day tank up, plus managed to restack and clean the cabin as it was getting a little bit pongy.

 

Will be interesting to see how Golding and I transition this high. As he is further south than me, I expect him to extend a little.

 

Alex

 

Windy Wednesday
 

I used to really love a good bashing to windward until I started sailing open 60s! All the modern Open 60s are large flat bottomed beasts and going upwind in a good breeze into a large sea is a kin to bashing your brains out against a brick wall. Up the wave and then SLAM down into the trough on the back of it and I mean SLAM. The noise is horrendous and the whole boat shakes, I can feel the bottom of the boat which I am standing on physically move. I have done a fair few miles upwind into big seas in this boat and I am always amazed how the bloody thing stays together let alone how the mast stays up. We took a good beating yesterday and particularly last night, winds from 10 knots to 35 knots and a building, confused sea. The varying wind strength meant reef, unreef, then double reef, and constant attention.

 

You can't say to yourself, "I'll leave it to wait this one out" as the mainsail will not take the punishment, so the last 24 hours have been hard labour and listening to the boat beat herself up in the process. I started on port tack sailing southwest and last night when the wind turned to the southwest so I tacked and went south, which is where i am currently heading.

 

It was difficult to eat and sleep properly yesterday so today my priority will be tidying up the boat and getting myself back to 100% - starting with a couple of bacon sandwiches! I managed to fall on my favourite BOSS sunglasses last night so will have to commit them to the bin and break out a new pair. They were useful yesterday as a windscreen in the pouring rain but this morning the sun will come up and the eyes need their shades. The weather ahead looks light for a time and after that we will see some much awaited trade winds, downwind champagne sailing, Mumm of course... We may see the leaders slow a little today but they will hit the trades first, and Golding and I will have to negotiate a light wind area to enter the trades, after that it’s the doldrums.

 

Lou Reed this morning I think.
Alex