Transat Jacques Vabre - Hugo Boss is latest casualty

by Sail-World.com NZL on 29 Oct 2015 After several hours at sea Alex Thomson and Guillermo Altadill onboard the foiler Mono 60 Hugo Boss have made the difficult decision to return ashore.

After attempting to address the issue onboard it has not been possible to ensure a sufficient repair whilst at sea to withstand an Atlantic crossing. Alex and Guillermo have made a suitable repair to get to the nearest port where they can analyse the situation. The current sea state and weather forecast have not aided the situation onboard.

The technical team are currently enroute to Vigo, Spain, where the boat will be repaired and hope to be back racing shortly.

Technical Director Ross Daniel explains: 'It is disappointing that the current sea state and approaching weather system have forced us to return to land to make the repair.

But it is early days in our training programme as we understand the new boat and work towards the start of the Vendee Globe 2016. We will do everything we can to try and return to the Transat Jacques Vabre as soon as possible.'

Earlier, Alex Thomson and Guillermo Altadill, skippers of yacht Hugo Boss in the Transat Jacques Vabre made the decision to hove to at 15.00 UT Wednesday afternoon. They had some technical problems which needed immediate attention. The skippers spent the next few hours attempting to make the repairs at sea and had intended to evaluate the situation with the technical team.

Stewart Hosford Managing Director of Alex Thomson Racing commented: “It is important that we ensure the repairs are made before continuing across the Atlantic. The skippers are well and working hard to ensure a swift solution to the problem if possible.’

Alex Thomson & Guillermo Altadill started the 5400 mile Transat Jacque Vabres race from Le Havre, France to Itajai, Brazil on Sunday the 25th of October. Alex and Guillermo are competing on the new Hugo Boss yacht which was launched in September this year.

There are four classes in this year’s edition of the TJV, with Alex and Guillermo competing against 19 other IMOCA’s in total, including four other brand new IMOCA’s which are competing for the first time. This is the first opportunity for the Alex Thomson Racing Team to see how the new Hugo Boss compares to the competition.

Several other newly launched Vendee Globe competitors have pulled out of the race, which they were also using as a training run for the Vendee Globe circumnavigation.