Vendée Globe – Thomson locked in battle for first place
by Alex Thomson Racing on 8 Dec 2016
Hugo Boss, skipper Alex Thomson (GBR), off the Kerguelen Islands, during a flyover by the National French Marine Nivose Frigate, during the Vendee Globe, solo sailing race around the world, on November 30th, 2016 Marine Nationale / Nefertiti / Vendee Globe vendeeglobe.org
British sailor, Alex Thomson, today reached the half way point in the solo, unassisted, non-stop Vendée Globe race.
Alex, who has been locked in battle with Frenchman Armel Le Cléac'h since the race began on November 6th, was sitting in second place as he passed the half way mark - the tip of New Zealand’s south island.
It is set to be a physical weekend for the leading duo as they will be met by strong winds and heavy seas as they cross the Tasman Sea. They will be sailing into a low that has developed over Tasmania, which is generating winds in excess of forty knots.
Alex is now sailing on the starboard tack and should be able to make the most of his intact port foil to regain some of the miles he lost to Armel over the past few days.
The next milestone for the skipper is the infamous Cape Horn, where Alex will turn the bow north again and point HUGO BOSS towards the finish port of Les Sables d’Olonne, France.
Alex commented: “There are a few hectic days to come and I will certainly be approaching them with caution to make sure that I keep HUGO BOSS in one piece. I am in second place at the moment, roughly 100 miles behind the leader, Armel Le Cléac’h. It’s over 1000 miles behind me to third place, so at least I have some breathing space behind so I can worry about looking forwards, which I think is really important”.
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