World renown sailor Alex Thomson has announced he is stepping down as skipper of his Open 60, Hugo Boss for the time being. With nearly 20 years of offshore sailing behind him, 47 year old Alex has given a fair chunk of his life pursuing the holy grail of round the world single handed sailing, The Vendee Globe. This grueling race circles the entire planet every 4 years and Alex has taken part in 5 editions, having to retire 3 times commensurate with the notorious attrition rate. His best result was a commendable 2nd in 2016 after a damaged foil cruelly scuppered his race when 1st place looked within his certain grasp. This race has only ever been won by French sailors with Thomson snapping at the heels of many of the word’s most accomplished sailors for almost 2 decades.
Your author has had the pleasure of sailing with Alex several times in his earlier career just after he became the youngest ever sailor to win a round the world yacht race (The Millennium Race) in 2000 having sailed over 30,000 miles. In more recent years, Solent Events’ sister company, Solent Rib Charter have been honored to support Alex Thomson Racing both in the UK and overseas at many of the biggest events in the world class sailing calendar. Their ‘Have Ribs Will Travel’ means that it’s not rare to see our Ribs in convoy on the roads and filling cross channel ferry decks!
Premium clothing brand Hugo Boss have supported the team with sponsorship from the start with several cutting edge yachts that always pushed the bar ever higher. Nokia Bell Labs joined the team as official Technical Partner in 2018 to give further invaluable support to the campaign in an ever evolving sport that is so heavily reliant on technology.
Ever the showman, Alex’s infamous Keel Walk in a Hugo Boss tailored suit, his Mast Walk and Sky Walk will be remembered by so many as utterly brilliant PR stunts that will go down in history! Spending more time ashore to be with his wife and young children will allow more time to focus on the next generation of skippers to take the reigns for future projects according to his recent press release.
We certainly hope to see Alex back on the water and the 2028 Vendee Globe has not been ruled out which gives us hope!
