"I’ve just heard the news about Vincent Riou having to retire from the race this morning. I really do feel very sad for him, it’s a real injustice to be out of the race because of hitting a buoy in the water, it’s such bad luck. He has a great boat, probably the most optimised of the fleet, and he’s sailed a very sensible race so far, and I really fancied him to do so well in this edition, so I just feel so sorry for him.
Meanwhile, it’s been a good and fast 24 hours on HUGO BOSS. The wind has been a bit up and down but last night was a really clear night with a very bright moon, and it was great to be making more miles towards the south, while also getting some miles back from the boat’s in front. Even better to see that reflected in the latest rankings with a move up to 4th. I’ve even managed to get more sleep than previously, and tidy up the boat a little bit.
The hydro generator has been working just fine and I am very relieved about that as it means I can carry on with my opulent power consumption! Its not really excessive but without the hydro I would have to survive on an absolute minimum of amps which would mean the computer would have to be off most of the time, so would the phones, fans, media system, iPad, etc. The boat would then become a very lonely place for the next 10 weeks and I don’t fancy that at all!
Looking ahead for me is how I get to the southern ocean. In the last few days the two weather models i look at have been quite similar even a week ahead and that gives you some degree of confidence. Now they are quite different and it will be interesting to see how it pans out. This part of the race is so important as the southern ocean is like a highway and as soon as you are on the highway you are moving fast and it is normally very difficult to move significantly up the field. There are exceptions of course but normally the rich get richer. There are opportunities here for the boats at the front and the boats at the front."
Alex Thomson
Credit : A.Thomson
Meanwhile, it’s been a good and fast 24 hours on HUGO BOSS. The wind has been a bit up and down but last night was a really clear night with a very bright moon, and it was great to be making more miles towards the south, while also getting some miles back from the boat’s in front. Even better to see that reflected in the latest rankings with a move up to 4th. I’ve even managed to get more sleep than previously, and tidy up the boat a little bit.
The hydro generator has been working just fine and I am very relieved about that as it means I can carry on with my opulent power consumption! Its not really excessive but without the hydro I would have to survive on an absolute minimum of amps which would mean the computer would have to be off most of the time, so would the phones, fans, media system, iPad, etc. The boat would then become a very lonely place for the next 10 weeks and I don’t fancy that at all!
Looking ahead for me is how I get to the southern ocean. In the last few days the two weather models i look at have been quite similar even a week ahead and that gives you some degree of confidence. Now they are quite different and it will be interesting to see how it pans out. This part of the race is so important as the southern ocean is like a highway and as soon as you are on the highway you are moving fast and it is normally very difficult to move significantly up the field. There are exceptions of course but normally the rich get richer. There are opportunities here for the boats at the front and the boats at the front."
Alex Thomson
