Skippers : Alex Thomson - Vendée Globe

Home > History > 2004/2005 Edition > Skippers roster > Alex Thomson

Alex Thomson

Nationality : British
Lives in Gosport (UK)
Age : born on the 18/04/1974
Situation : Single
Vendée Globe achievements
First time he has entered the Vendée Globe
Web Site
http://www.alexthomsonracing.com

Sponsor

Presentation

A fresh breath of air

Watch out for this young skipper. He has performed increasingly brilliantly, making his way up at a remarkable speed in the world of ocean racing. Alex Thomson is a young British sailor, from the same sort of background as his fellow yachtswomen, Ellen Mac Arthur, Sam Davies or Emma Richards… Like them, he has got a thirst for long distance racing, which he very soon quenched magnificently by winning the Clipper Round The World Race. Back in 1998 and aged only 24, Alex was to become the youngest skipper to win a round the world crew race. The oceans were opening their doors to him....

« The little dinghy »
After this great success, Alex was to try out in the 60 foot Open Gartmore alongside Josh Hall, with whom he was to compete in the Transat Jacques Vabre. It was in the year 2000 that he plunged into the world of single-handed racing, during the Europe 1 Newman Star (British Transatlantic Race)… He finished in third place in the fifty footers after a series of setbacks. Worried about setting out with insufficient preparation, he took a breather from the ocean racing scene and major race events to launch a company specialised in hiring out racing yachts. In spite of that, the idea of taking part in the Vendée Globe has always remained in the back of his mind, and as someone , who likes to manage things himself and control his own destiny, he managed to get hold of a boat that was really just right for him. With a good head on his shoulders, he made the wise choice of selecting one of the best racing boats available: Le Plan Lombard at the helm of which Roland Jourdain achieved his greatest success and won many races. The little dinghy as the French say and « Alex can do it ! »

To show what he was really capable of, he took part in the Transat Jacques Vabre in a pair alongside the previous skipper. Bilou and Alex came in just in second place. Next up was the first major single-handed event for this ambitious young yachtsman: the fire and water of the qualifying race for the Vendée Globe, the Atlantic Challenge. Alex did magnificently well and once again found himself on the winners’ rostrum. Going one step further without wanting to waste his time, the little Englishman, who was to become a giant, was willing to try anything and really made a bit of a splash. He smashed the single-handed speed record having sailed 466 miles non-stop in 24 hours. We can easily see that following these initial successes and at a mature 30 years of age, Alex Thomson figures among the young skippers, who have already accomplished enough to rock the boat in this race past the three capes…

Achievements

2003 - World single-handed 24 h speed record in a monohull by covering 468 miles at an average speed of 19.5 knots
Atlantic Challenge : 3rd in the 60 foot Open AT Racing
Transat Jacques Vabre : 2nd with Roland Jourdain on the 60 foot Open Sill Skipper for the crew of the Farr 65 ´Hugo Boss´ for the Rolex Fastnet Race.
2000 - Europe 1 Newman Star : 3rd on Sail That Dream (50 footer)
Round Britain & Ireland Race : 1st on Sail That Dream (50 footer)
1999 - Transat Jacques Vabre : 7th with Josh Hall on Gartmore
1998-99 - Clipper Round The World Race : 1st and became the youngest skipper to win a round the world race