Alex Thomson has retained a remarkable reputation as Britain's hard driving young hope. Since he left the dock as a relatively fresh faced 33 year old in Les Sables d'Olonne embarking on his first Vendee Globe, he has started two more round the world races and learned from them both.
Structural damage to the deck of his yacht forced him out of the last Vendee Globe, His solo Velux 5 Oceans Race two years ago resulted in rescue by Mike Golding when the keel failed and he was forced to abandon his Open 60 Hugo Boss.
With the new Finot Conq designed Hugo Boss, a.k.a Black Sambuca, he and Andrew Cape finished second in last winter´s Barcelona World Race, but had to stop and make running repairs to their rudder system midway through the race.
Thomson´s lust for speed under sail remains his driving force. In 2003 he set a 60 foot monohull speed record during the Le Defi transtatlantic race, at 468.7 miles and he and Andrew Cape set the current 60 foot monohull speed record at 501.3nm at an average speed of 20.9kts, improving on his 19.5kts average of 2003.
Now, it is a more rounded, better prepared and more mature Thomson who will start this Vendee Globe race anchored to a strong belief that this is a race he can win:
" Four years ago I was pretty naïve and thought I could go out and win it, but then we had no time, no money, and now we are in a bit of a different situation. We have the boat, had the time, done 40,000 miles with it and it feels good. I am pretty chilled.
I think it feels easy when you have the boat you want to the choices you have made. The last boat you really ended up hampering what you were trying to do a lot of the time, and this time we have made a real effort not to change anything."
He and his team have made some small changes to the boat since the end of the two handed race in the spring:
" We have changed a bit, little details. Just things that you could get away with on the Barcelona Race that you can´t get away with on your own. Some are just little things, others are to improve the contingencies to the contingencies for the contingencies!" "But I think there is a danger to overanalyse the contingencies, but certainly looking at everything from sails to rudders, the keel, everything."
He is more than happy with the sailing miles he has completed, choosing very much to set his own agenda:
"I did lots of sailing in the summer, too. The boat was out of the water for four weeks, and I did the Qualifier as well. In truth that was a bit boring to do it on your own, but there was no reason to do the Transat, but it was interesting to follow their race and see what everyone was doing, look what they were doing, what was happening to them and look at my position, and see what I was doing."
He has certainly no regrets that he did not compete in the Transat race:
" I think it was probably the best choice I made not to do the Transat this year. I don´t believe that race has a place on the calendar in a Vendee Globe year."
" I am totally happy with the preparations we have made, it never all goes to plan and you are always looking for more time, but we have not had any dramas."
He has largely dealt with the raw memories of losing his boat in the Southern Ocean and being rescued, and is fairly certain that has not affected the way he sails now, nor how he will when the gun fires to start the Vendee Globe:
" I don´t think so. Any thoughts of that have gone, I am just looking forward. The boat I have is very different, much more exciting to sail, very pleasurable. The old one I always felt I was fighting it, and so it´s nice not to be fighting. It is a really nice bit of kit."
His assessment of how the first few days will pan out and what his basic strategy might be is straightforward:
" Depends on whether we have a low or not. I think we probably will, but if it is light airs we will struggle. I think then it will split into groups after the first few days.
It all depends on how it works out, you may be prepared to split away, but at the same time you don´t want to fall out of it in the first few days."
Physically and mentally he is absolutely convinced he is peaking at just the right time:
"My training and preparation has been better this time. A lot, lot better. I have put on a lot muscle, 15kgs, working with Sean Biddulph. I don´t know if you remember the song from Andrew Cape about where you can shove your Vendee Globe race, (which reflected Cape´s personal belief how physical the challenge was sailing an Open 60 two handed, far less solo) and I came back wondering how the hell I could do it on my own, but I have really worked at it to try and get to 100kilos. I was 78 kilos before. I peaked at 95kgs and am 93 kgs now, but it amazing how much fitter I feel, I can lift 70-80 kilos in a single lift now and just being able to push the weights and loads around, it makes so much difference. And I have been playing three games of squash a week. So that is eight or nine hours a week at least."
As far as the sleep management goes, Thomson, has learned from trying to do to much preparation and acclimatisation before the Velux 5 Oceans Race.
"I´ll start about a week before the start, but certainly last time I felt tired when I started which was not good."
Despite his various breakdowns in successive races, he maintains:
"I don´t think it has changed the way I sail at all, but I tell you what when it happens and you are down there, you feel very inadequate. Very inadequate."
" A lot of these people who are new to their boats and don´t know what it is going to be like down there, and they are in for a big shock. And if you don´t know, how do you prepare. If you get caught out there with the wrong sail up down there in these boats, it is game over. There is a race down. Then you survive. And then you race back up. Mike Golding was one of the few people who made big gains in the last one.
I will have enough food to run a modest restaurant. We have some nice food. We have some lovely spag bol, tins of fish, hard cheese, bit of bacon, jambon. I am not too focussed on it but otherwise the food can be very, very dull."
Other than that Thomson will have his favourite music and some DVD´s, and will get the scores for his beloved Portsmouth FC.
"I like to get news reports and have a variety that I get. My brother always sends me the football score, but I hate the weekends, you feel so isolated then. I saw the first European game."
"I think I can win. The boat is proven to be fast. It does require a bit of wind compared to the Farr boats, say, but we caught up 500 miles in the Barcelona Race."
With the new Finot Conq designed Hugo Boss, a.k.a Black Sambuca, he and Andrew Cape finished second in last winter´s Barcelona World Race, but had to stop and make running repairs to their rudder system midway through the race.
Thomson´s lust for speed under sail remains his driving force. In 2003 he set a 60 foot monohull speed record during the Le Defi transtatlantic race, at 468.7 miles and he and Andrew Cape set the current 60 foot monohull speed record at 501.3nm at an average speed of 20.9kts, improving on his 19.5kts average of 2003.
Now, it is a more rounded, better prepared and more mature Thomson who will start this Vendee Globe race anchored to a strong belief that this is a race he can win:
" Four years ago I was pretty naïve and thought I could go out and win it, but then we had no time, no money, and now we are in a bit of a different situation. We have the boat, had the time, done 40,000 miles with it and it feels good. I am pretty chilled.
I think it feels easy when you have the boat you want to the choices you have made. The last boat you really ended up hampering what you were trying to do a lot of the time, and this time we have made a real effort not to change anything."
He and his team have made some small changes to the boat since the end of the two handed race in the spring:
" We have changed a bit, little details. Just things that you could get away with on the Barcelona Race that you can´t get away with on your own. Some are just little things, others are to improve the contingencies to the contingencies for the contingencies!" "But I think there is a danger to overanalyse the contingencies, but certainly looking at everything from sails to rudders, the keel, everything."
He is more than happy with the sailing miles he has completed, choosing very much to set his own agenda:
"I did lots of sailing in the summer, too. The boat was out of the water for four weeks, and I did the Qualifier as well. In truth that was a bit boring to do it on your own, but there was no reason to do the Transat, but it was interesting to follow their race and see what everyone was doing, look what they were doing, what was happening to them and look at my position, and see what I was doing."
He has certainly no regrets that he did not compete in the Transat race:
" I think it was probably the best choice I made not to do the Transat this year. I don´t believe that race has a place on the calendar in a Vendee Globe year."
" I am totally happy with the preparations we have made, it never all goes to plan and you are always looking for more time, but we have not had any dramas."
He has largely dealt with the raw memories of losing his boat in the Southern Ocean and being rescued, and is fairly certain that has not affected the way he sails now, nor how he will when the gun fires to start the Vendee Globe:
" I don´t think so. Any thoughts of that have gone, I am just looking forward. The boat I have is very different, much more exciting to sail, very pleasurable. The old one I always felt I was fighting it, and so it´s nice not to be fighting. It is a really nice bit of kit."
His assessment of how the first few days will pan out and what his basic strategy might be is straightforward:
" Depends on whether we have a low or not. I think we probably will, but if it is light airs we will struggle. I think then it will split into groups after the first few days.
It all depends on how it works out, you may be prepared to split away, but at the same time you don´t want to fall out of it in the first few days."
Physically and mentally he is absolutely convinced he is peaking at just the right time:
"My training and preparation has been better this time. A lot, lot better. I have put on a lot muscle, 15kgs, working with Sean Biddulph. I don´t know if you remember the song from Andrew Cape about where you can shove your Vendee Globe race, (which reflected Cape´s personal belief how physical the challenge was sailing an Open 60 two handed, far less solo) and I came back wondering how the hell I could do it on my own, but I have really worked at it to try and get to 100kilos. I was 78 kilos before. I peaked at 95kgs and am 93 kgs now, but it amazing how much fitter I feel, I can lift 70-80 kilos in a single lift now and just being able to push the weights and loads around, it makes so much difference. And I have been playing three games of squash a week. So that is eight or nine hours a week at least."
As far as the sleep management goes, Thomson, has learned from trying to do to much preparation and acclimatisation before the Velux 5 Oceans Race.
"I´ll start about a week before the start, but certainly last time I felt tired when I started which was not good."
Despite his various breakdowns in successive races, he maintains:
"I don´t think it has changed the way I sail at all, but I tell you what when it happens and you are down there, you feel very inadequate. Very inadequate."
" A lot of these people who are new to their boats and don´t know what it is going to be like down there, and they are in for a big shock. And if you don´t know, how do you prepare. If you get caught out there with the wrong sail up down there in these boats, it is game over. There is a race down. Then you survive. And then you race back up. Mike Golding was one of the few people who made big gains in the last one.
I will have enough food to run a modest restaurant. We have some nice food. We have some lovely spag bol, tins of fish, hard cheese, bit of bacon, jambon. I am not too focussed on it but otherwise the food can be very, very dull."
Other than that Thomson will have his favourite music and some DVD´s, and will get the scores for his beloved Portsmouth FC.
"I like to get news reports and have a variety that I get. My brother always sends me the football score, but I hate the weekends, you feel so isolated then. I saw the first European game."
"I think I can win. The boat is proven to be fast. It does require a bit of wind compared to the Farr boats, say, but we caught up 500 miles in the Barcelona Race."
