The full technical team from Alex Thomson Racing have been drafted in to help get Alex and his boat to the start line. In addition to this, Sir Keith Mills who is Chairman of Alex Thomson Racing has brought in support staff from Team ORIGIN in the form of Team Director Mike Sanderson and Shore Operations Director David Duff.

“As of now we have taken the decision to repair the boat and will try our hardest to be ready for the start on 9th November. This is a massive task. To start with we have a broken mast, broken five metres above the deck and the only solution is to repair it by sticking an insert into the mast and replace the broken section. We expect the difference in weight to be negligible. And it will be stronger.” Thomson reported this evening at a Press Conference in the race village.

Both rig and hull were fully surveyed over Sunday and Monday. Monday night the hull was lifted on to the dock in the commercial Port d’Olonne before being moved to a local workspace. By late Monday and early Tuesday the required team of boat builders and mast builders from Southern Spars was being assembled. The hull repair will be made using the mould from Generali which was built by Multiplast in Vannes, a near sister-ship to the Groupe Finot designed Hugo Boss. This afternoon the hull was moved into the local yard of Alliaura Marine. In total Thomson expects a team of between 25 and 30 people to be required to work around the clock to complete the repairs.

“ I would particularly like to thank Lisa Radineau from Alliaura Marine as without their offer of yard space the task would be impossible.” Thomson said, “ We think that this is an achievable task, but we cannot do this without everyone’s continued support. The focus for the team is no longer just winning the race but getting to the start line. That will be a huge achievement in itself”.

“We plan to be ready for the start of the race, and for sure at the moment the plan says that we will be ready, and we must make sure that we have people and expertise in place to combat any problems. Obviously this is a big repair and of paramount importance is making sure it is strong enough to go around the world. The goal before was to race in the Vendée Globe and now the race is to get to the start of the Vendée Globe.”

Hugo Boss was hit just forward of the mast bulkhead, which is a structural forward keel bulkhead, which took the brunt of the impact. Thomson´s team say that if the boat had been hit two metres aft or forward of this point, the boat would have been cut in half and there would have been a serious threat to the crew onboard. Both structural keel bulkheads are damaged, which are difficult to repair. Fellow Vendée Globe skipper Yann Eliès and his team have kindly offered the mould from Generali.

“For the hull we have to cut out the damaged section which is approximately five metres by two metres and we will make a new section from the mould of Generali. Without the support of Yann Eliès this would not be possible. Then the new piece will be fitted. We will need a team to repair the boat. Multiplast will make the new section, we need a team from Southern Spars to make the mast good, we need riggers, we need an electronics team, and of course we have to prepare the boat for the race we are going to do in less than three weeks.” Thomson explained.

“They say in these kind of events that half the race is getting to the start line. In this case it looks like it is going to be more than 75% of it but everyone who has been here and inspected the boat and the rig has said it can be done. I don’t know an awful lot about the very technical side of these things but I’m more than happy to go along with them. I have always believed that this was achievable until I was told otherwise.”

The team have been working alongside Pascal Conq the designer at Finot Conq, structural engineer Dr. Paolo Manganelli from SP and Multiplast in Vannes to decide the best way to repair the extensive damage. The team have also brought in specialist in ultrasound to assess the structural damage

“ The worry of course is the timescale. If you think it has taken us four and a half, five days to get this far then that shows you the way it has been. We have had such an enormous level of offers of help that has been great, but the question has been piecing together the best, most efficient way of doing things.” the British solo skipper commented.

Work has already started on the rig repair in a nearby work space under the supervision of David Barnaby from Southern Spars. All of the relevant sails have been returned to North Sails for inspection and have been given a clean bill of health.

He adds: “ The team will work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to fix and we have to mobilise not only the people here, but the team at Southern Spars in New Zealand, at Future Fibres in Valencia, there are many companies which must stop now and help us and they all have said they will help us.”

As far as the matter of insurance or whose fault the accident was Thomson would only say: “ The Affaires Maritime is dealing with the enquiry and that is all I can say about this. For us the priority is to concentrate to get to the start line.”

“We have been briefed by Alex and the team in France regarding the damage to the boat. HUGO BOSS is committed to support Alex Thomson Racing and the team through this difficult and challenging time. We will do whatever we can to assist Alex to get to the start line on November 9th”. Said Till Pohlmann Hugo Boss’ Head of Sports Sponsorship.