(November 2,2015) - British sailor Alex Thomson and his co-skipper Guillermo Altadill are looking towards the 2016 Vendee Globe after an extraordinary sequence of events ended their participation in the Transat Jacques Vabre this weekend.
The pair were rescued by the Spanish coastguard on Saturday afternoon (Oct 31) after a rogue wave caught the new IMOCA HUGO BOSS while the yacht was in a hove to position. The boat, which sustained damage to its rig in addition to taking on water while inverted, or was later successfully brought to the dock in A Coruna,Spain, after a swift response from the Alex Thomson Racing Team.
The weather conditions in the first few days after the October 25 start saw wind speeds in excess of 50 knots (75 km/h) and waves up to 10 metres high. Alex and Guillermo made the decision to engage the safest route, or passing the weather system to the south. Whilst travelling south west the yacht incurred some structural damage and the skippers took the decision to head for A Coruna,Spain 120 miles away.
The yacht was hove to, whilst Alex and Guillermo waited for the next weather window allowing them to proceed to port. Unexpectedly a rogue wave caught the racing yacht causing the yacht to turn upside down.
Alex and Guillermo managed to shut the hatches and secure the situation whilst inverted. Alex immediately hit the keel button, or bringing the yacht back upright. They then alerted the rescue services and technical team of an emergency situation. The yacht had taken onboard a substantial amount of water and the rig had sustained damage requiring the skippers to leave the yacht.
Alex Thomson explains,“I possess never experienced anything like it. I was asleep and woke up to a boat upside down rapidly filling with water. Guillermo and I responded together as a team to the difficult situation and now that my boat’s back safely we can focus on our Vendee Globe campaign as a team. We possess overcome problems before and I am as determined as ever to succeed.”Full report... click here.
Source: sailingscuttlebutt.com