Sailing AdventuresUKVideo

The last crazy adventure by Alex Thomson is… the #skywalk. VIDEO

HUGO BOSS presents the third installment of their extreme sailing stunts – following the Mastwalk, and Keelwalk, witness the Skywalk by Alex Thomson, featuring Mercedes-Benz.

WATCH THE MASTWALK

WATCH THE KEEL WALK

About Alex Thomson

Alex Thomson is a Britishย sailor. Alex Thomson was helped early in his sailing career byย Sir Keith Mills, the British businessman who ran London’s victorious bid to host theย 2012 Olympic Gamesย andย Paralympic Gamesย and set up with British America’s Cup campaignย TEAMORIGIN. With Mills’ backing, Thomson broke into the professional solo sailing circuit at a young age.

Thomson’sย Clipper Raceย win in 1999 made him the youngest skipper ever to win a round-the-world yacht race.ย As of Februaryย 2016ย he still holds this record.ย He is an around the world solo sailor, and holds the 24-hour world speed sailing record for solo mono-hulls (537ย nautical milesย at an average speed of 22.4ย knots).

Sponsored byย Hugo Bossย he took part in theย Vendรฉe Globeย 2004/05 but was forced to retire after damage to the carbon fitting that attached the boom to the deck.ย He also started inย 2008, but had to retire from the race after a cracked hull. He was third inย 2012ย and second in theย 2016ย edition.ย During the latter edition, Thomson set new fastest reference times fromย Les Sables d’Olonneย to theย Equatorย (9 days 7 h 02 min) and theย Cape of Good Hopeย (17 days 22 h 58 min).

However, 13 days into the raceย Hugo Boss’s starboard foil broke after hitting an unidentified floating object,ย therefore hampering Alex’s progress throughout the rest of the course. Of note, most of the race takes place on port tack, that is, the boat would have made good use of the missing starboard foil.ย Despite his foil and anemometer/autopilot problems, Thomson finished the race with the second fastest time on record โ€“ 74 days 19 h 35 min 15 sec, 16h behindย Armel Le Clรฉac’h.

In the 2019ย Transat Jacques Vabreย race, Thomson’s $7.7 million racing yacht was struck by a submerged object, forcing Thomson and his co-skipper Neal McDonald to make repairs in order to stabilise the boat.

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