CORRECTION: ALEX THOMSON SETS NEW WORLD SPEED SAILING RECORD & WINS BACK RACE LEAD
Absender: "Mary Ambler"
Datum: 12. Dec 2003 10:51
CORRECTION:
Official World Speed Sailing Record for 24hr solo monohull is held by:
Union Bancaire Privee Dominique Wavre (FRA), Open 60, 60ft 18.29m, Southern Ocean, 8-9 December 2000
430.70 nautical miles, 17.94 knot
Open 60 Sill, skippered by Roland Jourdain, did better this distance but Jourdain never logged this with the WSSRC (World Speed Sailing Record Council).
Therefore, AT Racing has broken the current official record by 35.3 miles, subject to ratification by the WSSRC.
Sorry! Put it down to no sleep for 24hrs too…
Mary Ambler
Betreff: ALEX THOMSON SETS NEW WORLD SPEED SAILING RECORD & WINS BACK RACE LEAD
Absender: "Mary Ambler"
Datum: 12. Dec 2003 10:31
ALEX THOMSON RACING
ALEX THOMSON SETS NEW WORLD SPEED SAILING RECORD
AT RACING TAKES LEAD AGAIN IN VENDÉE QUALIFIER RACE
Défi Atlantique: DAY 12
Race Leader: AT Racing (Thomson GBR) – 2.2m ahead of PRB (Riou FRA)
AT Racing Location: to the South East of the Azores.
Miles to La Rochelle finish line: 1257m
24 HR PERIOD OF RECORD:
11/12/03 – 04.44 GMT Position of AT Racing: 29° 58 20 N 31° 01 32 W
12/12/03 – 04:42 GMT Position of AT Racing: 35° 05 32 N 24° 00 96 W
· No. of miles covered in 24hr period: 466m
· Conditions for 24hr period: 30-35 knots, gusting 40, from SSE – S, perfect swell
· Average boat speed in 24hr period: 19.4 knots
· Sailing angle: ideal – power reaching between 060° - 040°
· No. of sail changes: 6 headsail changes, with 1 reef in the indexsail
· Body fuel: tuna and Hellmann’s mayo sarnies, chocolate, chicken & mash, Lucozade Sport
· Hours sleep: None at all!
Christmas has definitely come early for Alex Thomson, the 29yr old rookie Open 60 solo skipper from Gosport. At the 0500 GMT position reports this morning, not only did he take back the lead of the Défi Atlantique solo transatlantic race on ‘AT Racing’ from French skipper Vincent Riou on the Vendée Globe winning boat ‘PRB’, but, subject to ratification by the World Speed Sailing Record Council, Thomson has just destroyed the current World Monohull Solo 24hr Record by as much as 32 miles!
Alex Thomson was reached on his satellite phone on board his Open 60 AT Racing, on which he is currently qualifying for next year’s Vendée Globe in this solo transatlantic race: “My index objective was to regain the lead of the race, so I pushed reasonably hard from my Westerly position, and over the last four days have enjoyed exceptional sailing conditions South of the Azores. I knew I could be on for the record yesterday afternoon when I was sure that I was well positioned in this band of strong wind. So to find out this morning that I have passed into the lead of a fleet made up of the best Open 60 skippers on the circuit is superb, but to have broken the 24hr solo record – and by so much – is an amazing bonus. All I need now is a sponsor! If someone had told me before I could average over 19 knots boat speed for that long I’d tell them they were lying, but now I know I can get more out of the boat!”
“I’m absolutely knackered! I’ve been running on adrenalin and spending at least 70 percent of my time on deck, surviving on tuna and Hellmann’s sarnies, a lot of Lucozade Sport. This doesn’t distract me from the goal of this race, to finish the race and qualify for the Vendée Globe, but I’m enjoying the extras along the way!”
Alex Thomson was the youngest skipper ever to win a Round-The-World yacht race, when he won Sir Robin Knox-Johnston’s Clipper 98 race, but now this accolade will be overwritten with that of World Record Breaker. The current record stands at 434m (18.1 knots) and was set by the boat’s previous skipper, Frenchman Roland Jourdain, during the 2000/1 Vendée Globe. Thomson intends to claim this record with a mileage of 466 miles at an average boat speed of 19.4 knots, between 0444 GMT on 11th and 12th December.
Alex Thomson, 29 yr old solo skipper from Gosport, set up his company AT Racing with Keith Mills, CEO of the London 2012 Olympic bid, which is actively looking for a title sponsor for his Vendée Globe 2004 campaign. Alex launched his campaign after buying the current Open 60 World Champion boat ‘Sill’ to begin training and racing a whole year ahead of the solo, non-stop round the world Vendée Globe yacht race, in which fellow Brit Ellen MacArthur made her name when she came 2nd in 2001.
Just 24 days ago, Alex Thomson became the first Briton and took 2nd place overall with World Champion, Frenchman Roland Jourdain, in the Open 60 class of the classic two-handed Transat Jacques Vabre race from Le Havre, France to Salvador, Brazil. Thomson then took over the boat, re-named it AT Racing whilst still on the sponsorship trail, and set off on his first ever solo transatlantic race, the Défi Atlantique, from Salvador to La Rochelle, France, which is one of only two qualification events for next year’s Vendée Globe. In both races he has been the rookie up against the world’s best solo skippers, and has come ahead of other renowned British solo skipper Mike Golding on his brand new Open 60 Ecover.
Alex Thomson should arrive in La Rochelle from Tuesday 16th December at the finish of the Défi Atlantique, and the final 1257 miles will be a drag race down to the wire with French skipper Vincent Riou on the ex-Vendée Globe winning boat PRB with just 2.2 miles separating these two boats in terms of distance to finish.
FOLLOW ALEX THOMSON ON THE ALEXTHOMSONRACING.COM WEBSITE
You can follow Alex Thomson’s racing programme on a new-look format of the current campaign website at www.alexthomsonracing.com, where Alex’s personal updates & images taken on board, plus the latest race information and boat positions will be posted daily online. If you wish to make enquiries, sign up to receive updates or send Alex a message of support at any time please register your email through the Quick Enquiries section online or at info@at-racing.com.
The Défi Atlantique official race web site is at www.defi-atlantique.org
High resolution images of Alex Thomson / ‘AT Racing’ (on board & aerial) are available on request and copyright free.
For all photography, interviews and information, please contact Mary Ambler at mary@alexthomsonracing.com or Tel: +44 (0)2392 52 43 43
ENDS
AT Racing Ltd
Address: Unit 11, Haslar Marina, Haslar Road, Gosport PO12 1NU
Tel: +44 (0)23 9252 4343 - Fax: +44 (0)23 9252 4646
Website: www.alexthomsonracing.com
Sponsorship enquiries: sponsorship@at-racing.com
General enquiries: info@at-racing.com
Media enquiries: Mary Ambler - Email: mary@alexthomsonracing.com - Mobile: +44 (0) 7887 643 583
Alex Thomson, 29 year old professional sailor from Gosport in England, is the youngest skipper ever to win a round the world yacht race after he came 1st in the Clipper ’98 race. Alex Thomson founded in 2000 and headed up the sailing side of yacht charter company, Formula 1 Sailing Ltd for 3 years. His short-handed career includes racing as co-skipper to Josh Hall on ‘Gartmore’ in the 1999 Transat Jacques Vabre. He also came 1st in the 2000 Criterion Round Britain & Ireland race, and 3rd in class in the 2000 Europe 1 New Man STAR on the Open 50 ‘Sail That Dream.com’. Now Alex Thomson holds the title of first Briton to finish the Transat Jacques Vabre 03 and with Roland Jourdain took 2nd place in the Open 60 Monohull class.
Open 60 ‘Sill Entreprises’ - Under the previous skipper, Roland Jourdain, the Lombard design Open 60 ‘Sill Entreprises’ has been on the podium many times since being launched in 1999 and broke the solo 24hr record by covering 436 miles at an average speed of 18.16 knots within days of arriving 3rd on the podium of the Vendée Globe. With trademark giant deck spreaders and rotating mast, ‘Sill Entreprises’ has been constantly optimised from build, particularly for upwind performance, which is second to none in the current fleet.
The 2004 Vendée Globe
Out of all the current five RTW yacht races, only two are single-handed, and the Vendée Globe is the only non-stop event. Held every 4 years from the port of Les Sables d’Olonne in the Vendée region on the western coast of France, this 26,000 mile solo marathon around the globe is renown as the ‘Everest’ of the sport of sailing. The Vendée Globe was created by legendary French solo skipper Philippe Jeantot after he had won the first two editions of the solo RTW BOC Challenge race, which was competed in 4 legs. First run in 1989 with just thirteen competitors on the start line, the Vendée Globe has now become a high profile international sporting event thanks to the incredible exploits of competitors from outside France such as Pete Goss, Tony Bullimore, and more recently Ellen MacArthur. In 2000/1, the race attracted 24 professional teams with their sponsors, plus a major following from media all around the world. The fifth Vendée Globe starts on 7th November 2004.
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