Velux 5 Oceans - Alone-Round the World Yacht Race www.velux5oceans.com - Übersicht 24.10.2006 HIGH-SPEED ONSHORE MISSION FOR THOMSON At 09:30 GMT this morning, Alex Thomson spoke with the VELUX 5 OCEANS race organisation from the Hugo Boss team car as he made a dash to his sailmakers in Northern Spain. Following damage sustained to his Solent headsail in 50 knot winds and mountainous seas in the Bay of Biscay, the British skipper and his shore team are working at full pace to ensure Thomson and his Open 60 can restart the race. Thomson described the conditions offshore as 'heinous' and was stunned by the power of the wind; "I have a lot of sea miles clocked, but it's not often that you watch the sea rip the top off the waves." Thomson regards the damaged sail on Hugo Boss as the yacht's 'working jib', normally used upwind in the 10-25 knots wind range and is a vital part of the yacht's sail wardrobe. When the damage occurred last night, powerful gusts swiftly shredded the Solent and Thomson was unable to furl it effectively, leaving him in desperate conditions: "It was a case of Survival Mode and just keeping the boat heading upwind, stopping from being rolled and trying not to break anything." As the thirty-two year-old skipper turned on his engine at around 18.30 GMT last night and headed for port, his concerns were for the rest of the fleet: "My thoughts were out there with the other guys; particularly Robin [Knox-Johnston] who has spent less time on the race course than the rest of us." Thomson's sailmakers are already working on cutting a replacement sail and it is now a race against the clock for the Hugo Boss team. Copyright © 1996-2016 - SEGEL.DE