Wednesday 27 September 2006
Record breaking solo skipper and veteran navigator join forces
Alex Thomson (GBR) to team up with Andrew Cape (AUS) in Barcelona World Race 2007
Hugo Boss sponsored solo skipper Alex Thomson (GBR) has today announced his co-skipper for the two-handed Barcelona World Race as Australian sailing veteran Andrew Cape. Starting on 11th November 2007, this gruelling race non-stop around the world will cover 25,000 miles over three months, across the planet's most hostile oceans. The Barcelona World Race is the second of three round the world yacht races which Thomson will take on in the next three years; the first being the single-handed VEULX 5 OCEANS, which begins on 22 October 2006.
Managed by OC Events, part of the OC Group that includes Ellen MacArthur's Offshore Challenges Sailing Team, and the organising authority of the Barcelona-based FNO, the Barcelona World Race will be contested onboard high performance IMOCA Open 60s. Thomson, 32, holds the current 24 hour solo monohull World Speed Record onboard these yachts and has a new state of the art Open 60 currently under construction and due out of the shed in April 2007.
Cape (aka 'Capey'), aged 44 from Lymington, is one of Australia's most talented and experienced sailors and navigators. He has sailed three Whitbread/Volvo Ocean Races, most recently aboard movistar and then Ericsson in the 2005-2006 race, and competed as navigator with winning America's Cup team Alinghi. He has raced both double-handed and single, competing in the Mini Transat 1999 and the Mini Fastnet which he went on to win. The combination of Thomson and Cape highlights one of the aims of the Barcelona World Race which is to unite the world of solo sailing with the professional fully crewed world.
Thomson commented: "When I selected my co-skipper for the Barcelona World Race I knew I wanted to sail with someone who I would learn something from. As a solo sailor you have to be a jack of all trades and navigation is one area where I would like to learn more. Capey is one of the world's most experienced offshore navigators and a hugely talented sailor. I believe we will make a strong team and have a lot of fun in the process."
Thomson and Cape have been training together in the lead up to the VELUX 5 OCEANS and are collaborating over the build of Thomson's new Finot Conq design yacht. The boat is being built in Lymington, where Cape is in a perfect position to oversee the build whilst Alex is away at sea.
Cape said: "I wanted to sail with Alex because he has a great program in place. He has an excellent sponsor in Hugo Boss, with a brand new boat to be built for the Barcelona World Race. On a personal level I admire Alex's drive, ambition and professionalism. He has a great sense of humour and personality which is obviously extremely important for a race of this duration."
Cape continued: "The Barcelona race brings together the aspects of yacht racing that best suit me. The skills of optimising a new build, long term strategy, meteorology and endurance are where my experiences and successes lie. Being two-handed enables the yachts to be sailed much harder without the reliance on self steering systems. I am doing this race because I believe that Alex and I can win and we will certainly give it our best shot."
Today Alex Thomson, the youngest skipper competing in the VELUX 5 OCEANS and his mentor Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the oldest skipper, will set off side by side from Gosport at 14.00, to head for the start of the epic VELUX 5 OCEANS in Bilbao, Spain.
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For all the latest information on the Barcelona World Race, go to http://www.barcelonaworldrace.com
About Alex Thomson
* Alex Thomson set a new 24hr solo monohull World Speed Record in December 2003 covering 468.7nm at an average speed of 19.5 knots during the Défi Atlantique, in which he finished 3rd.
* At 25, Alex Thomson became the youngest skipper ever to win a round the world race - the Clipper Race 1998/99.
* In October 2005 Alex Thomson stepped forward as the only skipper to confirm that he will be racing "3 in 3": 3 grueling round the worlds in as many years: the solo VELUX 5 Oceans in 2006, the inaugural two-handed Barcelona World Race 2007 and the blue ribbon Vendée Globe 2008.
100,000 miles, 3 years, 1 goal: be the first Briton to win the Vendée Globe.
www.alexthomsonracing.com
About HUGO BOSS
Sailing complements the sponsorship portfolio of HUGO BOSS which already includes Formula 1 (Team McLaren Mercedes), IRL (Penske Racing), Tennis (Davis Cup), Golf, Boxing (Vladmir Klitschko) and Soccer. In sailing, HUGO BOSS gets another platform to demonstrate its fashion competence both on the boat with BOSS GREEN and shore-side with BOSS BLACK. BOSS GREEN provides Alex and the crew with highly functional and technical outfits for all possible weather conditions around the globe while BOSS BLACK will dress the crew for every celebration function in the smartest possible way.
www.hugoboss-sailing.com
VELUX 5 Oceans - The Ultimate Solo Challenge
Leg 1 Start: 22 October 2006, Bilbao, Spain
Leg 2 Start: January 2007, Fremantle, Western Australia
Leg 3 Start: March 2007, Florida, USA
Race ends: Bilbao April 2007
VELUX 5 OCEANS is the oldest, most established, continuously run, single-handed round the world yacht race. It has taken place every four years since 1982 and is run by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston's Clipper Ventures Plc.
VELUX 5 OCEANS is the longest and toughest event, for any individual in any sport. In 2006, the event gets tougher. The legs between ports get longer. The stopovers are fewer and more compact - with a shorter window of preparation for the next leg. And, by the end of it the skippers will have sailed 30,000 miles of ocean alone, facing all the extremes that nature can throw at them.
www.velux5oceans.com
www.clipper-ventures.com
Barcelona World Race - Two crew, non-stop.
Start: 11 November 2007, Barcelona
Finish: February 2008, Barcelona
A new two-handed non-stop round the world yacht race starting and finishing in Barcelona, to be held every 4 years. For the first time this race, the brainchild of Dame Ellen MacArthur's Offshore Challenges Group, will see the world's best professional sailors from both solo and fully crewed disciplines competing against each other in teams of two.
Racing over 25,000 miles over 3 months across the planet's most hostile and challenging oceans in high performance IMOCA Open 60 monohulls. Never before has a two-handed, non-stop round the world race been staged and there has never been a crewed non-stop round the world race in monohulls. This concept opens up a whole new world of possibilities in the sport of extreme offshore sailing.
www.barcelonaworldrace.com E: info@barcelonaworldrace.com
Vendée Globe - Around the world, single-handed, non-stop, without assistance
Start: November 2008, Les Sables d'Olonne, France
Finish: February 2009, Les Sables d'Olonne, France
The blue riband event that launched Dame Ellen MacArthur to fame. 3 months around the world's oceanic wildernesses, alone, non-stop and without any outside assistance. Official supplier of legends since 1989 and run every 4 years since, this epic race has yet to be won by a non-Francophone.
www.vendeeglobe.org
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