Yachts & Yachting - July 2018

ON BOARD ALEX THOMSON

CLEO BARNHAM; C/O ALEX THOMSON RACING; LLOYD IMAGES

TOBY HEPPELL joins two

lucky Y&Y competition

winners on board Alex

Thomson’s Hugo Boss

for an action-packed

day out on the Solent

ONCE IN

I

t’shardtoimaginewhatitmust

be like to compete in the Vendée

Globe. here are so many facets to

the famous race that make it one

ofthetoughestchallengesinthe

world.Justgettingtothestartlinecan

be a major hurdle in terms of funding,

then there is the race qualiication, the

logistics, yet more funding... the list

goes on. And that’s all before setting of

on the 24,000nm circumnavigation and

sailing the semi-foiling 60t IMOCA

soloforjustovertwomonths.

Onemanwhoknowsthatalltoowell

is Alex homson, three-time Vendée

Globe veteran who is currently gearing

up for his fourth race in 2020. His boat,

Hugo Boss - widely acknowledged to be

the fastest IMOCA60 on the planet at

themoment-willbesoldaheadofthe

next Vendée (homson and his team are

already deep into the design process of

a new boat for the 2020-21 race), but for

now, myself and two lucky Y&Y/Dream

Yacht Charter competition winners

areabouttogetnotonlyarareguided

tourbutalsoauniqueopportunityto

take the helm. For our winner, Alison

McGukinandherhusband,Andy

it’s a hugely exciting opportunity.

THE GUIDED TOUR

he afable Brit begins by showing us

around his boat with little let hidden

and chats openly about the various

features. Down below is a study in built-

for-purpose, stark utilitarianism. As

Alison notes, it is far from a comfortable

placetobe!Infactwithsuchalarge

cockpit, and much of the forward section

givenovertosailandequipmentstowage

the space let in the 60 footer is minimal.

“Itisbuiltforpurpose,”homson

explains. Every item of equipment on

board has been carefully developed and

selected ater a thorough cost-to-beneit

A LIFETIME

Above

Hugo Boss is

considered to

be the fastest

IMOCA60 at

present

analysis. “We try to get weightsaving

in wherever we can, even down to my

carbon toilet,” he continues, brandishing

what is essentially a carbon potty.

Being a monocoque build, the main

hull consists of a single laminated

carbon skin, which essentially means

when you’re stood inside down

below, the loor upon which you are

standing is a mere 5mm thick.

To put this in perspective most

of the Jack Holt designed plywood

dinghies were typically built in 5mm

ply, so the hull thickness is that of

a Mirror dinghy - only this boat is

designed to ride out 50 knot storms,

huge waves and cover hundreds of

miles in a day in the Southern Ocean.

he obsession with weight is

all around, from bespoke swivel

arms for the nav equipment to the

wholesale use of rope constrictor

clutches for control lines.

38 Yachts & Yachting July 2018 yachtsandyachting.co.uk