Skipper NameAlex Thomson (051pts)

About the Skipper

Alex Thomson first made a name for himself when he won the 1999 Clipper Round the World Race, becoming the young skipper to win a round the world race. At the time, he was just 25. In the following year he won the Round Britain and Ireland Race aboard an Open 50. This opened the doors to 60-foot monohull racing. He achieved his first major success in the IMOCA circuit by smashing the single-handed 24-hour distance record for a monohull covering 468 miles during the 2003 Atlantic Challenge.

In the 2004-2005 Vendée Globe, damage unfortunately meant he was forced to throw in the towel. More retirals would follow in some major races. But this determined competitor bounced back. In 2007, he smashed the 24-hour distance record for a monohull up to 60-foot covering 501.3 miles. Then, he finished second in the 2007-2008 Barcelona World Race with his co-skipper Andrew Cape. He was about to tackle the 2008-2009 Vendée Globe feeling optimistic, when a collision with a trawler just off les Sables d’Olonne damaged his monohull forcing him to carry out a lot of work  in the days running up the start of the Vendée Globe, which he would then be forced to abandon after structural problems developed.

The British skipper then got his hands on the most powerful boat in the IMOCA fleet, Brian Thompson’s former Pindar, which finished fifth in the last Vendée Globe. Unfortunately Alex was not able to take part in the 2010 Barcelona World Race at the last minute; he was diagnosed an appendicitus a week prior to the start.

He's now the skipper of a new Hugo Boss, the Farr-designed former BT-Veolia Environnement, winner of the lates Route du Rhum. Alex will be lining up at the start of the Transat Jacques Vabre with Guillermo Altadill and race back single-handed in the Transat B to B.

His dream: to become the first British sailor to win the non-stop single-handed round the world race.

View full profile: www.alexthomsonracing.com