Costa Rica, 19.11.2011 – At the end of an exciting race that included “a bomb of a storm”, Alex Thomson and his co-skipper Guillermo Altadill on-board HUGO BOSS have completed the 4,730-mile Atlantic crossing from Le Havre, France to Puerto Limón, Costa Rica in an excellent time of 16 days, 9 hours and 20 minutes. They crossed the finish line in an outstanding second place, ahead of the seven other boats still in contention in the IMOCA Open 6 class of 60-foot monohull yachts. HUGO BOSS watches congratulates!
Having left Le Havre, France on Wednesday November 2nd, the HUGO BOSS Imoca 60 sailed into Puerto Limón, Costa Rica, at 23:20 GMT on Saturday, November 19th. British offshore sailor Alex Thomson, who has been partnering the brand since May 2010, expressed his delight with the race result these terms “There were certain moments when we were concerned about our decision to go north… Ultimately it was a bold call to commit to that route, but I’m pleased we stuck with it and managed to secure such a great result for Guillermo, me, and the whole HUGO BOSS team.”
After taking the lead early in the race, the HUGO BOSS duo met a severe storm head on and was the first boat in the fleet to confront what French meteorologists described as a “a bomb” of a low-pressure system. As Alex Thomson and Guillermo Altadill vied with Jean-Pierre Dick and Jérémie Beyou aboard Vibrac Paprec 3 and were overtaken while remaining well ahead of the pack, stormy conditions were followed by a “soft zone” with low winds which called for careful strategy and manoeuvring. The last 24 hours of the race then proved particularly tense, as the third-placed boat (Banque Populaire – Armel Le Cléach’h/Christopher Pratt) boat sped up very impressively over the late stages. Commenting on this podium finish, Stewart Hosford, Team Director, Alex Thomson Racing said “We’re thrilled to see HUGO BOSS on the leaderboard of a major race. This stands Alex in great stead for the Vendée Globe and his proof of his status as Britain’s leading solo ocean racing skipper.”
Accurate and reliable timing is naturally of the essence in sailing, and Alex Thomson could once again rely in this competition on his BOSS Black Regatta Watch reflecting the styling and design of the race yacht. Accompanied by this trustworthy timekeeping companion, he and his team will now head to the Caribbean to prepare for the next fixture in the IMOCA calendar, the Transat B to B single-handed race from St. Barts to Lorient in France, which is due to start on Monday December 5th.
About HUGO BOSS and sailing
HUGO BOSS became involved in the field in 2003 by sponsoring Alex Thomson in the Fastnet race. This fascinating and prestigious sport provides HUGO BOSS with another arena in which to display its inimitable flair and style.
The high-end fashion brand has found in sailing a discipline with which it shares a blend of dynamic energy, aesthetic elegance and sporting chic. These qualities are admirably epitomised by Alex Thomson in his personal sailing style, in his IMOCA 60 HUGO BOSS race yacht, and last but not least in the BOSS Black Regatta Watch, a handsome sailing timepiece with dedicated regatta functions designed to celebrate this exceptional partnership.
About the BOSS Black Regatta Watch
The eminently legible dial with its chequered background, reverse-graduated countdown scale, well-defined counters and clear-cut colour-coding, is obviously designed to facilitate quick and easy read-off of the relevant information. The counter at 10 o’clock plays a variable role, displaying the seconds during the countdown; and then, once the race has started, the hours which are more useful to the skipper than the seconds.
The steel case of this rugged and reliable watch is water-resistant to 10 ATM and features a rubber-coated bezel ring and pushers to facilitate grip and handling while the rubber strap bears the HUGO BOSS boat’s racing number, “99”, and the back is engraved with a depiction of the boat. At the helm of a state-of-the-art sailboat and with a timepiece such as the BOSS Black Regatta Watch on his wrist, Alex Thomson and his team are certainly equipped for outstanding performances.
About Alex Thomson
Based in Gosport, Hampshire, UK, 36 year-old Alex Thomson is a charismatic professional yachtsman and the founder of Alex Thomson Racing. He became the youngest ever skipper to win round-the-world race by coming in first in the 1998/99 Clipper Race .
His achievements to date include:
- Winning the Clipper Round World race with an amateur crew in 1998-99.
- Breaking the Round Britain and Ireland Race record in 2000.
- Making it to the start of Vendée Globe in November 2004.
- Racing neck-to-neck with Mike Golding for 2nd place in the Velux 5 Oceans before being forced to withdraw from the race.
- Taking 2nd place and smashing his own 24-hour solo monohull world speed record during the Barcelona World race in 2008.
