The bowman stands at the windward shroud and silently indicates the gusts. Three fingers raised - that means three seconds until the next gust. Two, one - the helmsman drops off, the boat heels away - and speeds off. The log jumps to 23.6 knots, then the bow cuts through a high wave and all the dams break.
A white wall of spray and massive water rushes towards the crew crouching in the cockpit at the very end of the stern. The bow and bowman in their bright red outfits disappear into the foamy void. Cascades break first on the mast, then on winches, fittings, lines - and people. Gustav, a cameraman for a Swedish sailing newspaper, is almost swept off his feet on deck and his camera goes overboard.
And yet, as the water drains away, Alex Thomson bursts out laughing and almost everyone joins in. His fellow sailors are dripping like waterlogged poodles; those who haven't turned away quickly enough have got a C-tube-like jet of water in their hoods and the sleeves of their sailing jackets. Some are soaked down to their underwear. Terrifying, but somehow also really cool.
Even Gustav laughs, despite losing the camera, he already knows this, at the last Volvo race he was the media man on board the "Ericsson 2". He likes that sort of thing. The worse, the better. So we take a few more of these gusts with us, including a full wash. The water is still nice and warm here off Ibiza, no need to complain. And when do you, as a mere mortal, get to beat an Open 60 through 25 knots of wind and corresponding waves?
But single-handed, at night, in the Southern Ocean, in 50 instead of 25 knots of wind? Somehow these machines are almost inhumanly brutal to sail.
To get to know a boat like this, Thomson's sponsor Hugo Boss invited him to a press sailing event on the new Open 60, which he will be sailing in the Barcelona World Race (double-handed, non-stop around the world) in December. Together with his co-skipper Andy Meiklejohn, the Briton wants to win this time after finishing second in the first edition in 2007/08.
Surprisingly, the weapon of choice this time was not a new build. Thomson opted for a refit of an older boat, the old ex-Pindar and ex-"Kingdom of Bahrain", with which Brian Thompson sailed the last Vendée. The reason for this is simple: "The class has changed the rules, the new boats are limited in sail area and righting moment," explains Thomson. All boats already built are exempt. The young Brit is known to be a sailing horsepower junkie, so he opted for the most radical boat available on the market. A Juan Kouyoumdjian design. Just for orientation: "Hugo Boss" has practically the same mast, sail area and rigging moment as a Volvo 70
And you can tell. The boat flies so effortlessly through the waves at more than wind speed when daysailing off Ibiza that you can't take your eyes off the log. Apart from that, this is also the central display for the helmsman on such rides: Guests should only sail according to the true wind angle, i.e. the incidence of the true wind. The boat is kept between 110 and 120 degrees. The boat is surprisingly light on the rudder.
Two of the total of eight ballast tanks balance the Open 60 at the rear so that the projectile does not dig its nose into the waves and lever itself out.
Later, when we are back in the cover of Ibiza and the waves are getting lower, sailing is really lammfrom - and above all dry. Then you can sit on the high edge and marvel at the signal orange keel, which is swivelled almost 45 degrees to windward and chases through the water like a torpedo. The bomb on the filigree fin looks almost grotesquely large. It's hard to believe that something like this lasts.
The special thing about Thomson's boat is the cockpit: two tiny, egg-shaped wheelhouses are placed on deck at the very stern, which the Briton calls "pods", where all life takes place. The skipper and co-skipper live in the cocoons, which are perhaps two square metres in size. They sleep on large cushions filled with plastic balls (beanbags), a tiny camping gas cooker is the kitchen - the rest are displays for the autopilot, plotter and keel controls. It's a living space that takes some getting used to and has something of the charm of a coffin.
Life takes place on deck level, and if the skipper is needed, all you have to do is swing out of the bunk and you are in the centre of the cockpit. The fact that it is so far aft should not disturb the balance of the boat: "With the Open 60s, you can't actually have enough weight aft in rough weather, as the worst thing is for the bow to undercut," says Thomson.
The two sailors practically no longer have to go below deck. This is not pleasant anyway, Thomson has simply cut off the previously rather conventional, spacious cabin superstructure and laminated it shut. The hull is actually a huge surfboard with two tiny access hatches in the pods. Nowhere below deck is there more than perhaps 1.3 metres of standing or crawling height. A black carbon fibre cave. Only the ballast tank valves are operated from here.
Thomson is certain: "We have the most radical boat and have now sailed 10,000 nautical miles with it. Everything is fully developed and works. We are ready for the Barcelona World Race. We'll then see whether the new boats built by Jean-Pierre (Dick) and Michel (Desjoyeaux) are too." He is certain that the ex-"Kingdom of Bahrain", which attracted attention with mast breakages and structural problems, is a good choice. Due to a lack of sponsorship, the boat was never even brought close to its potential before. "We're going to surprise a lot of people," he says confidently. He will have to prove it from 31 December, when the Barcelona World Race starts, in which the German Boris Herrmann will also be taking part.
Andreas Fritsch
Editor Travel
