There he was, the Alex Thomson that his fans love: "The Boss is back!" he yells into the microphone of his headset and demonstratively pushes himself into the grinder of his boat. After days of exhausting repairs that cost him the lead, his huge laminating job on the structure of the foredeck is complete. "I'm back!" he shouts, grinning broadly across his face and reporting that he has already sailed his first speeds of around 20 knots. Yesterday evening he had sent a video of him drilling holes in the foredeck and installing angle laminates for reinforcement.
"Boss is back!"
Together with Sam Davies ("Initiatives-Cœurs") and Louis Burton ("Bureau Vallée 2") he is on the western route around the high pressure area and is making good progress at 12.6 knots at the last position update. He is 680 miles behind the leader, even if it is difficult to say at the moment how much of this will be left in two or three days. The leader Charlie Dalin with "Apivia" is not yet out of the high pressure either, sailing at around 8 knots. Thomas Ruyant is now 100 miles behind with his "LinkedOut", which damaged its port foil yesterday and can no longer use it.
Hugo Boss
Boris Herrmann, who also switched to a westerly course around the high late on, but was fortunately able to close the gap to "PRB", which had sailed into the doldrums ahead of him, is probably also wondering where he will end up at the moment. With a gap of 500 miles, the German is currently in fourth place with his "Seaexplorer", right next to Yannick Bestaven's "Maître Coq IV" and Kevin Escoffier's "PRB". But what this is worth will only become clear in two or three days' time, when it is clear how the group is progressing west of the high, how quickly the two top riders, who are sailing the shorter route, will get through the weak wind zone or whether the high will catch up with them and slow them down for longer.
And then there's Jean Le Cam. The 61-year-old in third place is the only one to have set off on an almost direct easterly course, somehow trying to make his way through a narrow band of wind in the headwind. It will be interesting to see how well he succeeds. From his point of view, it was a logical course; if he had also switched to the west course, he would have ended up at the back of the field as he was already so far ahead. Perhaps he will surprise everyone again.
Yesterday, "Malizia" team member Will Harris analysed the complicated weather situation in a video
Will Harris analyses the weather situation
The chasing group in the middle of the field, which is further behind and includes the German-French sailor Isabelle Joschke with her "MACSF", also benefited. She has worked her way up to 14th place and is currently making up quite a few miles on the boats in front at 15.7 knots.
Andreas Fritsch
Editor Travel
