Alex Thomson and Pepe Ribes, skippers of yacht HUGO BOSS in the Barcelona World Race lost their mast at 21.02 GMT on 15 January 370 nautical miles off the coast of Brazil. The yacht was reaching in moderate conditions when there was a rigging failure and the mast fell overboard and broke. At the time of the incident, HUGO BOSS was leading and well ahead in the race.
This means they will now cease racing in the Barcelona World Race 2014-2015. The skippers and the shore team are currently evaluating how to get the boat to the nearest landfall, which is likely to be Salvador in Brazil – still a significant distance from the boat’s current position.
Stewart Hosford, Managing Director of Alex Thomson Racing, said ‘After such a promising start to the 2014-2015 edition of the Barcelona World Race this has come as a great shock. We have been preparing for this race for over a year, but unfortunately in offshore racing this type of failure sometimes happens. I now just want the skippers to get to safety and to recognise that they, and the team, are very upset that this has happened. I want to thank our team and our partners for their support. Alex and Pepe were doing a superb job in this race and having spoken to both of them – they are devastated that this rig failure has ended their race.’
Alex Thomson Racing are grateful to all the support from their fans and we will keep everyone updated with further news on their web site Alex Thomson Racing.