Sponsorship of offshore racing has big risks. While Hugo Boss has been getting loads of media coverage over the last few weeks, it’s not the kind they would have been hoping for.
Alex Thomson has officially retired from the Vendee Globe race today. The damage sustained to his IMOCA Open 60 yacht HUGO BOSS on Monday night is not repairable by next Wednesday’s restart deadline. It is thought the damage was sustained by a collision with a submerged object.
There is a transverse crack that runs through the outer and inner skin of the boat. The crack extends 5 metres to almost the centreline. The unidirectional fibres that make up the outside layer of the boat have peeled off from the start of the crack to the back of the boat. There is also a 10cm x 10cm compression to the hull which has pushed the core in and a deflection inside the hull.
Alex Thomson speaking on news that HUGO BOSS cannot be repaired in time for the restart: “They think that the repairs are going take...
