One of the two wings of IMOCA 60 Hugo Boss, the British skipper Alex Thomson's yacht participating in the Vendee Globe round-the-world regatta, was damaged as a result of a collision with an unidentified object in the South Atlantic.
The yacht was sailing at 24 knots in 22 knots of wind when the incident occurred. The British yachtsman at the time was trying to get some sleep in the below-deck room.
«...I heard a huge bang and the boat stopped and turned about 20 degrees to starboard. I quickly came out on deck and rubbed the main sail and realized I had hit something ... I now slowed down, changed sails and removed the damaged wing and will stay that way until the wind and swell calm down and I can check and assess the damage,»," Thomson said.
In addition to the damaged wing, the yacht has scratches on her starboard side.
Alex Thomson is not the only one whose boat has suffered damage from a collision with a submarine object. Another circumnavigator, Bertrand de Broc, was forced to anchor off one of the islands of the Fernando de Noronha Archipelago, 350 kilometers off the northeast coast of Brazil, after a similar incident. He ducked under the boat to inspect the damage, but was unable to immediately assess it as the weather conditions forced him to quickly return aboard. The athlete reported that he would stay at anchor for some time to inspect the boat further.
The Vendee Globe's solo non-stop circumnavigation began on November 6. There were 29 skippers, one of them, Tanguy de Lamotte, had to turn back because of a broken mast, another, the Spaniard Didac Costa, was severely delayed at the start because one of his ballast tanks leaked and damaged his electronics.
