Failure of the hydraulic canting keel ends Alex's race

At 03.30 GMT this morning, Alex Thomson was sailing at 18 knots, in 30 knots of wind, when the canting keel suffered extreme structural failure and the boat capsized. At 11:00 GMT Alex and his team Alex made a formal decision to abandon ship and exit from the race

Alex was almost neck and neck with second placed Mike Golding when the incident happened, with just one nautical mile separating the two boats. He was sailing downwind, around 1000 nautical miles south of Cape Town, South Africa, with three reefs in the mainsail in order to avoid over-powering the boat.

I can't believe it, I am absolutely gutted... the keel had completely snapped off and the keel was swinging freely.
Alex Thompson Hugo Boss

Alex was almost neck and neck with second placed Mike Golding when the incident happened, with just one nautical mile separating the two boats. He was sailing downwind, around 1000 nautical miles south of Cape Town, South Africa, with three reefs in the mainsail in order to avoid over-powering the boat.

Via phone Alex commented, "I can't believe it, I am absolutely gutted. I have learnt so much already in this race about how hard to push the boat and when to hold back, in order to maintain the right balance between speed and safety. To have a problem with my keel at this critical stage in the race, something which I have no control over, is absolutely devastating."

During a phone call earlier, Alex described the moment it happened. "I was in my bunk grabbing a quick power kip when I was suddenly thrown across the cabin as the boat broached. I ran up on deck and went to ease the mainsail but nothing happened. I then went to try and cant the keel, but again nothing happened. By this stage the boat was leaning right over on its side with the spreaders in the water, so I went back down below to look inside the keel box. The section which attaches the rams to the keel had completely snapped off and the keel was swinging freely. I went back up on deck with the boat still on its side. I took all of the sails down and finally the boat righted itself."

This is obviously a massive knock for Alex, but all is being done at HQ to ensure that Alex's safety is in no way compromised, and that the best solution to this problem can be actioned. As soon as we have any more information we will let you know, in the meantime keep your fingers crossed.

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