On the pontoons people are whispering:   The French boats are almost all using the plans of the architect Guillaume Verdier, making the boats lot lighter, making them faster down the wind. But are those boats reliable enough ?  Alex Thomson, using Farr plans on his Hugo Boss, is more confident than ever finishing this race and benefits gains on long-term (http://www.vendeeglobe.org/en/news/article/2265/alex-thomson-the-french-favourites-won-t-finish.html) .  But don’t forget the severe delamination in the first part of last Vendee Globe making Alex Thomson to pull out the race (http://thistrainisforgourock.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/hugoboss.jpg?w=300&h=186 )

At the end we’ll know the truth.

ROUND the world yachtsman Alex Thomson waved goodbye to his Hampshire base yesterday as he set sail to join up with his rivals in the Vendee Globe race.

Thomson left Gosport on his 60ft yacht Hugo Boss bound for Les Sables d’Olonne in France ahead of the start of the 30,000-mile solo non-stop round the world race, writes WILL CARSON.

The 38-year-old has competed in the Vendee Globe, regarded as one of sailing’s toughest challenges, twice previously but has never finished it.

His chances of victory were all but ended before the start of the 2008 race when his boat was damaged by a fishing vessel while waiting to enter Les Sables d’Olonne marina.

“This feels like a very positive moment,” said Thomson prior to leaving the dock yesterday.

“We have got a few people on board because we want to avoid the disaster from four years ago.

“This year we are really confident with the boat and the team we have had behind the preparations the last few years.”

He first hit headlines in 1999 becoming the youngest ever skipper to win a round the world race, sailing his team to victory in the Clipper Round the World Race.

In the 2005 Velux 5 Oceans race Thomson was rescued from his sinking yacht in the Southern Ocean by Golding.

In July this year, Thomson set a new world record for the fastest solo crossing between New York and Cornwall, completing the course in eight days, 22 hours and eight minutes, smashing the existing record by more than a day.

See Will Carson’s Sailing Spotlight in today’s Daily Echo

By Will Carson

source: http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/9984385.Alex_chases_round_the_world_glory/