Alex is the fastest Brit20 Jan 2017Alex Thomson is the fastest Brit to sail solo around the world. Photo credit: Mark LloydBritish sailor Alex Thomson has finished second in the Vendée Globe onboard his boat HUGO BOSS.Finishing in a time of 74 days, 19 hours and 35 minutes, Mr Thomson has become the fastest Brit to sail solo around the world and matched Dame Ellen MacArthur’s second place finish that she achieved in the 2001 edition of the race.  On day 13 of the race, Mr Thomson broke his starboard foil after a collision with an object in the water and at one point fell around 800 miles behind the leader, Armel Le Céac’h.The last week of the race saw Mr Thomson closing to around 30 miles of Mr Le Céac’h before light airs delayed his progress.“It’s incredible to be here in second place, particularly given the loss of my starboard foil in the early part of the race,” he said. “In our sport, challenges do not get any tougher, so this is a moment I will never forget.”He added: “It feels amazing, it’s a long, long way.”The 2016-17 edition of the Vendée Globe started on November 6 with 29 skippers, setting sail from Les Sables d’Olonne, France. Currently 18 of the sailors remain in the race.Thomson and his team had spent more than two years ahead of the race designing and building the new IMOCA 60 race boat, HUGO BOSS.

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