HALF A WORLD AWAY

DESPITE HAVING ONLY RECENTLY ENDURED THE PAIN OF ANOTHER PAINFUL VENDÉE GLOBE, SAILING TOUR DE FORCE ALEX THOMSON IS ALREADY PLOTTING HIS NEXT ASSAULT ON WHAT REMAINS THE ULTIMATE NAUTICAL CHALLENGE WORDS: RICHARD ALDHOUS

he sea can be a cruel mistress, and while Alex

TThomson retains all the hope and expectation that he will, one day, succeed in conquering the only race that truly matters to him, the Vendée Globe, there is still a deep sense of dejection from his latest attempt to sail around the world solo.

The challenge, which recently completed its ninth edition, was won by Frenchman Yannick Bestaven on his Maître Coq IV boat. His victory was deserved, although Thomson’s disappointment at having to pull out was probably the toughest he has suffered in all his years of sailing.

And yet, while the Vendée is a race, first and foremost, it is also a human and mechanical challenge that, at its heart, must protect the lives of all those who set sail from the small French fishing town of Les Sables d’Olonne, knowing that over the two or three months that follow, it will test every sinew of the human psyche.

The route, starting in France, works its way down to the bottom part of Africa, around Antarctica, left at America, and back to France again – a total of 26,000 miles. The record time is 74 days, and the race is regarded as the truest test of physical strength and mental fortitude.

Now Alex has had time to reacclimatise himself with normality, and the comforts of home with wife Kate and son Oscar, he knows his safe return was the most important aspect of this year’s race, as it is every edition. You only have to look at the dramatic night-time rescue of Kevin Escoffier by fellow competitor Jean Le Cam in the Southern Ocean – aided by the efforts of other racers who abandoned their course to the assistance of a man in a stricken vessel – to know that the true spirit of taking on the seas is a fight for survival as much as it is satisfaction or accomplishment.

“You do get wrapped up in the moment where it seems winning the race, finishing on the podium or just completing the course is the most important thing in the world,” says the Brit, “and of course it’s not. The people in your lives are always the ones who take priority but that doesn’t make a sense of yearning go away, even if you know there will be an opportunity to do something special a few years down the line.”

Of course, a statement supposing Thomson hasn’t already done ‘something special’ in the race is plain misleading - he finished second in 2016 and in third place four years previously, and holds the record for the furthest nautical distance covered in 24 hours – a total of 536 miles, in the 2016/17 edition. That may seem small fry compared to the title of race winner, but it does, along with a number of other factors, point to the reality that Thomson’s time will surely come.

“We’ll go again,” he says. “I like to – and sometimes I need to – remind myself of the stat that 3,000 people have climbed Everest, 600 people have been in outer space but only a hundred or so have sailed single-handed, non-stop around the world. Of course I am proud to have done that, and I have total respect for my competitors who are just as driven and hungry as me, and who can match my hard luck stories with their own – that’s the way it goes.”

The common acceptance that when performances goes up, reliability goes down, is something Thomson’s team will have time to ponder over the coming months and years, as they prepare to go again in 2024/25. By then, the sailor will be another level up on his ability to harness incredible mental strength, all designed to help him through the tough times in isolation.

Rest is at a premium – he hasn’t ever slept for more than an hour at a time, and in most days it’s repeated grabs of 30 minutes or less. Even the notion of a ‘day’ becomes alien – hours simply merge into one with no relativity.

“It’s brutal and it’s relentlessness. People really think that we’re crazy to do this kind of job, but the moments of elation, excitement, extreme satisfaction, are worth it all.”

“When you’re hurtling down waves driven by an autopilot the defence mechanism of the body comes into play and your brain is screaming, ‘you’re going to die, you’re going to die!’ All you can think about is the icebergs, the whales, the sharks that you could be hitting.”

Through intense psychological work over a number of months, Alex has managed to map out a process whereby his fears are tempered by good thoughts, and his tendency for complacency is brought back into check. “The middle ground is one you want as a racer,” he says.” You are comfortable in your position but expectant of trouble, whilst always trying to push forward and improve. It’s a fail-safe state of mind that keeps you efficient, motivated and alert, and that is so valuable in this type of race… in any race in fact.”

“It’s true that when stuff goes wrong it’s very hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. For instance, when I broke my hydrofoil in 2016 I went from thinking I could win the race to maybe not even finishing, the mind set change was enormous. The Vendée Globe is a race that, whilst becoming no easier than its first iteration back in 1989/90, is seeing more and more racers accomplish the incredible web of physical and mental demands that confront at every turn.

“Nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing, can ever prepare you for the challenge, for the loneliness, for the lack of sleep, and for just being alone with your own thoughts in a highly-pressured situation,” Alex says.

“However, what is true is that with every repeat you can map out the challenges and the tasks - repetition is a wonderful thing for the human brain. Even as babies, we crave repetition because it gives us a sense of familiarity, and with familiarity comes comfort and reassurance.

“I think as we get older we like to move away from that because repetition suddenly becomes boring and unstimulating; yet when you are in the boat, it’s a lot of the same tasks and the same processes every day, and to come to accept that again can be a really valuable experience.”

The thing that makes us want Alex Thomson to win has much to do with the fact that the 46-year-old is such a grounded, down to earth, likeable adventurer.

“Admitting defeat is not something I can do very well. It seems the best way to avoid doing that is to win, so that’s the plan we’ll take forward,” he smiles.

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