Pictures: Alex Thomson prepares for Ocean Masters on HUGO BOSS

The Alex Thomson Racing Team are currently in Newport, USA preparing HUGO BOSS for the start of the Ocean Masters New York to Vendée Transatlantic Race later this month.

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Alex Thomson is preparing to take part in his first single handed offshore race on board his new IMOCA 60, HUGO BOSS.

The Ocean Masters New York to Vendée Race will see Thomson compete against 17 other IMOCA 60’s. It starts at 1pm on 29 May.

See pictures of the preparations below

Thomson arrived in the USA on 3 May after successfully completing a solo transatlantic delivery to Rhode Island on board HUGO BOSS.

He was met by members of the Alex Thomson Racing technical team as they set to work preparing Thomson’s racing yacht for its penultimate race, before the start of the Vendée Globe later this year.

This will be Thomson’s first solo race on board the new yacht in preparation for the start of the ‘ultimate’ offshore sailing challenge the Vendée Globe.

Often referred to as the ‘Everest’ of sailing, the Vendée Globe is a solo, unassisted, round-the-world yacht race that takes place every four years. It is considered one of the most gruelling challenges in the world of sport.

It has only ever been won by Frenchmen, but Thomson has his sights firmly set on becoming the first Briton ever to win the race. In the last edition in 2013, Thomson came third; French skipper François Gabart, who won the Transat bakerly earlier this week, won the 2012-13 Vendée Globe on Macif.

Members of the Alex Thomson Racing Team have been working around the clock following the set back in the Transat Jacques Vabre race. Thomson and his co-skipper Guillermo Altadill were rescued after Thomson’s IMOCA 60 inverted and lead to a dismasting in the Atlantic last November.

Over the winter months, the team has reinforced the yacht to make it stronger and more reliable.

Since being back in the water, members of the Alex Thomson Racing Team have been sail testing all systems onboard prior to Thomson’s successful solo crossing of the Atlantic.

Thomson said he is pleased with the work so far. “We have been up against it since retiring from the Transat Jacques Vabre. It is important that we now spend as much time on the water as possible.”

He continued: “It has been a challenging few months and the team have worked round the clock to get HUGO BOSS back on the water as quickly as possible. I am incredibly confident that we have built a racing yacht capable of winning the Vendée Globe”.

HUGO BOSS is one of four foiling IMOCA 60’s competing in the New York to Vendée Transatlantic race.

Following the event, HUGO BOSS will then return to the UK where final preparations will be made ahead of the start of the Vendée Globe 2016 on 6 November.