Onboard Update: Repairs nearing completion

[@JustinmaguireIII]

A model of seamanship, discipline, and courage. Well done Alex.

[@notachannel4u]

If he does well on the podium, otherwise no deal

[@sammcneil1213]

Well said, indeed, and grace under pressure.

[@gnedelcu7]

Mister Thomson, Congratulations! Bon vent! București, România

[@maneval49brdsal16]

An example of seamanship with an Electric screwwdriver ?

[@DcFQGg]

Really amazing job and you show great character and spirit. I am sure that with this very unwelcome work you have gained even more respect from your fans. With me in any case.

[@henrypott9523]

I used to have a framed saying on my wall when I was young that read “and when the one great scorer comes to write against your name he will write not that you won or lost but how you played the game” you have embodied every bit of that virtue Bravo!

[@johnwilliamson6624]

Alex. Your a man above almost all men and a huge example to us all. So so impressive and best wishes and good luck.

[@josedacunhafilho]

chevalier Alex looks so tired. What a tremendous trooper he is, my admiration for him has no limits. O pray the repairs are successful and he makes a heroic dash to victory in January. Allez Alex!!!

[@team3383]

Go Alex Go. Praying and thinking about you often while waiting for a heart transplant.

[@chrissyboi88b]

Great work, I hope with it now being stronger than before you can push hard to make up the distance and bring home the win for the UK.

[@williamjolka4351]

No accidental damages with OFNI reported. That means that level of efforts considered by the architect was too low and/ or Alex used may be 130% of capacity... As conséquence the " repair " will not Make stronger the damaged structure. Expecting that maximum efforts which damaged the Boat will be not met Alain. But no doubt Alex cld not used the boat anymore as he did when he has choosen to cross 60Knots wind.... Other foilers hv turned around... Bad luck

[@grakkerful]

Hugo Boss is German, FYI.

[@petersizen3897]

@@williamjolka4351 Sorry, can you explain it in more detail? It is hard to read, couple difficult words...

[@williamjolka4351]

@@petersizen3897 hi Peter. Sorry I m french so my langage may be bad. I mean the original structure has no sufficient safety margin or Alex asked may be about 130/ 150% capacity when he went through the 60 knots wind instead of turning around the dangerous zone. This because no collision was reported so it is over limit using or Missing of carbon dimension. Other Skippers sailing a foiler have made safer choice and were able to Recuper the lost time as they maintained the boat in no damaged condition Any way the repaired structure will never be as strong as original . As conséquence the Boat gets Handicap when fighting rough sea which will certainly happen many times as the road is still very long. Expect this clear. Repaired is not stronger !! Except may be when managed at shipyard...

[@petersizen3897]

@@williamjolka4351 Thanks, and I understand now, and I think you are right. He has to be safe with the boat, although he did amazing job with the resources he had. I wish him luck and good conditions.

[@daren1175]

Alex - you are an inspiration. Your determination, your resilience, your mental strength. I sailed the southern ocean in the Clipper Round the World Race 17/18 edition so I know what you are heading towards - but single handed - hats off to you. Utmost respect. Enjoy the sleigh ride!

[@williamdawson8449]

Thank you for taking the time out to show us viewers what you are doing.

[@Andrey0007]

Alex, bon vent! You have deserved this title more than anyone! You'll fly and get it!

[@Iloverugby]

Well done to you, your great attitude and your support team. To me it’s incredible you had to endure such a major failure in a new boat and in the lighter conditions compared to the Southern Ocean. The designers and construction engineers responsible must be very embhassased right now! Good luck for the rest of the race.

[@MishClauw]

it’s admirable how alex handles the situation, emotions and the pressure. go alex!

[@sailjazzdew]

Alex & crew, Thanks so much for this view into the world of repairs. My first experience seeing carbon fiber cloth. I've only worked with fiberglass as documented in my KZbin channel Yachtorial.

[@filipsejba4434]

Good Luck Alex! Well done! All the best from YC Rolling Bottles! We all here believe that you will fight the top again.

[@patrickjean-philippe7679]

Alex, That is a fantastic job you did !!! Well done ! Frightening to hear that the resin is so accelerated that it heats up so much ! I had a resin mix fire once but that was with polyester not epoxy. Allez Alex, Allez Alex !

[@iancourt3274]

Stunning work and massive effort by you and your shore team. I hope it all stays together for the big waves in the Southern Ocean....go Alex and may the Gods smile down on you!👍👍👍😎🤙

[@SteveLiebig]

I'm so damned proud of you man! What an inspiration. Every morning I open email to check on my family--then I open the Hub to check on you. You've become family, man!!! Take care.

[@thomaslewis7058]

Alex, thanks for showing us what you are up against, we are all interested, all you are doing might be stronger than original - great job. We all hope for a speedy completion of the repairs so you can push hard again with confidence. Hope you have ventilation or a respirator working down below. All the best - T Lewis

[@peterdorning8654]

Great Job Alex - once you have completed all the work I am sure you can pull in the leaders - take care and best wishes

[@davidchidell6944]

Your repair work now will be one of the highlights when you win the race later. Well done! Looking ahead, I hope you work out the best route for progress (I can't!) in what looks like days of very light and sometimes adverse winds.

[@xpelcapecod]

Perfect weather / conditions for these repairs. I'll be pulling for you! You have the entire race ahead of you to come back strong. Count your blessing and kick some ass!

[@jackk7030]

Well done Alex 👍 all the best to you and Hugo, Cheers mate 👍💪

[@fprintf]

Nicely done. It is like a drum in there! Loud.

[@DrCrabfingers]

Dude...we're with every step of the way...so proud of you and your 'can do' attitude. You are an inspiration. Really looking forward to seeing your baby back up to full racing potential and chasing down the leaders...

[@emanueleartusi5572]

I looked closely at the work done by the incredible Alex, who did everything he could and more. So by eye, but I really hope I'm wrong, I'm afraid that at the first lump in the southern ocean, the repair of the bow will hardly hold up. I wonder what engineers are the ones who designed Hugo Boss, similar structural damage with winds and ocean that were certainly not those of 55 ° South. I don't know what to think, fair winds Alex.

[@petersizen3897]

And what experience do you have in this field exactly? I mean, maybe you are right, but do you just have a feeling, or you see some flaws and you have a strong argument?

[@emanueleartusi5572]

@@petersizen3897 I am a designer of racing, motorcycle and car components. I admit my ignorance in marine engineering, but I have some experience with that type of composite materials. I don't even think about criticizing what Alex did, whom I consider to be the best sailor in the world. What I mean is that he did everything he could in less than optimal conditions, but it is still a temporary accommodation, it will certainly hold with not extreme sea, but a structural failure remains and with the southern ocean is another story. I'll be honest, I hate these people who try to cover their asses on Alex's skin.

[@petersizen3897]

@@emanueleartusi5572 I see your point. There are some serious design or manufacturing flaws, and Alex is heavily dependent on that boat. Those parts should have took at least 3x the stress they have seen. It is hard to defend the builders. Sure they don't have 1000s of prototype boats to build, and cannot stresstest them on the whole VG every time, but this huge material failure opens some questions. Maybe it was a computer model issue, or a manufacturing error. Working with CF in a boathull must have unique challanges even on land. I would rule out incompetent designers since VPLP and Carrington boats have amazing references. There was still a huge difference in the math and the reality, and I am curious what caused this gap.

[@emanueleartusi5572]

@@petersizen3897 Sorry if I didn't answer you right away, but in Italy it was two in the morning. It is very difficult to express the technical concept of a very complex project in a few words. I wanted to point out an excellent video that explains very well what happened (without expressing judgments) that I am in complete agreement with. Here the link: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nnynp2qsiMqgqKs

[@petersizen3897]

@@emanueleartusi5572 Thanks, I have just seen this video as well. I am happy that this kind of knowledge is available on the net. The importance of "easing out" the strength of the stiff parts and creating stress points with the overstrengthening of the broken parts were things i did not think about.

[@rosewood1]

Cracking good job Alex and thanks for sharing. Not the easiest stuff to cut and it doesn't mould like conventional mat but it's incredibly strong. Have repaired hatches which were indestructible after. Bon Voyage and I hope you can blast on into the Southern ocean. All the best

[@nalaviemwinchester6789]

Keep on moving big man , your doing fine.it’s a long race and we are all racing with you.. Be safe and be brave ! Bring home the tin !!

[@rg3412]

I'm confused, I thought you were already done yesterday. Hopefully things are good and you are underway by the time this video has reached us! Good luck from France!

[@flare2000x]

I think yesterday he managed to repair enough to set sail again but he still can't go in high winds until he manages to fix it fully.

[@milesokal6698]

I've rebuilt a forepeak, and can't imagine doing it underway and without a tyvek suit and respirator! All said, I hope you give it a good test before the roaring forties my man. Live to fight another day.

[@edwardschmitt5710]

NICE!!!!! This is epic, so cool to follow along. Thanks for taking the time to update us all!!!!

[@easylistening1377]

Keep up the fight Alex. Wishing you the best from the USA 🇺🇸!!!

[@simqi9085]

Continues de nous faire rêver Alex, on sait tous que tu es un excellent marin. J'espère vraiment que tu pourras rattraper la tête de course et que ton bateau tiendra le coup. Bon vent.

[@finding_mojo]

Great work Alex, you'll be sorted and back racing again soon. Such good timing to have this calm weather. :)

[@bpetersson5024]

I really hope the fix will do the job, good luck, Alex!

[@azertyoufou]

Ce mec est énorme. Mental de fou. Really a mindset of winner

[@Tintin-dm4ym]

Amazing work, it will make your finish even more impressive. And hopefully your win more impressive!!!

[@robynsjp]

Nice work ! Now we know who to call if we need to fix something at home 😃. Fair winds going forward, Alex !

[@kuriabraham]

Brilliantly done! 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾You are an inspiration.

[@rupertgalliers-pratt3716]

Very impressive. Congratulations and good luck Alex.

[@joemannic]

Good job on the repair! hopefully your team on shore can figure out why that element failed and then have a look at the rest of the structure to see if anything else needs a layer of carbon or length of girder. The issue is why did it break. Maybe a load calculation error. Good luck Alex, now time to head south and dodge around the leaders.

[@Haroosh20]

I would find this hard enough in my nice comfortable garage. Can’t imagine how difficult it was in situ. Well done Alex. Now go and catch those lead boats 🏆👍

[@wasabiginger6993]

reminds me of fixing dings on my surfboard in 60’s with glass, resin & catalyst ... mahalo for update!

[@sirilukduke7906]

I can not stop glint my teeth the big decision to make for you. You chose to go ahead you are a breve man. Follow your dream xx

[@drwindsurf]

Congratulations on a job well done Alex 😊👍

[@benjaminnevins5211]

Glad you got it fixed. Get back in the fight. Good luck!

[@virginiapriest109]

Wishing you very good luck!

[@davidclarke7728]

Keep going Alex, we are all behind you

[@vandevenronald1395]

I have some experience in polyester /epoxy works and it's not easy to make good work in that condition. I hope everthing is ok now. Go Alex !!!

[@rustie4242]

Your doing a great job with the repairs, just make sure you spend some time on deck breathing fresh air after being in the hole. Cheers Rustie...

[@richardayres2949]

Well done Alex, may you have fair winds for the rest of the race.

[@antony9621]

1/4 du parcours a peine il sait comment réparer il sait comment il va combler le retard c'est un génie ! Bravo monsieur

[@skyak4493]

Welcome back Alex. Thanks for sharing. I honestly was expecting more layers and a lot more material.

[@robinrichardson8879]

Great job! Lucky B&Q were open as you sailed past (I think I recognise those scissors)

[@964cuplove]

Fingers crossed all this works out !!!

[@andymarshall2201]

Top Man Alex, you’ve got this, keeping going, the whole of the UK is rooting for you.

[@mitfreundlichengrussen1234]

Wow! got all my fingers crossed till next week - be safe.

[@simonpuxley7374]

awesome work Alex!!!

[@jairz269]

Good job, now go and win the vendee globe

[@olivierleroy-parmentier185]

Awesome job mate. Wish you the best for the test of the race.

[@sadrimathari5162]

Admirable courage ✌️👏 plus repair skills. Alex is the McGuiver of the Seas !

[@kiwinewz4293]

Awesome I was kinda wondering how you were going to do the repair. I’ve been watching a lot of onshore yacht restorations and building. Worked as a volunteer building a fibreglass/composite racing yacht for Melbourne to Hobart. Also got some experience working on a tall ship restoration. Good luck and well done.

[@dereksg183]

An amazing inspirational person Alex, well done.

[@rrch1312]

What an unbelievable achievement! I hope your positiveness is contagious to many of us looking at the screen seeing your videos. Can you tell how you discovered the problem at all?

[@nickel18833]

Great job. Very professional considering the very difficult working conditions!

[@pedrom5919]

Excellent job...congratulations.

[@TheDjnatronic]

Great job Alex....keep it up!!!

[@baliyachtservices7505]

Great work! Good luck!

[@citoyenatterre4234]

i'm french, but i hope you win, you deserve it!

[@glegooful]

Wow! I am in awe of you Alex ........ they'd better watch out for when you start racing again hee hee

[@johnswimcat]

What a good man. The right stuff in full measure

[@MrNollemans]

That is wonderful repair. Suggestion to improve another time in future, perhaps new bow like wave piercing bow, from Baltic Workboats shipyard from Estonia. Many pilots really like this boat design.

[@Bob8091]

Let's hope the shut eye was deep and rejuvenating!!

[@garysankey4618]

Bloody awesome effort 👍

[@edwardmihevic2214]

Excellent news, Godspeed Alex.

[@gadgetg9479]

Please take the time to put a cut fuel line- tape ect on the cut edges could make for a nasty accident in big seas if you need to get in there. stay safe and I look forward to seeing you pull an Alex in the next leg!!!

[@tonydebruyne257]

Good luck in the southern Ocean!!

[@spikeexc]

Nicely done! Most guys couldn’t do that in the yard.

[@fabienh3943]

Man man! You were my favourite since the 2006 bad luck with the foil and your art to add some Batman flair to the otherwise slightly "campagne française" (no, I didn't mention Le Cam!) mood of the Vendée. But this is unprecedented art in turning pure shit into an instructive, positive and fascinating recovery. Go and chase the hell out of the guys in front, Alex!

[@tukinfoods5111]

Brilliant job! What a legend!

[@scooptv9]

Awesome ... Can't wait to see you crank her up again!

[@kaloryczny]

Great job! Find some wind now and good luck!!!

[@oikkuoek]

The quality is immaculate considering the circumstances. Although the glue is brittle when hardened completely, it still might hold for a few days. Try to stay on the deep, the waves are less choppy. Smooth sails, my friend, smooth sails.

[@josedacunhafilho]

I'll say it again; if this boat is to be retired next year, chop off the bow with all these repairs and put it up for auction. Not a doubt in my mind it would sell for a lot of money that could be reverted to the 2024 race. Imagine having that piece of the boat at home like a sculpture? Wow. GO ALEX!!!

[@jeromebousquet2539]

Good Luck Alex 💪💪💪

[@otrrs]

Amazing determination but hard to fathom the repair will be any stronger than the original design that failed miserably in the conditions at this point. With an unforeseen design flaw or material defect of this magnitude I would think the vessel would be at risk to continue into the more dangerous phases of the voyage. Yes for lifesaving it's a great repair but for a race I think it's irresponsible for the engineers to allow this thing to enter the Southern Ocean. Jean Le Cam was specific in saying that if these new technology boats have a failure it could cause great risk to the crew.

[@petersizen3897]

I think these boats can be repaired to be stronger than they were, the question is if Alex have everything required for that. Do you miss something? What makes you think it is not enough? And do you have a link to Cam's interview when he said that?

[@otrrs]

@@petersizen3897 Repaired stronger than a design/engineering flaw? Opinion seems that this is just a typical repair on a sailboat of a proven design. It is not a proven design it's a prototype, quoting alexthompson.com " two years of painstaking design and build work, undertaken by more than 100 naval architects, designers, engineers and boat builders". For conversation's sake I would say that these people have failed in the design or build with an undetected or unaccounted issue that has caused this amount of structural damage. Yet these same experts are going to put Alex to sea after certifying a quick onboard repair? Alex had stated something didn't feel right so he started investigating and found the damage. But I get it, this is for fame and fortune, safety takes a back seat. Alex is not a sailor right now, he is a test pilot, and a brave one at that.

[@petersizen3897]

@@otrrs You are partly right, but i think you are missing an important part. These guys have amazing expertise, both VPLP and Carrington boats have built many ocean racer boats. They found a weakspot and they run many simulations now to identify causes and consequences. They could strengthen it to be better than it was in a dry dock for sure. The only question is does Alex have the tools for it? The engineers did some mistakes sure, they weakened the whole hull, and I think this lead to extra forces on the longitudinal element which broke. But I don't think this part was by design any weaker than on other boats, just the math become too complex. The big question still there, this would have to cope with 3-5 times this beating.

[@otrrs]

@@petersizen3897 Yes, having to cope 3-5 times the beating is pretty much my point, I really hope the engineers have the utmost confidence in this "solution" and the overall seaworthiness of the vessel to allow Alex to continue.

[@Tigersmundo]

*Alex, excellent update and the perfect time for it to happen (if it had to happen) once done go gettum head SOUTH a big fan of yours cheering you on all the way! : )*

[@andrewpeacock8829]

When you have mixed up the epoxy in the measuring beaker, tip it out onto a plate or bowl. A thinner layer will generate a lot less heat and make it easier to put it on the roller as well. Shame about your dinner though.....

[@marcusgates5293]

Well done Alex keep fighting nobody said it would be easy!

[@GrenvilleMelonseedSkiff496]

Well deserved rest ... then it's hammer time! Well done and Hold Fast!

[@valeriedrouet8706]

Ouah ! Good job ! Have a nice wind et good road to le cap de bonne espérance. 🤗🤗🤗🤗

[@GielK]

Respect to you and your team

[@juliendufour4513]

Good job Alex, let's hope it holds in south hemisphere.

[@joem3556]

Best wishes Alex

[@garyhorton9280]

Good work well done 👍

[@chrismartin5870]

Proud of you Alex.

[@johnfoster3286]

Best wishes, laminating and other repairs while offshore is never easy.

[@secondaryresponse]

this is like a modern odyssey, very exciting!

[@tommypetraglia4688]

Do you think his kit includes a 'bag of wind' ? 🌬

[@geralddavis7401]

Amazing effort Alex!! Man, you're looking fit and almost skinny - you must be sweating off pounds in there! I can't tell you how much we are all rooting for you here. Get the job finished securely Alex and get The Beast good and solid for the Southern Ocean. There WILL be other technical failures without a doubt - this story is far from over, but what a story it is turning out to be! Go Alex!!!

[@masherida]

Brave stuff and in control

[@janharaldsson6271]

Great job Alex, get some sleep and let's hope the guys in front parks in a high so you can sail around them 😀

[@quickdry3]

Hopefully the Beast will be up and flying soon!