Monohull 24 hour record ratified

But Alex Thomson still needs a sponsor

A 24 hour record claim of 467nm was lodged by Alex Thomson with the World Speed Sailing Record Council in December 2003. On examining the documentation, the WSSR Council was unable to agree, and thus ratify, this distance. It was therefore necessary to examine carefully all the position reports together with the relevant calculations.

Following this the WSSRC has today announced that the new 24 hour record is 468.72 nm, an increased distance of 1.72 nm over that which was claimed.

The record was set by Thomson on board his Open 60 Alex Thomson Racing (formerly Roland Jourdain's Sill) between 11-12 December during the Defi Atlantique Open 60 singlehanded race from Salvador to La Rochelle.

This year Thomson is planning to enter the Transat in early June and the Vendee Globe in the autumn, but at present he has been unable to secure the necessary sponsorship, despite this exceptional record and having one of the fastest Open 60s in the fleet. One company has come close to signing him up - to the extent that they even signed a letter of intent to support him - but now they seem to be deliberating further. If sponsorship is not forthcoming then Thomson will not be able to compete and British singlehanded offshore racing will be losing once of its more charismatic and talented sailors.