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NEWS
Alex Thomson's Skywalk: Video
British round-the-world sailor, Alex Thomson, has unveiled his latest sailing stuntFollowing in the wake of his 'Keelwalk' and then his 'Mastwalk', Alex Thomson has now released video of his 'Skywalk'.
This latest stunt involves Thomson, on a kiteboard, chasing his IMOCA open 60 Hugo Boss upwind and attaching himself via a rope to the top of the boat’s mast. Thomson then uses the speed of the race boat to propel himself 280ft into the air.
When Thomson reaches the peak of his flight, he detaches himself from the boat and controls his descent back down, landing the kiteboard on the water all the while wearing a stylish Boss suit.
The height is said to be twice that of the mast, a height equivalent to a 25 story building.
In total, 35 people were involved in the planning, co-ordination and execution of the stunt, including Alex Thomson Racing Operations Manager Ross Daniel, professional kite-surfer Susie Mai and kite-surfing coach Ray Kasper.
Having returned to dry land Thomson commented: "The previous two stunts that we carried out were so successful that, as a team, we just knew we couldn’t stop there. We were all in agreement; we wanted to do something even bigger and better.
"The idea of combining two of my favourite sports and executing something which, to our knowledge, had never been done before was really exciting," he added.
Later this year, Thomson will compete in the pinnacle event of the Ocean Masters race calendar – the Vendée Globe which begins on November 6. The non-stop, solo, unassisted, round-the-world race takes approximately 80 days to complete. In the last edition of the race, back in 2013, Thomson finished in third place. This time around he says he is determined to be the first Brit to win the prestigious title.
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Written byBoatsales Staff
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Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
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