Mark Lloyd / Hugo Boss

Attention seeker!

Besuited Alex Thomson repeats his amazing Hugo Boss keel walk

Wednesday February 1st 2012, Author: James Boyd, Location: United Kingdom

8 tonnes of carbon fibre yacht, a 255 horsepower jet ski, 45 combined years of sailing experience, and one crazy guy (Ed: ie show-off) in a suit.

‘We’ve got a safety boat, a film boat, a jet ski… all we need is a plane, man!’ said Alex Thomson, shortly before heading out into the waters of The Solent in the UK to attempt what he calls ‘The Keel Walk’, a stunt that has become infamous throughout the world thanks to the iconic image of Alex ‘riding’ the keel of his IMOCA 60 Hugo Boss.

"But everyone always assumes it was ‘Photoshopped’," said Thomson "and I was determined to prove them wrong, so we decided to try again."

Easier said than done…to sail at the right speed to keep the keel out of the water for long enough for Alex to get on it, you need 18 knots of wind, a slight sea state and a cool-headed skipper.

"We’d wake up one day and the conditions would look just right, so we’d sound the alarm and get the boat prepped, bring in the jet ski guy, the RIB driver, the photographer, the camera guys… I’m in the suit, ready to go…and the wind drops. It was hurry up and wait, hurry up and wait."

Latest Comments

Add a comment - Members log in

Latest news!

Back to top
    Back to top