STOWING AWAY WITH ALEX THOMSON
One of the favourites to win the 2020/21 Vendée Globe was British sailor Alex Thomson. He was a high-placing finisher in the last edition and his boat Hugo Boss is an icon of top racing technology. Unfortunately, Thomson was forced out of the race after suffering rudder damage, to the dismay of sailing fans and his competitors too, who had almost as much admiration for his boat as they did for its skipper. The design of the Hugo Boss boat was unlike any of the others in the competition. Thomson raced the boat entirely from inside a closed cockpit, using a panorama of screens linked to exterior cameras. The team and their partners at Nokia Bell Labs created their own AI autopilot, an exclusive sail development programme and also an advanced data experience for fans. The website alexthomsonracing.com allowed fans to check the status of the race with the same tools available on the Vendée Globe website, but additionally they were treated to a deluge of real-time data sent directly from the Hugo Boss – and from Thomson himself. Fans were able to monitor the Hugo Boss’ key data points. In addition to comprehensive weather data, the website also displayed boat speed, maximum bow height and heel angle (the variation of the boat from a vertical position, caused by wind or waves) and the G-forces the Hugo Boss – and Thomson – were experiencing. Other monitored environmental conditions were the ambient decibel level (the ocean pounding against the thin hull of a carbon-fibre boat is loud – sailing the Vendée Globe is like listening to a lawnmower constantly for three months) and the amount of energy collected by the boat’s solar panels. Thomson himself was also transmitting data. Fans could monitor the skipper ’s vital signs, including heart rate, calories burned, time slept and physiological work. Athlete data is becoming more and more a part of a sport fan’s experience, but no one has taken us on a journey like Alex Thomson and Hugo Boss.
outcome and how each skipper copes – or doesn’t. It determines how likely they are to finish, if at all. The race website updates the standings six times a day. The rankings list updates with each participant’s speed, location and heading, distance to finish and whether or not the boat has deployed foils. Skippers are also ranked in different categories, such as Best Speed, Best Distance Covered, Longest Distance Travelled (not necessarily the leader). The rankings are fully archived. As such, fans can travel back in time to rankings from previous days. All stats are fully downloadable in an Excel doc. GPS allows the location of every ship to be tracked from home. The website’s zoomable tracking map allows fans to see real-time, animated weather data alongside the fleet’s progress. Fans can also toggle on and off a variety of other data points on the map, including boat names, the last edition’s winning route, day/night demarcation and even the comparative positions of the concurrently running Virtual Regatta e-sailing race. While many of us are still compelled to stay indoors, the Vendée Globe team is taking fans along on a voyage to the extremes of the Earth and the extremes of endurance sports.
SAIL AWAY AND ALONG Despite isolation at sea, data collected from the athletes and their boats makes the race one of the most intimate in sport
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