The World Sailing Speed Record Council has announced the ratification of a new 60ft Monohull 24 Hour World Record set by Alex Thomson and Andrew Cape (see photo) onboard the Open 60 Hugo Boss.

Sailing a distance of 501.3nm at an average speed of 20.9kts, this impressive record was established during the Barcelona Double handed world race 2007 beating the previous record of 468nm at an average speed of 19.5kts, which was also set by Alex Thomson in 2003.

33 year old Alex has his sights set on becoming the first Briton to win one of the world’s toughest sailing challenge – the solo 26,000 mile, non-stop Vendee Globe Ocean Race, commencing 9 November 2008. “Achieving the world record has definitely given me confidence as the Vendee gets closer and closer. Hugo Boss is laid out very well for me sailing on my own,” explained Alex.

He has just returned from a period on board testing and putting the boat through its paces in UK and Irish waters with some of those who have assisted with the boat ‘s building, including: Gautier Sergent – North Sails New Zealand; Paulo Manganelli – SP Gurit, Engineering; Pascal Conq – Finot Conq Architects.

“It is great to be able to do some testing with those who contributed to the concept, design and build. The jobs list gets smaller and we’ll be 100% ready, tried and tested for the main event in November,” Alex continued.