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Festival of Sails 2026

Vendee Globe – Thomson sails past the most remote place on Earth

by Alex Thomson Racing on 20 Dec 2016
Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss) - Vendée Globe Cleo Barnham Hugo Boss
British sailor Alex Thomson has sailed past Point Nemo, the most remote point on planet earth.

Point Nemo, also known as the oceanic pole of inaccessibility, is the farthest point from land on our planet. Located within the Southern Pacific ocean between New Zealand and South America, the nearest landmass is 1,670 miles away. The remoteness of Point Nemo means that the nearest humans to Thomson and the Vendee Globe fleet are the astronauts in the International Space Station.

Thomson’s next milestone is Cape Horn, an infamous landmark in offshore racing where he will leave the ferocious Southern Ocean and re-enter the Atlantic Ocean. Rounding Cape Horn marks the point where the fleet turn their bows north again towards the finish line in Les Sable d’Olonne, France.

Thomson is still in second place racing against Frenchman Armel Le Cleac’h with 507.7 nautical miles between them.

Thomson has completed 64% of the race and is determined to be the first British skipper to win the race, which could take in the region of 80 days to complete.
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