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Lewis Hamilton finishes Round on Open 60 Hugo Boss

by Lucy Harwood 28 Jun 2008 16:37 BST 28 June 2008

Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton completes JPMorgan Round the Island Race in near-record breaking time

Top Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton swapped his usual form of transport in favour of top Open 60 yacht ‘HUGO BOSS’ today in the annual JPMorgan Asset Management Round the Island Race. True to form, Lewis enjoyed a podium finish; out of a record-breaking entry of 1,875 boats, ‘HUGO BOSS’ was the first Open 60 and fourth mono-hull to complete the course.

With no previous sailing experience, Lewis was in happy to be guided round the 55-mile race course by two of Britain’s top sailors; ‘HUGO BOSS’ skipper and world-record breaking yachtsman Alex Thomson and triple-Olympic medallist Ben Ainslie.

Weather conditions at the start were challenging, with 15-20 knots of wind from the south-west. Starting together with IRC Group 0 at 0600 hrs, the Open 60 pre-start was hard-fought, with Alex Thomson and ‘HUGO BOSS’ battling it out against four other world-class sailors, including fellow Vendee Globe skippers Dee Caffari and Mike Golding, to be the first across the line.

Just minutes before the race began, ‘HUGO BOSS’, with Alex Thomson behind the helm, was involved in an incident with Farr 45 Atomic. Following the incident Atomic was dismasted, and the bowsprit of ‘HUGO BOSS’ was broken. Watching the tussle from the safety of the cockpit, Lewis found the start a dramatic way to begin the morning:

‘I couldn't believe the number of boats on the start line - I thought a Grand Prix starting grid was a tense place to be but there were so many boats jostling for position!’

‘HUGO BOSS’ went on to get a great start, heading swiftly for the Needles with Lewis clearly enjoying himself. As the fleet passed Yarmouth, visibility was deteriorating almost to fog, making negotiating the wreck at The Needles tricky. Despite difficult conditions, the Open 60s stayed close together around the back of the Island, with ‘HUGO BOSS’ leading the pack from start to finish.

Lewis was treated as one of the crew from the very beginning, and, under Alex and Ben Ainslie’s guidance learned how to grind sails, watch for wind shifts and gusts and sail the boat effectively. He even took the reins of ‘HUGO BOSS’, steering for an hour and forty minutes without giving away any time to the rest of the fleet. Ben Ainslie, who is about to compete for his third consecutive gold medal at the Beijing Olympic Games, was impressed by Lewis’s first attempt at the helm, saying:

‘Open 60’s are challenging boats to sail at the best of times, and conditions were tough today, it was pretty windy with great waves to surf down round the back of the Island. Lewis was a natural; he seemed totally at home behind the wheel. We were going at speeds of up to 25 knots at times.’

Lewis said of the experience: ‘It was cool - although I'm not sure if I could do what Alex will be doing on ‘HUGO BOSS’ at the end of the year when he is sailing solo around the world! Alex, Ben and the whole crew are professional racers, and although it was a different kind of racing, my competitive side definitely came out.’

‘HUGO BOSS’ was the first Open 60 across the line, and the eighth boat to finish, completing the course in a fast 4 hours, 23 minutes and 29 seconds, a full 4 minutes before nearest competitor Mike Golding and ECOVER 3.

Following the race, Lewis commented on the similarities between Formula 1 and sailing, saying: ‘Like my Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Formula One car the ‘HUGO BOSS’ boat is very technical; it may not look like it from the outside, but you go down below, see all the controls and talk to the crew who race it – it’s amazing. Naturally the speed is a little slower, but the principle of how the boat and crew go about gaining speed remains the same: making a boat as light as possible and then working to make the boat go as quickly as possible. When I took the helm it was good to compare how the boat reacted to every tiny move - just like my car, it reacted immediately. I think I learned from the best today!’ Alex Thompson said: ‘One of the reasons I do what I do is the thrill of introducing new people to sailing. It is a pleasure to see the smiles on people’s faces. I think Lewis ought to lend me the keys to his Vodafone McLaren Mercedes in return but his boss will probably have something to say about that!’

Lewis will be back on more familiar turf at the Formula 1 Santander British Grand Prix at Silverstone next weekend on the 4-6 July.

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