19 February 2013  

A group of 10 year olds from Alverstoke Junior School in Gosport had been following yachtsman Alex Thompson’s progress in the single-handed non-stop round-the-world Vendee Globe Race as part of a school project and they were in line for another exciting treat. The children had already been allowed on board the boat during a school visit to Les Sables d’Olonne on the French Atlantic Coast where they witnessed the start of the race in November 2012 and they would now be given a grandstand view of 38 year old Thompson’s triumphant home-coming when his boat Hugo Boss returned to Gosport on Saturday 9 February. He actually came third in this gruelling race and crossed the finishing line in France after just 80 days at sea, smashing the previous British solo monohull record by a massive eight days. This was indeed an incredible achievement considering that, at one stage, he had chosen to divert some 2,000 nautical miles away from his original course in order to standby fellow competitor Jean-Pierre Dick whose boat had suffered a broken keel in rough seas during the race. 

Richard Baker-Jones, an Alverstoke School Governor and a Watchkeeper at Gosport NCI, had arranged special passes for the children (pictured) to enter the Ministry of Defence Base at Fort Blockhouse so that they would have the “Best Seats in the House” for Alex’s arrival and Duty Watchkeepers Adrian Weeks and Alan Port were also able to invite several of them up into the Signal Tower itself to watch through binoculars as Hugo Boss and her ever increasing escort of small boats passed through the narrow entrance into the harbour.  It is not often possible to entertain visitors at the Gosport lookout as the watchstation is situated inside an MOD secure area. This event therefore presented a useful opportunity for these youngsters to see the work of NCI Volunteers who watch over the safety of all vessels using this very busy waterway.

 David Russell, NCI Gosport