In the first of a special weekly series for Yachting Monthly, Project Scaramouche's Montel Fagan-Jordan shares his adventures during a work experience placement with Alex Thomson Racing
My first week at Alex Thomson Racing started just as the team had returned from a successful tour of Canada and America.
The tour ended with Alex Thomson unofficially breaking the record for the most amount of distance travelled by a 60ft monohull in 24hours, which was truly inspirational.
I knew joining an organisation as successful and as big as this one was always going to be a huge step for me – an 18 year old – to make but I have always liked to challenge myself. And this is just one of those challenges that I have to face.
My time with the team in Gosport has been really busy so far.
The experience is giving Montel the chance to sail on HUGO BOSS. Credit: Gabriel Larmour
When Alex and the crew returned from tour they had to prepare the boat for an official IMOCA measurement, as well as a refit period.
I was given the opportunity to help out with 90 degrees test, which was truly a jaw dropping experience.
In my second and third weeks I actually got to go out on HUGO BOSS with Alex and the team, which is always a fantastic experience.
We took some corporate guests and some journalists sailing during Cowes Week, reaching around 32+ knots on a couple of occasions when the boat got up to speed.
Now the sailing is wrapped up and the boat is out of the water so I’m focused on the refit and helping the team in any way I can.
I’ve learned the most from the guys in the team during this period. They’re truly professional and great at what they do, in each of their different specialist areas.
I have learned how to service different parts of the boat, how some of the electronics on the boat work and how the keel of the boat gets painted and sanded down for optimum performance when it goes into the water.
Being involved in all of these tasks has reminded me how completely advanced this boat is.
In the next few weeks, I’m looking forward to helping make sure that the boat is fully ready to get back into the water and in the best possible shape to sail.
There is still a lot of work to be done and still a ton of stuff for me to learn, which I’m always keen to do. I’m looking forward to it!
Follow Montel and the Alex Thomson Racing team’s progress on Instagram @Alex_Thomson_Racing