Alex Thomson may the only skipper happy for the calm conditions afforded by the St. Helene High, in the South Atlantic.

Thomson’s boat has developed an enormous failure in the hull. The struts holding the bow in place have cracked, forcing Thomson to reduce speed as he endeavored to make repairs.

The Brit has kept a smile while he’s worked. In his latest update to Vendee Globe, on Nov. 23,Tompson observed:

• “I’ve got a sail up again! I’m sailing in the right direction and I’m back in the race. I’m super happy about that. It’s been a tough couple of days, an awful lot of work – cutting, grinding, sanding, gluing and there’s still a lot more to go. It’s certainly not over yet but the structure in the bow is now stable, it’s not moving any more and so I can sail in these moderate conditions, in the right direction. Happy days
• “It’s obviously disappointing but I’m not going to dwell on the negatives here because I think there are way more positives. It’s positive that I found it before it was catastrophic, it’s positive that it happened in the conditions it happened in, which meant the leaders and the rest of the fleet weren’t moving away at 500 miles a day. So I’m just super happy that I’m still in the race. It could so easily have been the end of the race for me”.
• “I’ve been here before, and all you can do is get back on your feet and keep pushing forwards. I’ve probably still got a night and a half of work to do but, looking at the weather, the next few days are going to be quite light, so good conditions for me to finish the job”.