The Alex Thomson Racing team pulled in to Endeavour Quay last month fresh from Green Marine where their Ex Pindar Open 60 had undergone a radical redesign. The new design features came from Juan Kouyoumdjian, the original designer of ex Pindar, working closely with Alex Thomson.

The redesign involved chopping out the cockpit and coachroof and laying a new deck. The most visually significant change is the new cockpit arrangement and its ‘pods’, which are set right back aft leaving a huge expanse of open deck of about 50ft. This open deck allows two extra sails hatches and lets water run off the deck easily. The cockpit has the added feature of a sliding roof/windscreen that goes between the pods to provide a virtually enclosed cockpit and steering position.

The boat was lifted out of the water at Endeavour Quay and put into one of the big sheds for final touch ups to the boat and assembly of the brand new mast and keel. After a few weeks she was ready to be pulled out of the shed and have the keel attached, a task that was completed in a matter of hours using the equipment and expertise provided by Endeavour Quay. The next day the new rig was stepped and tuned ashore before finally the new Hugo Boss 3 was launched. 

She is now in the water in Gosport preparing for an Atlantic crossing to New York and a short spell Stateside. She is due to return to Endeavour Quay later in the summer for a mini refit before final on-water training for the Barcelona World Race.