Alex Thomson and Ross Daniel in happier times on Hugo Boss. Pic: Lloyd Images
HAMPSHIRE ocean racer Alex Thomson has been forced to retire from a gruelling 5,000-mile transatlantic yacht race after his boat hit a submerged object.
Gosport-based Thomson announced shortly after 1pm he and co-skipper Ross Daniel were retiring from the Transat Jacques Vabre after taking on water from damage to yacht Hugo Boss.
It is a huge blow for Thomson, who was forced to pull out of the Vendée Globe in November just days into the race after a similar incident.
Hugo Boss was in sixth place when the boat hit an unknown object in the north Atlantic Ocean.
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