In 2012, Alex Thomson decides to do a stunt on his 60-foot Imoca, Hugo Boss, in response to comments on social networks that don't believe his exploits. Indeed, in 2009, he posts a photo of himself, doing the same operation but the public thinks of a photomontage. Still dressed in his black Hugo Boss suit, he therefore achieved the feat of getting on the keel of his boat, the"keel walk", while the one is in full navigation and listing, to find himself almost upright and leave the keel out of the water. On the video, the vessel was sailing in the Solent at 9 knots with winds of 17 to 19 knots and waves of 50 cm to 1.25 m. To achieve its crazy stunt, the boat had to be maintained between 45 and 70 degrees for 60 seconds, by a team that had no visibility on what was happening. The skipper Daniel Ross received his indications from a member of the crew, placed at the back of the Imoca.
Alex Thomson arrives on a jet ski to climb the 4.5 metre keel and after several attempts, he finally stands straight and high enough to dive into the water. This operation was not without risk as a bad gust of wind or a bad manoeuvre could have caused the keel to drop from a weight of 4 tonnes to a speed of 16 km/h on the skipper or jet ski.
