There was the "Keelwalk", then the "Mastwalk" (see Alex Thomson does the Mastwalk), now Hugo Boss shorthanded and solo ocean racing star Alex Thomson has added a third dramatic feat, the "Skywalk".



Filmed in Alvor, Portugal the "Skywalk" combines Alex's two greatest loves: sailing and kiteboarding. Of course he is suitably clad in a smart Hugo Boss suit.





This latest stunt involves Alex, widely known as the daredevil of sailing, on a kiteboard, chasing his Open 60 upwind. He attaches himself via a rope to the top of the boat’s mast. He then uses the yacht's speed to propel himself 280ft into the air, sending him flying above it. When Thomson reaches the peak of his flight, he detaches himself from the boat and controls his descent back down, landing the kiteboard on the water in true Alex Thomson style, all whilst wearing a stylish Hugo Boss suit.








His amazing kitesurfing stunt sees him flying more than twice the height of the boat's mast, a height equivalent to a 25 storey building.



The Skywalk was carried out by Alex Thomson Racing, in partnership with sponsors Hugo Boss and Mercedes-Benz. In total, 35 people were involved in the planning, co-ordination and execution of the stunt, including Alex Thomson Racing Operations Manager Ross Daniel, professional kite-surfer Susie Mai and kite-surfing coach Ray Kasper.



Having safely returned to dry land Thomson said: “The previous two stunts that we carried out – the Mastwalk and the Keelwalk – were so successful that, as a team, we just knew we couldn’t stop there. We were all in agreement; we wanted to do something even bigger and better.





“I’ve always had a love for all things wind-powered so naturally a stunt which involved kite surfing was the next step. The idea of combining two of my favourite sports and executing something which, to our knowledge, had never been done before was really exciting.“The team and I have been planning the stunt for a long time. There were lots of things that could have gone wrong. Perhaps most concerning for the team; was the prospect of an uncontrolled descent, causing me to come back down too fast. Water can be as hard as concrete if hit with enough velocity, so this was one of the most dangerous aspects of the stunt. But I had a brilliant team around me and, with their help; we managed to pull it off.“What’s next? Who knows?”Thomson is captured during the feat in a series of remarkable still images, you can also watch the behind the scenes film of the making of the skywalk video below.

Thomson will compete in the pinnacle event of the Ocean Masters race calendar – the Vendée Globe - later this year, a race which begins on November 6th. The non-stop, solo, unassisted, round the world race takes approximately 80 days to complete. In the last edition of the race, back in 2013, Thomson finished in third place. This time around he is determined to be the first Brit to win the prestigious title.You can watch more kite-surfing antics in this video Of kitesurfer Nick Jacobsen jumping off the Abu Dhabi Volvo Ocean Race Yacht . For more high-profile sailing events, see: Hellonhighseas: inspiring the next generation

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