If you have access to Sky, Cable or Freeview, don't forget to tune into More4 at 10 pm tomorrow (Thursday January 18th) to watch Ocean Rescue: The Race against Time, a one-off 60 minute documentary
that tells the story of Mike Golding's rescue of Alex Thomson in the Southern Ocean during the first leg of the Velux 5 Oceans race in November.
It was 33 days and 7,000 miles into the race that Alex Thomson was fearing for his life and preparing to abandon ship after the keel on his Open 60 Hugo Boss broke loose, 1,000 miles from land.
Out of range of the rescue services, with a 50-knot storm imminent, his only chance of survival was for his rival to turn back and sail nearly 100 miles into a gale to attempt a perilous rescue.
While the drama unfolded in one of the most remote parts of the planet, both Thomson and Golding kept their on-board cameras rolling throughout, with Thomson disclosing his gravest fears from the fragile shelter of his life raft.
Just when the extraordinary rescue seemed to have been successful, and Thomson was safely aboard Ecover, Golding's mast snapped, and the exhausted pair were thrown into creating a jury rig in blizzard conditions.
Golding and Thomson, who had been openly hostile towards each other before the start of the race, were forced to share Ecover's tiny cabin for seven days as they battled their way to safety - and they have emerged from it all as great friends!
Ocean Rescue: The Race Against Time, produced by renowned yachting journalist Andrew Preece, should make compelling viewing.
