Gosport sailor sets off on non-stop around the world record attempt thanks to help from internet firmÂ

Fasthosts has sponsored its long-term customer, Alex Alley, in his record attempt on his 40ft yacht, known as Pixel Boat. 

Having spent the last few months waiting for optimum sailing conditions, Alex left Gosport Marina on December 24 where he headed for the official world record start line at north of the French island of Ushant.

While initially held back by some last-minute technical difficulties which delayed his start time, Pixel Boat's official world record attempt began on New Year's Eve at 14h 31mins 09secs.

Alex will now spend the next four-and-a-half months alone crossing continents, time zones and seasons, as he attempts to beat the world record, currently held by Guo Chuan at 137 days, 20 hours, 1 minute and 57 seconds. To beat the record, Alex will need to cross the finish line on May 18 at 10h 32mins 06secs.

Alex said: '˜The support we have had from everyone has been amazing and just goes to show that with a bit of ingenuity and a lot of perseverance you can achieve pretty much anything.' 

To help fund the trip, businesses, individuals and schools purchased '˜pixels' '“ squares featuring pictures '“ to feature on the hull. 

The Fasthosts sponsorship not only includes Pixel Boat's carbon fibre solent and mainsail '“ it also covers Alex's cloud hosting solution, CloudNX, ensuring his website and the sale of his fundraising pixels runs smoothly. 

Fasthosts will also be tracking him live via GPS  and sharing his progress via social media.

Alex said: '˜I am thrilled to have received the support of Fasthosts, which has had a massive impact on my ability to complete this once-in-a-lifetime challenge.'

Simon Yeoman, CEO, Fasthosts, said: '˜'We are very proud to support Alex in his world record attempt.

'˜Alex has been a customer of ours for many years, so when we learned of his ambitions for Pixel Boat we were keen to support him in any way we could.

'˜While our contributions are minimal when compared to the endless sacrifices Alex has made, we are proud to be contributing to this ground-breaking record attempt.' 

 

For more go to fasthosts.com/pixelboat or alexalley.com