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Brian Thompson
DOB: 05.03.62
Nationality: British
Career Highlights
2008/9 Skipper of the JK designed open 60 Pindar for the Vendee Globe single-handed round the world race.
2008 Winner of the Artemis Round The Island Race aboard the open 60 Pindar
2007 Tactics and Navigation aboard Pindar Volvo 60 for Antigua Race Week
2006 Skipper of open 60 Artemis for the single-handed Route du Rhum Transatlantic race, finished 6th
2006 Helmsman aboard Motorola-CHR Volvo Extreme 40 catamaran
2006 Helmsman/trimmer aboard ABN AMRO ONE for the Volvo Ocean Race, winner.
2005 Skipper of open 60 Skandia for the Transat Jaques Vabre
2005 Watchcaptain aboard open 60 Ecover for the Calais Round Britain Race.
2004/5 Skipper of maxi-catamaran 'Doha 2006' winner of the non-stop around the world race, the Oryx Quest.
2004 Brian finishes 2nd in FICO-Lacoste Crewmember World Championship, a 3 year average of worldwide offshore racing.
www.fico-sailing.org
2004 Navigator and Tactician aboard 60 ft trimaran Sergio Tacchini. Winner of the Quebec to Saint Malo Transatlantic Race.
2004 Voted Seahorse Sailor of the month by readers of International Yachting Magazine Seahorse.
2004 Navigator aboard open 60 Ecover for Calais 1000 race, 2nd place.
2004 Watchcaptain aboard Cheyenne (ex-PlayStation) for successful attempt on the non-stop around the world speed sailing record. 58 days, 9 hours, 32 minutes, 45 seconds.
2003 Coskipper aboard open 60 Ecover, for Transat Jacques Vabre Race, 3rd Place.
2003 Navigator aboard open 60 Ecover, for Fastnet Race, 8th out of 300 boats.
2003 Navigator aboard open 60 Ecover, for the Calais non-stop Round Britain and Ireland Race, 3rd place
2003 Navigator aboard 80 ft ketch Tempest for Daimler Chrysler North Atlantic Challenge, 3rd to finish
2003 Helmsman aboard 60ft trimaran Sergio Tacchini for the Challenge Mondial Assistance, 6th place
2003 Co-skipper aboard Team McLube mini transat for the Course De Lions, 2nd place
2003 Navigator aboard PlayStation for the Route of Discovery record. New world record.
2002 Co-skipper, Yacht Manager, and Sailing Coach with Maxi-cat Maiden II.
2002 Co-skipper for Cowes to St Malo record aboard Maiden II. New world record
2002 Skipper for Round Britain and Ireland record aboard Maiden II. New world record
2002 Co-skipper for 24 hour record aboard Maiden II. New world record
2002 Co-skipper for Antigua-Newport record, Maiden II. New world record
2002 Co-skipper for Route of Discovery record attempt, Maiden II.
2001 Principle Helmsman and Watch Captain for Cowes to St Malo record aboard Maxi-cat PlayStation. New World record.
2001 Skipper in Mini Transat aboard Lighthouse Life Foundation
2001 Helmsman for EDS Atlantic Challenge aboard Open 60 Kingfisher placed 1st
2001 Watchcaptain for The Race, aboard PlayStation
1999 Watchcaptain for Newport to Bermuda Record aboard PlayStation. World record
1999 Watchcaptain for 24 hour Record aboard PlayStation. World record
1996 Watchcaptain for San Francisco to Tokyo Record, aboard 60’ trimaran Lakota. World record
1995 & 1991 Co-Skipper for Azores and Back, Race Record for each leg, 40ft multihull class
1995 Watchcaptain for Transpac Record, LA to Honolulu Record, Lakota. World record
1995 Watchcaptain for Tokyo to San Francisco Record, Lakota. World record.
1994 Watchcaptain for Around Isle of Wight Record, Lakota. World record
1994 Watchcaptain for Around Britain and Ireland Record, Lakota. World record
1993 Watchcaptain for Around Ireland Record, Lakota. World record
1993 Skipper for Around Britain and Ireland, Race Record, Class 5 multihull
1993 Watchcaptain for Fastnet Race Record, Lakota
1992 Skipper for Estar Singlehanded Transatlantic Race Record, Class 5 multihull
Summary
A vastly experienced and successful offshore racer, with more multihull sailing miles than any other Briton today, Brian Thompson has been racing the two and three-hulled speed machines for more than fifteen years as either skipper or watch captain and has notched up twenty-five sailing records to date.
Thompson started his professional career by winning the 1992 Estar singlehanded transatlantic race in which he sailed his own 35’ trimaran Transient and set a record of eighteen days in class 5, which has to date remained unbroken.
Over the next seven years Thompson sailed hundreds of thousands of nautical miles with American adventurer, Steve Fossett, aboard his 60ft trimaran Lakota as well as the 60ft catamaran Stars and stripes, being a key player in achieving the string of world records and race wins accumulated by Fossett in the 1990s.
In 1999 Fossett’s maxi catamaran PlayStation was launched with Brian having been closely involved in the design and build from the maxi-cat’s conception. Shortly after its launch PlayStation smashed the existing 24 hour speed sailing record achieving 584 nautical miles in a single day.
After PlayStation retired from The Race with critical sail and daggerboard problems in January 2001 Brian decided to go back to his single-handed roots and fulfilled a long-held dream of doing the Mini Transat race from France to Brazil. After equipment failure dogged the first leg to the Canaries, Brian led the transatlantic second leg for more than three quarters of the way, finally finishing second out of 58 Minis that started. Also during 2001 Brian raced aboard Ellen MacArthur’s Kingfisher in the EDS Atlantic Challenge, helping the team win first prize.
With the Mini Transat accomplished Brian went back into big teams and giant multihulls, and throughout 2002 acted as co-skipper and coach for Tracy Edwards’ Maiden II maxi-cat project (the ex-Club Med). With Brian’s direction and expert knowledge of giant multihulls the team broke four world records in four months including the prestigious 24 hour world speed sailing record which Brian had held previously with PlayStation and claimed back with a staggering 694nm in a single day. All this was achieved despite a serious lack of money and new equipment. Since the same money problems prevented the team from tackling the Jules Verne trophy over the winter of 2002-3, Brian has been busy racing with various international teams including Karine Fauconnier's 60ft trimaran Sergio Tacchini whom Brian navigated to victory in the hugely competitive Quebec to Saint Malo Transatlantic Race, and Mike Golding’s open 60 Ecover, whom he competed with in the 2003 Transat Jaques Vabre achieving 3rd place. Brian has also been back on the minis racing in the Med and crossing the Atlantic five times - four races, one record.
2004 brought offshore sailing's biggest prize and the culmination of Brian's career to date; the fastest around the world non-stop speed sailing record. Brian acted as one of Steve Fossett's Watch Captains and with the Cheyenne team overcame many equipment failures including nearly losing the mast twice to achieve his dream of holding the round the world record, following in the footsteps of his sailing heroes Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, Sir Peter Blake and Bruno Peyron.
Only a year later in 2005 Brian skippered his own team to victory aboard Doha 2006 (previously Maiden II) in the Oryx Quest, a non-stop around the world race which started and finished in the Gulf state of Qatar. A few short months after returning home Brian became a proud father to Genevieve and encountered sleep deprivation of a new kind.
2006 has seen Brian become part of a winning Volvo Ocean Race team when he was asked aboard Mike Sanderson's ABN AMRO ONE as helmsman during the southern ocean leg from Cape Town to Melbourne. On his return Brian became skipper of the 'Artemis' open 60 (formerly Pindar) which he prepared to do the highly competitive Route du Rhum single-handed transatlantic race in November. Brian finished in sixth place amongst the most competitive fleet ever seen in the event.
Now skipper of the most radical and advanced open 60 in existence, The Juan K designed Pindar. Brian is poised to take on the 'Everest' of solo, offshore racing, the Vendee Globe 2008.
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