| Brian to compete in Vendee 2008 |
| Tuesday, 04 December 2007 |
Leading British print and electronic media company Pindar announced at the Paris Boat Show today that veteran British ocean racer Brian Thompson will skipper the Pindar Open 60 in the 2008 Vendée Globe. Starting from Les Sables d’Olonne, France, on 9 November 2008, Thompson is the seventh Briton and the 27th pre-entrant for the sixth edition of this classic singlehanded non-stop round the world race.
Following the loss of Pindar’s mast just a week before the start of the Transat Jacques Vabre race, Team Pindar Earthwatch is now in the process of designing and building a new mast. The boat is due to be back on the water in early 2008, prior to the Artemis Transat, in which Thompson will compete. The transatlantic race starts from Plymouth on 11 May 2008 and races to Boston, USA, both key territories for Pindar.
Brian Thompson, 45, is one of Britain’s most experienced and successful offshore sailors. He has been racing professionally for over 15 years, holds 25 world sailing records to date and his CV includes twice taking the outright 24 hour world speed sailing record, with Playstation and then Maiden II. His experience in the IMOCA 60 fleet is extensive, having skippered Skandia and Artemis Ocean Racing, as well as co-skippering Mike Golding’s Ecover in the 2003 Transat Jacques Vabre.
Thompson commented: “Competing in the Vendée Globe has been a goal of mine for the last five years. I’m enormously excited to have the opportunity to race onboard one of the most innovative Open 60s, designed by Juan K. Having broken our original mast twice, Team Pindar Earthwatch is working hard behind the scenes to design and build an entirely new and improved mast and rigging for Pindar. The 2008 Vendée Globe will be the most competitive round the world race in history, with 16 new boats lining up against each other in addition to many well tuned older boats. There is plenty of work to do before the start and my first focus is the Artemis Transat, then the Vendée. I am looking forward to that start day already.”
Andrew Pindar, Chairman of the Pindar Group commented: “We are delighted to announce Pindar and Brian’s entry in next year’s Vendée Globe in Paris today. This will be Pindar’s second major round the world race after Emma Richards’ [now Sanderson] incredible success in the 2003 Around Alone race. We are looking forward to getting our new Open 60 back on the water with a new mast and rigging and starting a fresh chapter within solo sailing with Brian.”
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