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Vendée Globe
Brian Thompson : "The Vendée Globe has been a goal of mine"
British ocean racer will skipper Open 60 Pindar in the 2008 edition
lundi 3 décembre 2007 –
Veteran British ocean racer Brian Thompson will skipper Open 60, Pindar, in the 2008 Vendée Globe. Starting from Les Sable d’Olonne, France, on the 9th November 2008, Thompson is the seventh Briton and the 27th pre-entrant for the sixth edition of this classic single-handed non-stop round the world race.
Following the tragic 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 Brian will compete. The transatlantic race which starts from Plymouth, UK, on the 11th 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 has clocked up more multi-hull and swing keel miles than any other Briton. This included twice taking the prestigious 24 hour world speed sailing record, with Playstation and Maiden II. Brian’s 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.
Brian Thompson, from the Isle of Wight, 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 60’s, 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.”
Press info Kate Fairclough - Pitch PR / www.pindar.com/teampindar
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