Brian Thompson (Bahrain Team Pindar) finishes Vendee Globe in fifth

by Vendee Globe media on 16 Feb 2009
Brian Thompson, GBR, (Bahrain Team Pindar) crossed the Vendée Globe finish line of Les Sables d'Olonne this morning at 8hrs 31min 55sec GMT to secure a very creditable fifth place in the solo non stop around the world race which started on Sunday November 9th.

Thompson, who fought to contain a keel problem through the final hours of his race, completed his first solo ocean race on IMOCA Open 60 in a time of 98 days 20 hours 29 min 55 sec, holding off the ongoing attack of his compatriot Dee Caffari (AVIVA) who is due to finish later this morning.

After more than three months at sea Thompson was first and foremost looking forward forward to being re-united with his family, wife Natalie and his young daughter Genevive, 3 ½ and Tristan 1 ½.

Thompson's result is a triumph over a catalogue of mechanical and technical problems with a radical IMOCA Open 60 which was completely un-tested before the start of the race which has been one of the toughest in the history of this race, with 19 of 30 starters having to abandon their race.

Owner of a number of round the world records, including skippering a winning crew in the 2005 Oryx Quest race on a maxi multihull in 2005, Thompson has no shortage of monohull experience and had two Transat Jacques Vabre double handed races on IMOCA Open 60s on his extensive CV, but his first solo IMOCA Open 60 experience of any note was when he sailed his 2000 miles Vendée Globe qualifier in June last year.

The radical, beamy Juan Kouyoumdjian designed Bahrain Team Pindar is considered to be the most powerful in the fleet with the tallest rig. The boat fell badly off schedule when it was dismasted twice in three and a half months, the second time just before Thompson was due to start the Transat Jacques Vabre in October 2007.

Thompson's seamanship and his boat repair skills were tested to the full on his race. Racing against time to make repairs before one of the biggest storms of his race, the Cowes based skipper spent more than 48 hours in the front sections of his boat making a complex laminate repair to cracks in the longitudinal supports forming the forward ballast tanks. He also subsequently had to make further repairs to the forward structure as well as the transom of a boat which was never designed specifically with this race in mind.

In the Southern Ocean he sailed prudently, managing the risks to himself and the boat, sailing a considered route, aware that he did not really know the limits of the boat. Latterly in the Big South he consistently affirmed that his objective had become simply to finish the race. His skills in realizing that primary objective have been the passport to his fifth place, sandwiched between fourth placed Sam Davies and Dee Caffari as an unprecedented three British skippers finish in the top six of this sixth edition of the race.

During the final stages of his race, Thompson said he had lost count how many times he had faced 'show-stoppers' - problems which he thought might have ended his race prematurely, but he dealt with them all successfully and was rewarded with a quick passage up the South Atlantic where his time from Cape Horn to the Equator was second only to that of Michel Desjoyeaux. But it was a battle to the end for his well deserved fifth place.

Brian Thompson, GBR, (Bahrain Team Pindar): Race Times

Crossing the Equator: 22/11/08 10:25hrs GMT passage 12 d 22 23 m
Passing the Cape of Good Hope: 07/12/ 11:35hrs GMT passage 27d 23h 33m
Passing Cape Leeuwin: 20/12/08 04:05hrs GMT 40d 16h 03 m
Crossing the International Date Line: 29/12/08 11:30hrs GMT 50d 09h 28m
Rounding Cape Horn: 15/01/09 03:15hrs GMT 66d 15h 13h
Crossing the Equator: 31/01/09 01:20hrs 82d 12h 18m
Crossing the finish line: 17/02 98 days 20 hours 29 min 55 sec

Brian Thompson's Race.

Thompson made a solid start but was forced almost immediately to deal with some short circuiting anomalies to his autopilots which saw him crash tack at least twice. Nevertheless he emerged through the brutal Bay of Biscay storm intact, but dropping to around 18th place due mainly to the pilot problems.

An inshore, easterly routing at Cape Finisterre and some fast sailing sees him up to 14th place - between none other than Dee Caffari and Sam Davies four days into the race, and by the 13th of November he was 13th off level with the S of Portugal. At the Canaries he was still gaining and was in 12th place, 162 miles behind leader Loïck Peyron (Gitana Eighty) .

On 15th November he ripped the his all purpose A3 gennaker and the best part of a week was taken up repairing it. And when Bahrain Team Pindar gybes accidentally due to an autopilot error his wind generator is knocked off.

On 17th November he passes through the Cape Verde Islands in 11th place, 181 miles behind leader Jean Le Cam whose easterly option has paid a dividend.

His seeming predilection for passing close to islands begins! His circumnavigation includes passing close to the St Peter and Paul Rocks, within sight of the Trinidade Island, within two miles of the north corner of the Kerguelen Islands, and latterly sheltering under the Island Estados at Cape Horn....

On the 22nd November he crossed the Equator in 12th place and the following day managed to get passed his nearest rival Dominique Wavre on Temenos and was 23 miles behind Marc Guillemot. A day later he passed Guillemot to crack the Top 10.

But on 30th November his progress up the fleet was halted when he chose to take the four penalty which was imposed on him for an infringement during the pre-start procedure. Because he did not have his technical team off his boat during the preliminary countdown phase, he received this penalty which was to prove frustrating and costly. He missed a ride on a weather system and loses miles to Guillemot and Wavre. Immediately his loss is 50 miles to Wavre between 0400hrs GMT and 1000hrs GMT. He is also passed on that day by eventual race winner Michel Desjoyeaux. And the next day, December 1st he is 75 miles behind Wavre's Temenos, then 100 miles and by the end of
December 2nd he is 330 miles behind.

Thompson fought back and by the Atlantic Gate, the first security gate, he had pulled in to 185 miles behind Temenos, in 13th position. On 6th December his wind wand at the top of the mast is hanging off. He suffers a big Chinese gybe and consequent wipe-out when the autopilot fails again.

On the 13th December he passes very close to the north edge of the Kerguelen Island. On the same day Dominiqe Wavre retires with keel head failure.

Between the 13th December and 16th December in rough Southern Ocean conditions, in particular difficult crossed seas and very gusty winds four skippers abandon: Stamm, Wavre, Peyron, Golding and Jean Pierre Dick damages his rudder. Bahrain Team Pindar is completes a 'reverse' Chinese gybe pirouette in big winds and seas due to autopilot failure.

On the 19th December Thompson reports cracks in the ballast tanks and tries to effect temporary repairs which prove ineffective. He then spends three days racing against time to laminate repairs to the longitudinal frames which support the ballast tanks, cutting up the floorboards to use as material. He only just completes this before he is hit by a big storm which breaks a lazyjack. As soon as he can he has to climb the mast twice to repair it.

The year cannot pass without an electrical charging problem which means shutting down to acute power-saving mode until he can carry out repairs to his alternator on 30th December.

On the 7th January he discovers cracks in the transom which test his composite repair skills, and then again the next day new cracking is discovered in a different forward longitudinal frame.

He rounds Cape Horn early in the morning of 15th January after a difficult 48 hours approaching in 40-45 knots winds and big seas. No sooner is he clear o