Brian Thompson (sailor)

Brian Thompson (born 5 March 1962) is a British yachtsman.[1] He was the first Briton to twice break the speed record for sailing around the world, and the first to sail non-stop around the world four times. He is highly successful offshore racer on all types of high-performance yachts, from 21-foot Mini Transat racers to 140-foot Maxi Trimarans.[2]

Brian Thompson
Brian Thompson
Born (1962-03-05) 5 March 1962
Southampton, England
OccupationProfessional off-shore sailor

Biography

He started his career in the OSTAR in 1992 with his own yacht. He sailed a lot on multihulls with Steve Fosset with whom he set several records, mainly the around the world sailing record in 2004.

In 2005, he won the Oryx Quest, round the world crewed race, on Doha 2006, ex-Club Med. In 2006, he won the Volvo Ocean Race on ABN AMRO One as a crewmember of Mike Sanderson. The same year, he finished 6th in the Route du Rhum, in IMOCA class. He finished 5th of the Vendée Globe 2008–2009 on a 60 feet IMOCA class Bahrain Team Pindar.[3]

In 2012, he won the Jules Verne Trophy as helmsman and trimmer for Loïck Peyron, on the maxi-multihull Banque Populaire V.[4] He then became the first British sailor with four non-stop laps of the world.

  • Banque Populaire V
    Banque Populaire V

Caterham Challenge

Following the announcement in April that Brian had joined MGI in the role as sailing director,[5] MGI announced on 15 May 2013 that Caterham Technology and Caterham Composites, part of the Caterham Group, have joined with MGI CEO Mike Gascoyne and MGI Sailing Director Brian Thompson to run a Class40 offshore racing campaign under the banner of "Caterham Challenge".[6][7]

This two-year campaign follows on from Mike's successful 2012 solo transatlantic aboard a "Caterham Challenge" branded Class40. The Campaign objectives are to bring F1 standards of technology and logistics to off-shore racing, to encourage green, sustainable and reusable energy technologies in the marine, automotive and aerospace sectors and to utilize Caterham's extensive experience in F1, R&D, engineering, competitive sailing and sports marketing.[8]

MGI built an Akilara RC3 Class40 and launched the racing boat in late August. Caterham Challenge was first on public display during the Southampton boat show 2013 followed by sailing and training in The Solent and the English Channel.

The racing calendar for "Caterham Challenge" includes the Transat Jacques Vabre 2013, the Grenada sailing week and the Caribbean 600 in early 2014, together with the Global Ocean Race, leaving from the Southampton Boatshow in September 2014 around the world.[9][10]

Caterham Challenge started at the Transat Jacques Vabre on 7 November 2013 with Mike Gascoyne as skipper and Brian Thompson as co-skipper, leaving Le Havre, France for Itajai, Brazil.[11]

References
  1. "Profile | Brian Thompson Sailing | Round the World Non-Stop Sailor. Multiple World Record Holder. Vendee Globe Skipper".
  2. "Welcome to the Caterham Challenge". Archived from the original on 13 June 2013. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
  3. "My Sport: Brian Thompson, Vendee Globe offshore racer".
  4. Brian Thompson breaks round-the-world record
  5. "MGI » Who We Are". Archived from the original on 3 December 2012. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
  6. "Caterham to back Mike Gascoyne's sailing campaign - SportsPro Media". 25 June 2013.
  7. "Caterham F1 boss Mike Gascoyne to join world of ocean racing". Independent.co.uk. 15 May 2013.
  8. "What can sailing learn from F1?". BBC Sport.
  9. "Caterham Challenge - A powerful new force".
  10. "Caterham to back Mike Gascoyne's sailing campaign - SportsPro Media". 25 June 2013.
  11. "Caterham Challenge: Mike Gascoyne looks ahead to the Transat Jacques". Independent.co.uk. 31 October 2013.
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