Bahrain Team Pindar reaches LSD

Vendee Globe starting grid nears completion

Brian Thompson and his Open 60, Bahrain Team Pindar, yesterday arrived in Les Sables d’Olonne, ahead of today’s official opening of the Vendée Globe race village.

Following the delivery from the team’s UK base in Gosport, last Wednesday, Brian has spent the last week testing in Lorient. With just three weeks until the race start on 9 November, the teams are required to remain in the port, where they will embark on the final preparations, including safety briefings, equipment checks and media activity.

The Vendée Globe race village was officially declared open today at 10am by Philippe de Villiers, President of SAEM Vendée, organisers of the Vendée Globe.

Brian commented: “It’s fantastic to finally be here in Les Sables d’Olonne, as after all the months of work, it really marks the start of the race. Now that the boat is safely here we can relax and focus on all the final preparations. There’s already a great atmosphere in the village and it’s a spectacular sight to see all the boats lined up on the pontoon.”

Thompson also offered his sympathy to fellow British skipper, Alex Thomson, whose boat Hugo Boss suffered a dismasting in the early hours of Friday morning, following a collision with a fishing boat, just 2km from the race port.

“It’s an incredible blow for Alex and all the team. As neighbours in Gosport, we’ve spent a lot of time training together and in fact were both out testing just hours before the incident. The next few days will be crucial to assess the scale of the damage and I very much hope they can make the necessary repairs in time for the start.”

Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to visit the race village over the next few weeks, before the 30-stong fleet set out on their round the world voyage on 9 November