Britain's Brian Thompson already has an impressive list of sailing achievements to his name and can now add Banque Populaire's latest record… but what was this trip really like?

Brain Thompson

Brain Thompson - photo Benoit Stichelbaut



What were the high points of the voyage?
Seeing an iceberg as big as half of the Isle of Wight, seeing a new comet on Christmas Day and sailing with a fantastic team!

…and the lows?
Losing two days due to weather delays both in the Pacific and North Atlantic and missing Christmas and New Year ashore with family and friends.

How did you celebrate Christmas and New Year?
Well, as you can imagine, we had a very French Christmas with a special meal Christmas Eve. The guys even made a Christmas pudding for me out of Fuizion energy bars, which was actually not as bad as you might think. We must have been good boys last year as we even had a visit from Santa on Christmas Day.

How did this non-stop lap of the planet differ from the three others you have completed?
The speed of the boat – totally incredible - and the ability it has to both handle rough waters and go fast in light winds too. Sailing in a foreign language with a French team was also a new one for me!

Did you notice any major environmental differences this time around?
There was a distinct lack of birds in North Atlantic compared to rest of the oceans and I am not sure what the reason was for this. Thankfully we did not come across too much rubbish pollution except when passing the coast of South America in Atlantic Ocean, which was sad to see.

Apart from gaining the speed record, what made this voyage a memorable one?

Banque Populaire crew celebrates

The Banque Populaire crew celebrates - photo Benoit Stichelbaut



What was memorable was the experience of sailing with a French team. The good humour on-board all of the time; for sure some gentle ribbing if something went wrong but always respectful of each other. It's hard to live in such close quarters with people in high stress situations and the team handled it perfectly. All will be better friends at the end than the beginning!