END OF EPIC VOYAGE

AFTER almost three months at sea, Bahrain Team Pindar's entry in the Vendee Globe round the world solo yacht race is nearing the finish line.

Skipper Brian Thompson is lying in fifth place and hoping to make landfall on Friday.

This week he spoke exclusively to GulfWeekly from the Atlantic Ocean telling tales of derring do on the high seas and revealing the first thing he wants to do is 'give my kids a big hug'.

The dad-of-two set sail from Les Sables d'Olonne in France on November 9 last year to take on a challenge known as the 'Everest of the Sea'. The VendŽe Globe is one of the toughest sporting challenges in the world and, in fact, less people have completed it in its 20-year history than have actually climbed Mount Everest.

The race, which happens every four years, covers over 23,000 nautical miles passing the Cape of Good Hope and travelling clockwise around Antarctica through the treacherous Southern Ocean, before rounding Cape Horn and heading home.

The route presents enormous challenges, most notably the severe wind and wave conditions in the Southern Ocean, where skippers encounter persistent boat breaking waves and the threat of icebergs.

And this was where Brian experienced the low point of his voyage. He said: "That would have to be climbing the mast on Christmas Day in the Southern Ocean. I had to go up to deal with an equipment malfunction but it took a while to get it fixed, I was up there for about an hour and a half getting buffeted by the wind and it really was not nice.

"I had called the shore crew before I went up so they knew what I was doing and when they had not heard from me for so long they were just on the verge of sending out the rescue teams when I got back down."

So what makes a person want to take on such an adventure?

Brian explained: "For me it's a passion to be able to complete a solo round the world trip which is something few people have ever done. I have taken part in round the world voyages twice before but that was with a crew of 13, doing it solo is a step above and takes it to a whole other level, you know you're completely on your own, you have no-one else to turn to so it certainly tests your resources.

"Throughout the whole trip I've seen perhaps five or six other boats but not another human being at all since I left France which can be really quite strange.

"I think the high point of the voyage was rounding Cape Horn in mid January, getting out of the Southern Ocean and seeing land for the first time in a long time.

"Now I'm just concentrating on getting to the finish. To be honest I'm not really thinking about the end of the race, more about getting there though I know it will be pretty amazing because the people in Les Sables d'Olonne really take it seriously and come out to meet us as we come in.

"I have a three-year-old and a one-and-a-half year old and I guess the first thing I'm going to do is give them a hug. I know it's been just as challenging for my partner being at home looking after them alone as it has been for me so it will be good to spend some time together as a family.

"I'm also really looking forward to coming to Bahrain and meeting all the people who've been supporting me and Bahrain Team Pindar keeping abreast of my journey through the website and sending messages of support."