Jules Verne Trophy Paris Prize Giving Ceremony

The crew of Banque Populaire V with the Jules Verne Trophy © Maxi Banque Populaire V

Brian Thompson, the only British crew member onboard the maxi trimaran Banque Populaire V, was yesterday honoured in Paris for the fastest navigation of the world. Thompson becomes one of a handful of British sailors to have received the trophy and the first for 18 years.

Thompson, was part of the crew who smashed the world speed record for a lap of the planet onboard a yacht and also simultaneously became the first Briton to circumnavigate the globe non-stop for a fourth time. Skippered by Frenchman, Loick Peyron with a crew of 13, Banque Populaire V, sailed non-stop around the world in an incredible 45 days 42 minutes 13 hours 53 seconds, beating all existing records.

Thompson commented: It was a fantastic evening at the Musee de la Marine (the French equivalent of our National Maritime Museum in Greenwich). The building overlooks the Eiffel Tower and it is full of the history of varied maritime adventures - a very appropriate place to celebrate our record-breaking voyage. There was a great crowd to see the ceremony, and it was a very special moment to be reunited with the crew after 3 months, and then to be given the trophy, and to place it in position levitating atop its magnetic base. Its the most spectacular and beautiful trophy I have ever seen.