Renowned British yachtsman Brian Thompson entered the docks at Leith,Edinburgh at 0300 hrs yesterday morning, marking the end of his 1500 mile solo qualifying leg for solo transatlantic race the Route de Rhum. Thompson will be the only British competitor in the Open 60 class in the race, which starts on 29th October in St Malo and finishes in Guadeloupe.

Arriving in Leith, Brian commented: “I had a great trip up here, and am really pleased with the boat and how she has performed. It was fantastic to get out into the open water of the Atlantic and we experienced some perfect weather for solo training. It’s great for the team to know that the qualifier is done and in the bag, so now we can concentrate on getting ‘Artemis’ perfected for the start of the Route du Rhum in October. I’m really looking forward to my first solo race on her.”