Best of British talent aboard Pindar AlphaGraphics for Antigua Sailing Week
April 23, 2007 0 comments
Pindar, the print and electronic media company and one of the leading sponsors of international sailing campaigns, today announced the crew line up for it’s Volvo 60 Pindar AlphaGraphics which will race in next week’s Stanford Antigua Sailing Week. Ian Williams, World Match Racing number one will helm Pindar AlphaGraphics, with leading British round-the-world sailors Brian Thompson and Alex Thomson supporting Ian in the afterguard.
Pindar, the print and electronic media company and one of the leading sponsors of international sailing campaigns, today announced the crew line up for it’s Volvo 60 Pindar AlphaGraphics which will race in next week’s Stanford Antigua Sailing Week. Ian Williams, World Match Racing number one will helm Pindar AlphaGraphics, with leading British round-the-world sailors Brian Thompson and Alex Thomson supporting Ian in the afterguard.
This is the second year that Pindar AlphaGraphics has competed in the week-long regatta, which begins in Falmouth, Antigua, on Sunday 29th April. Now in it’s 40th anniversary year, the event promises to provide great racing, with a variety of inshore windward-leeward races, as well as traditional round-the-island races, culminating in an ocean race on the final day.
Briton Ian Williams, 30, who is ranked number one in the ISAF Match Racing Rankings as well as currently leading the World Match Racing Tour, is Britain’s best ever match racing sailor. Since putting his law career on hold to take up full-time professional sailing, Ian has gone from strength to strength, winning three Grade 1 match racing events, as well as his first ever World Match Racing Tour event in Bermuda last year. Whilst not out on the match racing circuit, Ian also competes as a tactician in the Farr 40 and Swan 45 classes.
Brian Thompson, 45, a renowned ocean racing sailor, has sailed professionally for over 12 years. With 25 world records to date, Brian has clocked up more multihull and swing keel miles than any other British yachtsman, and has vast experience in sailing sixty-footers. Alex Thomson, 32, who was dramatically rescued from the Southern Ocean last November by a fellow competitor in the VELUX 5 Oceans round-the-world race, brings a wealth of talent to the Pindar team. Known for his high profile Hugo Boss sponsorship, Alex holds the world 24 hour solo monohull speed sailing record having covered an amazing 468 nautical miles on an Open 60.
Also joining the crew in Antigua is Pindar’s new Volvo 60 skipper, Jo Royle. Jo, 27, from Preston, Lancashire, who has previously worked with Clipper Ventures and Formula 1 Sailing, and has considerable experience in Southern Ocean sailing with several expeditions to the Sub-Antarctic. Pindar AlphaGraphics will also host VIP guests on the boat each day as part of their extensive corporate hospitality programme.
Andrew Pindar, Chairman of the Pindar Group commented: “The line-up for this year’s Antigua Sailing Week is superb. Pindar is thrilled to be sailing with a highly talented team. I know that Ian Williams, one of our Pindar ambassadors will work hard to get the most out of his crew and the boat. We are pleased to have round-the-world sailors such as Brian and Alex joining us, and we welcome the latest addition to the Pindar Ocean Racing team, Jo Royle.”
Pindar AlphaGraphics Crew List:
Ian Williams – Helm/Afterguard
Brian Thompson – Navigation & Tactics/Afterguard
Alex Thomson
Olly Smith
Jo Royle
Nick Crabtree
Trewren Joines
Matt Smeaton
Anna Stevenson
Alex Williams
Jeff Blue
Scott Macleod
