Brian, crossed the finished line in fifth place at 09.31am local time off the West coast of France, having sailed 28,699.8 nautical miles and spent a total of 98 days, 20h, 29m,55s at sea. Throughout that time Brian kept us all up to date through his blog – which can you view at htpp://teampindar.com

Speaking on the dock Brian commented, “It’s been the most remarkable journey. Ever since I was a boy, I have dreamed of sailing solo around the world. The incredible feeling of crossing the finishing line made all the challenges of the last three months pale into insignificance – it’s a beautiful day.”

Known as the ‘Everest of the Seas’, the 2008/09 edition has lived up to its reputation as one of the world’s toughest sporting challenges.  Since the start of the race on November 9, just 11 of the original 30 boats look set to complete the race.

The rowboat and the cloud

Taken from: Official Google Blog by Posted by Andy Berndt, Managing Director, Google Creative Lab
Late last month a young man named Oliver (Olly) Hicks climbed into his boat, the Flying Carrot, and set out from Recherche Bay in Tasmania, Australia on the Virgin Global Row, his attempt to become the first person to row solo around the entire globe. We jumped at the chance to offer our products to help Olly, both because we think this inspiring quest is eminently worth supporting and because we can’t imagine how anyone else could more aptly illustrate the power of the web.

You see, although he’ll be alone throughout his two-year adventure, Olly’s water-resistant laptop and satellite uplink will keep him perpetually connected to the “cloud.” So the Carrot, though just 24 feet long, will fit countless millions of books, videos, photographs, songs and websites — not to mention many of the world’s web users. You and I, from the comfort of our own computers, will be able to map Olly’s progress, read the blog items he writes, enjoy the pictures and videos he uploads, ask him questions and vote on which ones he should answer, and follow along in the newest version of Google Earth, where his trip is part of an expedition layer focused on the world’s oceans.

And Olly, in turn, can rest assured that everything he does on the web will be safely stored there forever, even if his laptop happens to take a swim. The cloud will be there for him, as it is for everybody who lives, works and plays online.

So, bon voyage, Olly. We’re rooting for you, and we hope the rest of the world does, too.

Olly Hicks is knowingly tackling what is arguably the world’s most hostile environment, the Southern Ocean.  You can follow Olly every stroke on the way round at virginglobalrow.com designed by our very own Wez Maynard and built by our capable Dan VC…with a little input from a few of our new friends at Google.

‘Virgin Global Row’ is an expedition mounted by Olly, to circumnavigate Antarctica solo, in a rowing boat. Having already solo-rowed the Atlantic, Olly anticipates taking some 18-22 months for the whole voyage around Antarctica and he will be at sea all that time, except for wintering on South Georgia. Through out this time he will be tracked using OC Tracker technology.

So take a look and join the online community and leave a message for Olly, view the map, read the latest blog and get hooked on what is set to be the final frontier…the worlds first solo row round the world!

Further updates to follow…

The massive capsize in 60-knot winds and furious seas on Boxing Day caused terminal damage to the rudder system that could not be repaired at sea.  Sébastien’s tactical and competitive race that saw him take the lead no less than seven times, also caught the attention of the watching media and garnered a huge swell of support from his sponsors employees. Here at  OC Group – Race HQ,  we enthusiastically tracked his every move and shared equally in his disappointment.

BT is now safely moored in Viaduct Basin, home of the 2003 America’s Cup, but Seb has had to watch as the frontrunners escaped Cape Horn and began their race back up the South Atlantic.

“It’s hard to step back ashore when the guys are going back up the Atlantic and it’s not easy to be watching the game from the side of the pitch,” said Seb.

To watch the lastest interview of Seb in Paris discussing the Vendee Globe click here

Well Done Ben from all at OC Vision!

Following a horse and carriage ride to the beautiful gardens of Osborne House, the ball started with a Champagne reception along with ‘The Red Devils’, the official parachute display team of both The PARAS and the British Army.  It was a sight I shall never forget!

Roger Johnson (BBC South presenter) took on the role of MC for the night, alongside Trust patron Ellen MacArthur, but the star of the show was Vicky Stokes. After undergoing treatment for bone cancer Vicky joined The Trust last year on one of the summer sailing trips, now 18 and in recovery she returned this year as a volunteer.

An auction during the evening raised over £60,000 towards The Trusts activities. Thanks to events like this, the charity has quadrupled the number of young people they take sailing since 2005.

The ball was the culmination of an exciting day for The Trust, after they announced The Skandia Round Britain Voyage of Discovery which will set sail in May 2009. To find out more visit the OC Vision designed and built website.

Glorious sunshine was the backdrop for the Semi and Quarter Finals. It was a fast paced game, but I was soon getting the hang of it (I was lucky enough to have brought my own walking/talking cricket guide!) After a few pints of Pimms I was taken in by the excitement of it all – enthusiastically waving the` ‘4′ and ‘6′ card when needed!

With the Finals following after tea, Kent played fantastically well, but it seemed that it was Middlesex day to shine, under the lights, in the end.

One of Scarlet Oyster’s crew, John Mckiernrn, 13 years old, from Belfast told me;

“The trip has been fantastic I have learnt how to sail, fish and cook all in 4 days. The skippers really make you feel at home it is so nice to get away other problems that I have had and meet other kids who have been in the same situation”

Ellen endeavours to join each trust trip, but this Trip was slightly different as Ellen joined the whole trip as a mate. After the trip she said;

“It’s great to see the change in confidence of the young people over the four days, this is all down to the volunteers and other skippers. If the young people wish to share their stories they can blow you away with their matter of fact way of speaking about their illness. They really are incredibly brave. You cannot help but be inspired by them.”

I am looking forward to volunteering for another trip next year…so watch this space!

To learn more about the Trust, or to make a donation please visit http://ellenmacarthurtrust.org
It costs £500 to take a Young Person sailing for 4 days.

Thanks to one of our preferred suppliers – Cedar (the Saints Official Printers) we had a great day out in their corporate box. The great food and company certainly made up for the poor performance on the pitch. Southampton’s luck began to fade due to a fluky goal seconds before half time by Steven Caldwell, with neither team scoring again.

Does this mean relegation for Southampton….again?

Oleg Zherebstov, founded the Team Russia campaign with the aim to promote Russia, and Russian business interests, on the global sporting stage. With the announcement last autumn that the Race is to end in Zherebtsov’s homeport of St Petersburg, Lenta, the supermarket chain he founded, pledged its commitment to organise the finish.

OC Vision are looking forward to working with the team and to launching the ‘race mode’ version of the site later in the year. If you would like to find out how we can help your team communicate its message to a wider audience, get in touch!