Briton sails into yacht race’s third place

Thomson, 38, from Gosport, Hampshire, crossed the finish line at Les Sables d’Olonne in France in his 60ft boat Hugo Boss after 80 days at sea. He pocketed £64,000.

In doing so, he has also become the fastest Briton ever to sail around the world in a monohull boat – smashing the previous record by nearly eight days.

A podium finish in the 27,000-mile circumnavigation dubbed the Marathon Of The Seas is a personal triumph for the sailor, who has never managed to finish a solo around-the-world voyage before and has suffered setbacks and bad luck over the years.

Thomson is now only the third Briton to claim a top three finish in the Vendee after Ellen MacArthur was second in 2001 and Mike Golding– in sixth position in this race – who finished third in 2004.

“I feel honoured to be in third place and it’s a privilege to take part in this race,” Thomson said. “It’s almost like it’s in my blood.

“Right now, I can’t imagine not doing the next Vendee Globe.

“It feels great to get home and get back to normality and have my feet on dry land. It’s great to be here and to finish.

“The last two days have been hectic. I never felt comfortable until I crossed the line because I have been trying to finish this race for 10 years. I feel I have done a good job.”

He was reunited with his wife Kate and two-year-old son Oscar and then tucked into a cheeseburger and chips washed down with a beer after months of eating freeze-dried food.

Sailing is popular in France and thousands of people braved a grey January morning to see the skipper home as dawn broke.

He crossed the finishing line at 7.25am after 80 days, 19 hours and 23 minutes at sea.

French sailor Francois Gabart, 29, won the race on Sunday in a record time of 78 days, two hours, 16 minutes.