Brian is five miles from the finish. Sun is just risen over the horizon and is starting to warm the icy morning air. Seas are flat and the breeze is about nine knots. Thompson has confirmed he has a broken keel pin so is nursing his boat to the finish.

Brian Thompson on Bahrain Team Pindar is making 8.81 knots and was 15 miles from the finish line at 0605 hrs GMT (0705hrs local time), so his ETA at the finish line is now around 0800hrs GMT (0900hrs local time).

"This is an incredibly emotional moment. There have been many great moments throughout the race, particularly those I spent alongside Yann Eliès. After a voyage with so much emotion and excitement, my mind is full of memories. And I’m going to be on the podium! I don’t know what I can say, except that it’s amazing, a truly great moment. It’s also in some ways down to Samantha Davies too. We were so close sailing alongside each other. That motivated me and her too to fight to the finish and encouraged me to find what it took to complete the race without a keel. Since this morning, time was slipping by for third place. On top of that, I was surrounded by Brits and didn’t want them to get ahead. I really worked hard at sailing the boat today. I thought that what Bilou did without a keel was incredible, but these boats are really very stable. I would never have thought that it would be possible to finish without a keel and I don’t want to go through that again. I’m really looking forward to savouring this Vendée Globe with my family and friends. As for next time, I don’t know. The Vendée Globe isn’t something you decide to do just like that."

And despite the fact it is 2.53 in the morning the crowds are lining the canal in big numbers and making a lot of noise, on the foredeck now are Bilou, Kito and Jean Le Cam and Yann Elies is beside them in a Zodiac

And Marco has his technical team on board and he will take on the invited skippers, those who did not finish. Just a matter of half a mile from the channel. So he will begin his entry into the channel almost immediately.

Brian Thompson (Bahrain Team Pindar) was 32 miles from the finish at 0130h GMT, making 7 knots.