The Vendée Globe, Everest of the Seas

The event :

The Vendée Globe is, at the day the biggest sailing race around the world, in solitary, non-stop and without assistance. The event registered in the wake of the Golden Globe who, in 1968, initiate the first circumnavigation of this type by the three capes (Bonne Espérance, Leeuwin and Horn). Of the nine pioneers to set off in 1968, only one succeeded in returning to Falmouth, the big harbour of English Cornwall. The 6 april 1969, after 313 sea days, the british Robin Knox-Johnston was coming finally to the goal. Twenty years ago, is the sailor Philippe Jeantot who, after his double victory in the BOC Challenge (the world tour in solitary with stop), throw the idea of a new race around the world, in solitary, but … without halt ! The Vendée Globe was born. The 26 november 1989, thirteen sailors take the start of the first edition which will last more than three months. They will only seven to return to Les Sables d’Olonne.

The eight editions of what the big public calls Everest of the Seas, allowed at 167 competitor to take the start of this race out of the ordinary. Only 89 of them succeeded to cross the finish line. This figure explain the extreme difficulty of this planetary event where the loners are confronted the freezing cold, the disproportionate waves and the heavy skies which sweep the great South ! The Vendée Globe is a big trip at the end of the sea and in the depths of oneself. He consecrated very great sailors : Titouan Lamazou in 1990, Alain Gautier in 1993, Christope Auguin in 1997, Vincent Riou in 2005, François Gabart in 2013 and Armel Le Cléac’h in 2017. The Breton become the new record holder of the event in 74 days. An alone sailor won two time : Michel Desjoyeaux, in 2001 and 2009.

The route :

44 996,2 kilometers either 24 296 miles : this is the circumference of the reference Earth and the distance around the world. A revolution carried out in 74 days and 3 hours during the last edition of the Vendée Globe. This planetary expedition is above all a climatic journey to descend the Atlantic, cross the Indian Ocean and the Pacific, then ascend again the Atlantic … On the program : a start from Les Sables d’Olonne in the middle of autumn, a trip to the center of the South seas in full austral summer and a winter return to Vendée.

The boats :

The boats of the Vendée Globe are all 18,28m long (60 ft) and 4,50m large. Very canvas, they are the most powerful monohulls on the planet led by a solo sailor. The gauge of these racing beasts is defined by the IMOCA class (International Monohull Open Class Association), founded in 1991 and recognized by the ISAF, the International Sailing Federation. An important overhaul of the gauge was contucted before the 2016 edition. For new boats, this now requires a standardized keel, the choice between two masts, classic or wing mast, a limited number of appendages and ballasts. But the great novelty was undoubtedly the addition of the foils, namely the load-bearing appendages which make it possible to “support” the hull with the load-bearing hull. So to economize a lot of drag (friction with the water) and to gain in performance. The Vendée Globe 2016/2017 showed the efficiency of the device. In 2020, a big number of podium contenders will be equipped with foils.

source: https://www.vendeeglobe.org/

The skippers :

Repeat offenders, podium candidates, a race that is internationalise and still as many adventurers, the cuvée 2020 promises to be a grand cru.

The Vendée Globe seduces and attracts beyond borders. Most than a third of the competitors come from abroad and there are no less than 10 different nationalities in countries such as : United Kingdom, Australia, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Finland, Germany, New Zealand, Japan and France.

More women than ever before for the new edition of the Vendée Globe, we count 6 women with Sam Davies as the bridgehead who on the strength of his round-the-world crewed tour, intends to join in the fight for the podium.

Fabrice AMEDEO : NEWREST – ART & FENÊTRES
Romain ATTANASIO : PURE – BEST WESTERN
Alexia BARRIER : 4MYPLANET
Yannick BESTAVEN : MAÎTRE COQ IV
Jérémie BEYOU : CHARAL
Arnaud BOISSIÈRES : LA MIE CÂLINE – ARTISANS ARTIPÔLE
Louis BURTON : BUREAU VALLEE 2
Didac COSTA : ONE PLANET ONE OCEAN
Manuel COUSIN : GROUPE SETIN
Clarisse CREMER : BANQUE POPULAIRE X
Charlie DALIN : APIVIA
Samantha DAVIES : INITIATIVES-CŒUR
Sébastien DESTREMAU : MERCI
Benjamin DUTREUX : OMIA – WATER FAMILY
Kevin ESCOFFIER : PRB
Clément GIRAUD : COMPAGNIE DU LIT / JILITI
Pip HARE : MEDALLIA
Boris HERRMANN : SEA EXPLORER – YACHT CLUB DE MONACO
Ari HUUSELA : STARK
Isabelle JOSCHKE : MACSF
Jean LE CAM : YES WE CAM !
Stéphane LE DIRAISON : TIME FOR OCEANS
Miranda MERRON : CAMPAGNE DE FRANCE
Giancarlo PEDOTE : PRYSMIAN GROUP
Alan ROURA : LA FABRIQUE
Thomas RUYANT : LINKEDOUT
Damien SEGUIN : GROUPE APICIL
Kojiro SHIRAISHI : DMG MORI
Sébastien SIMON : ARKEA – PAPREC
Maxime SOREL : V AND B – MAYENNE
Alex THOMSON : HUGO BOSS
Armel TRIPON : L’OCCITANE EN PROVENCE
Nicolas TROUSSEL : CORUM L’EPARGNE