The Vendée Globe is a round-the-world single-handed yacht race, sailed non-stop and without assistance.[1] The race was founded by Philippe Jeantot in 1989, and since 1992 has taken place every four years.
As the only single-handed non-stop round-the-world race (in contrast to the VELUX 5 Oceans Race, which is sailed in stages), the race is a serious test of individual endurance, and is regarded by many as the ultimate in ocean racing.
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The race was founded in 1989 by French yachtsman Philippe Jeantot. Jeantot had competed in the BOC Challenge (now the VELUX 5 Oceans Race) in 1982-1983 and 1986–1987, winning both times. Dissatisfied with the race's format, he decided to set up a new round-the-world non-stop race, which he felt would be the ultimate challenge for single-handed sailors.[2]
The first edition of the race was run in 1989-1990, and was won by Titouan Lamazou; Jeantot himself took part, and placed fourth.[3] The next edition of the race was in 1992-1993; and it has since then been run every four years.
The race is open to monohull yachts conforming to the Open 60 class criteria. (Prior to 2004, the race was also open to Open 50 boats.) The Open classes are unrestricted in certain aspects, but a box rule governs parameters such as overall length, draught, appendages and stability, as well as numerous other safety features.
The race starts and finishes in Les Sables-d'Olonne, in the Vendée département of France; both Les Sables d’Olonne and the Vendée Conseil Général are official race sponsors.[4] The course is essentially a circumnavigation along the clipper route: from Les Sables d’Olonne, down the Atlantic Ocean to the Cape of Good Hope; then clockwise around Antarctica, keeping Cape Leeuwin and Cape Horn to port; then back to Les Sables d’Olonne.[5] The race generally runs from November to February; and is timed to place the competitors in the Southern Ocean during the austral summer.
Additional waypoints may be set in the sailing instructions for a particular race, in order to ensure safety relative to ice conditions, etc. For example, in 2004, the racers had to pass north of the following flexible waypoints:
The competitors may stop at anchor, but may not draw alongside a quay or another vessel; they may receive no outside assistance, including customised weather or routing information. The only exception is that a competitor who has an early problem may return to the start for repairs and then re-start the race, as long the re-start is within 10 days of the official start.
The race presents significant challenges; most notably the severe wind and wave conditions in the Southern Ocean, the long unassisted duration of the race, and the fact that the course takes competitors far from the reach of any normal emergency response. A significant proportion of the entrants usually retire, and in the 1996-1997 race Canadian Gerry Roufs was lost at sea.[6]
To mitigate the risks, competitors are required to undergo medical and survival courses. They must also be able to demonstrate prior racing experience; either a completed single-handed trans-oceanic race or the completion of a previous Vendée Globe. The qualifying race must have been completed on the same boat as the one the sailor will race in the Vendée Globe; or the competitor must complete an additional trans-oceanic observation passage, of not less than 2,500 miles (4,000 km), at an average speed of at least 7 knots (13 km/h), with his new boat . Since trans-ocean races typically have significant qualifying criteria of their own,[7] any entrant to the Vendée Globe will have amassed substantial sailing experience.
The inaugural edition of the race was led from early on by the eventual winner, Titouan Lamazou, on Ecureuil d'Aquitaine II. Philippe Jeantot, the race's founder, had problems with breakdowns, and then unfavourable winds, which held him back from the race lead. Philippe Poupon's ketch Fleury Michon X capsized in the Southern Ocean; and Poupon was rescued by Loïck Peyron, who finally finished second, in what was generally a successful first run of the race.[3]
| Sailor | Yacht | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Titouan Lamazou | Ecureuil d'Aquitaine II | 109 d 08 h 48'50 |
| Loïck Peyron | Lada Poch | 110 d 01 h 18'06 |
| Jean-Luc Van den Heede | 36.15 MET | 112 d 01 h 14'00 |
| Philippe Jeantot | Crédit Agricole IV | 113 d 23 h 47'47 |
| Pierre Follenfant | TBS-Charente Maritime | 114 d 21 h 09'06 |
| Alain Gautier | Generali Concorde | 132 d 13 h 01'48 |
| Jean-François Coste | Cacharel | 163 d 01 h 19'20 |
| Did not finish | ||
| Patrice Carpentier | Le Nouvel Observateur | damaged auto-pilot (Falklands) |
| Mike Plant | Duracell | received help (New Zealand) |
| Bertie Reed | Grinaker | damaged rudder |
| Jean-Yves Terlain | UAP | dismasted |
| Philippe Poupon | Fleury Michon X | capsized |
| Guy Bernardin | O-Kay | toothache |
The second edition of the race attracted a great deal of media coverage; with several participants from the first race, and some promising newcomers, it was set to be an exciting event. Sadly, American Mike Plant, one of the entrants in the first Vendée race, failed to make the start. He was lost at sea on the way to the race, and his boat was found capsized near the Azores.
The race set off into extremely bad weather in the Bay of Biscay, and several racers returned to the start to make repairs before setting off again (the only stopover allowed by the rules). Four days after the start, British sailor Nigel Burgess was found drowned off Cape Finisterre, having presumably fallen overboard. Alain Gautier and Bertrand de Broc led the race down the Atlantic; however, keel problems forced de Broc to abandon in New Zealand. Gautier continued with Philippe Poupon close behind, but a dismasting close to the finish held Poupon back and Jean-Luc van den Heede took the second place.[8]
| Sailor | Yacht | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Alain Gautier | Bagages Superior | 110 d 02 h 22'35 |
| Jean-Luc van den Heede | Groupe Sofap-Helvim | 116 d 15 h 01'11 |
| Philippe Poupon | Fleury-Michon X | 117 d 03 h 34'24 |
| Yves Parlier | Cacolac d'Aquitaine | 125 d 02 h 42'24 |
| Nándor Fa | K&H Banque Matav | 128 d 16 h 05'04 |
| José Luis de Ugarte | Euskadi Europ 93 BBK | 134 d 05 h 04'00 |
| Jean-Yves Hasselin | PRB / Solo Nantes | 153 d 05 h 14'00 |
| Did not finish | ||
| Bernard Gallay | Vuarnet Watches | rigging problems |
| Vittorio Malingri | Everlast / Neil Pryde Sails | lost rudder |
| Bertrand de Broc | Groupe LG | keel problems |
| Alan Wynne-Thomas | Cardiff Discovery | medical reasons |
| Loïck Peyron | Fujicolor III | sail failure |
| Thierry Arnaud | Maître Coq / Le Monde | unprepared |
| Nigel Burgess | Nigel Burgess Yachts | lost at sea |
| Mike Plant | Duracell | lost at sea while relying departure |
Another heavy-weather start in the Bay of Biscay knocked Nandor Fa and Didier Munduteguy out of the race early; and several others once again returned to the start for repairs before continuing. The rest of the fleet raced to the Southern Ocean, where a second attrition began. Yves Parlier as well as Isabelle Autissier broke their rudders, leaving Christophe Auguin to lead the way into the south.
Heavy weather took a more serious toll on the sailors in the far Southern Ocean. Raphaël Dinelli's boat capsized and he was rescued by Pete Goss; then, within a few hours of each other, two other boats capsized, and their occupants were rescued by Australian rescue teams. Finally, contact was lost with Canadian sailor Gerry Roufs. While his body was never found, his boat reappeared five months later off the Chilean Coast.
The race was won by Christophe Auguin; and Catherine Chabaud, sixth and last, was the first woman to finish the race.[9]
Pete Goss was later awarded the Légion d'honneur for his rescue of Dinelli.[10] The capsize of several boats in this race prompted tightening up of the safety rules for entrants, particularly regarding boat safety and stability.[11]
The book Godforsaken Sea: The True Story of a Race Through the World's Most Dangerous Waters by Derek Lundy profiles this edition of the race.[12]
| Sailor | Yacht | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Christophe Auguin | Geodis | 105 d 20 h 31' |
| Marc Thiercelin | Crédit Immobilier | 113 d 08 h 26' |
| Hervé Laurent | Groupe LG-Traitmat | 114 d 16 h 43' |
| Eric Dumont | Café Legal-Le Goût | 116 d 16 h 43' |
| Pete Goss | Aqua Quorum | 126 d 21 h 25' |
| Catherine Chabaud | Whirlpool-Europe 2 | 140 d 04 h 38' |
| Did not finish | ||
| Isabelle Autissier | PRB | broken rudder |
| Yves Parlier | Aquitaine Innovations | broken rudder |
| Bertrand de Broc | Pommes Rhône Alpes | capsized |
| Tony Bullimore | Exide Challenger | capsized |
| Thierry Dubois | Amnesty International | capsized |
| Nándor Fa | Budapest | collision |
| Didier Munduteguy | Club 60è Sud | dismasted |
| Raphaël Dinelli | Algimouss | capsized |
| Patrick de Radiguès | Afibel | beached |
| Gerry Roufs | Groupe LG2 | lost at sea |
This race was the first major test of the new safety rules, introduced following the tragedy in the previous race. Overall, it was a success; although some boats were again forced to retire from the race, none were lost. This race also featured the youngest entrant ever; Ellen MacArthur, who at 24 years old had managed to put together a serious campaign with her custom-built boat Kingfisher.
Yves Parlier was the first to establish a lead; however, he was soon under attack by Michel Desjoyeaux, who moved into the lead. Pushing hard to catch up, Parlier dismasted and lost contact with race organisers. MacArthur diverted to give him assistance, but was then told to resume racing when contact with Parlier was restored, and managed to maintain fourth place.
Desjoyeaux extended his lead to 600 miles (970 km) by the Cape Horn; however, MacArthur was closing steadily, having moved up to second place. By the mid-Atlantic she had caught up, and while negotiating the calms and variable winds of the Doldrums, the two traded the lead position several times.
MacArthur's chances of a win were ruined when she struck a semi-submerged container and was forced to make repairs. Desjoyeaux won the race; but MacArthur pulled in just over a day later, to a rapturous reception, as the fastest single-handed woman around the planet. Parlier, meanwhile, had anchored off New Zealand, and managed to fabricate by himself a new carbon-fibre mast from the remains of his broken mast. He continued racing, and gained an official place.[13][14]
| Sailor | Yacht | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Michel Desjoyeaux | PRB | 93 d 3 h 57' |
| Ellen MacArthur | Kingfisher | 94 d 4 h 25' |
| Roland Jourdain | Sill Matines La potagère | 96 d 1 h 2' |
| Marc Thiercelin | Active Wear | 102 d 20 h 37' |
| Dominic Wavre | Union bancaire Privée | 105 d 2 h 45' |
| Thomas Coville | Sodébo | 105 d 7 h 24' |
| Mike Golding | Team Group 4 | 110 d 16 h 22' |
| Bernard Gallay | Voilà.fr | 111 d 16 h 7' |
| Josh Hall (yachtsman) | Gartmore | 111 d 19 h 48' |
| Joé Seeten | Chocolats du Monde | 115 d 16 h 46' |
| Patrice Carpentier | VM Matériaux | 116 d 00 h 32' |
| Simone Bianchetti | Aquarelle.com | 121 d 1 h 28' |
| Yves Parlier | Aquitaine Innovations | 126 d 23 h 36 |
| Didier Munduteguy | DDP / 60e Sud | 135 d 15 h 17' |
| Pasquale de Gregorio | Wind Telecommunicazioni | 158 d 2 h 37' |
| Did not finish | ||
| Catherine Chabaud | Whirlpool | dismasted |
| Thierry Dubois | Solidaires | electronic problems |
| Raphaël Dinelli | Sogal Extenso | damaged rudder |
| Fedor Konioukhov | Modern Univ./Humanities | retired |
| Javier Sanso | Old Spice | retired |
| Eric Dumont | Euroka Services | damaged rudder |
| Richard Tolkien | This Time - Argos - Help For Autistic Children | rig damage |
| Bernard Stamm | Armor-Lux/foies Gras | steering problem |
| Patrick de Radiguès | Libre Belgique | beached |
300,000 people watched the start of the 2004 race, which for once took place in mild weather. A fast start was followed by a few minor equipment problems; still, the first racers crossed the equator after just 10 days, 3 days faster than the previous race, and all of the starters were still sailing.
Attrition began on entry into the roaring forties: Alex Thomson diverted to Cape Town to make unassisted repairs and continue racing, and a number of other problems hit the fleet. Hervé Laurent retired with serious rudder problems, Thomson abandoned, and Conrad Humphreys anchored to make unassisted rudder repairs. Gear problems and abandons continued; then the fleet ran into an area of ice, with Sébastien Josse hitting a berg head-on.
As the fleet re-entered the Atlantic, the lead changed several times; the race remained close right to the finish, which saw three boats finish within 29 hours.[15][16]
| Sailor | Yacht | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Vincent Riou | PRB | 87 d 10 h 47'55 |
| Jean Le Cam | Bonduelle | 87 d 17 h 20'8 |
| Mike Golding | Ecover | 88 d 15 h 15'13 |
| Dominique Wavre | Temenos | 92 d 17 h 13'20 |
| Sébastien Josse | VMI | 93 d0 h 2'10 |
| Jean-Pierre Dick | Virbac-Paprec | 98 d3 h 49'38 |
| Conrad Humphreys | Hellomoto | 104 d 14 h 32'24 |
| Joé Seeten | Arcelor Dunkerque | 104 d 23 h 2'45 |
| Bruce Schwab | Ocean Planet | 109 d 19 h 58'57 |
| Benoît Parnaudeau | Max Havelaar / Best Western | 116 d 1 h 6'54 |
| Anne Liardet | ROXY | 119 d 5 h 28'40 |
| Raphaël Dinelli | AKENA Vérandas | 125 d 4 h 7'14 |
| Karen Leibovici | Benefic | 126 d 8 h 2'20 |
| Did not finish | ||
| Marc Thiercelin | Pro-Form | technical problems |
| Roland Jourdain | Sill Véolia | keel problems |
| Alex Thomson | Hugo Boss | hole in the deck |
| Patrice Carpentier | VM Matériaux | broken boom |
| Nick Moloney | Skandia | lost the keel |
| Hervé Laurent | UUDS | rudder problem |
| Norbert Sedlacek | Brother | keel problems |
The 2008 edition of the Vendée Globe began on November 9, 2008 and was won by Michel Desjoyaux.
| Sailor | Yacht | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Michel Desjoyeaux | Foncia | 84 d 3 h 9'8" |
| Armel Le Cléac’h | Brit Air | 89 d 9 h 39'35" |
| Marc Guillemot | Safran | 95 d 3 h 19'36" |
| Samantha Davies | Roxy | 95 d 4 h 39'1" |
| Brian Thompson | Bahrain Team Pindar | 98 d 20 h 29'55" |
| Dee Caffari | Aviva | 99 d 1 h 10'57" |
| Arnaud Boissières | Akena Verandas | 105 d 2 h 33'50" |
| Steve White | Toe In The Water | 109 d 00 h 36'55" |
| Rich Wilson | Great American III | 121 d 00 h 41'19" |
| Raphaël Dinelli | Fondation Ocean Vital | 125 d 2 h 32'24" |
| Norbert Sedlacek | Nauticsport-Kapsch | 126 d 5 h 31'56" |
| Did not finish | ||
| Vincent Riou | PRB | day 59: dismasted. Redress Given: 3rd place |
| Roland Jourdain | Veolia Environnement | day 85: lost keel |
| Jean Le Cam | VM Matériaux | day 58: lost keel bulb, capsized |
| Jonny Malbon | Artemis | day 56: delaminated mainsail |
| Jean-Pierre Dick | Paprec-Virbac 2 | day 53: lost port rudder |
| Derek Hatfield | Algimouss Spirit of Canada | day 50: broken spreaders |
| Sébastien Josse | BT | day 50: broken rudder system |
| Yann Eliès | Generali | day 40: fractured femur |
| Mike Golding | Ecover 3 | day 38: dismasted |
| Jean-Baptiste Dejeanty | Groupe Maisonneuve | day 37: faulty halyards, broken auto-pilot |
| Loïck Peyron | Gitana Eighty | day 36: dismasted |
| Bernard Stamm | Cheminées Poujoulat | day 36: ran aground |
| Dominique Wavre | Temenos | day 35: damaged keel box |
| Unai Basurko | Pakea Bizkaia | day 28: faulty starboard rudder box |
| Jérémie Beyou | Delta Dore | day 17: damaged rig |
| Alex Thomson | Hugo Boss | day 6: cracked hull |
| Yannick Bestaven | Energies Autour du Monde | day 4: dismasted |
| Marc Thiercelin | DCNS | day 4: dismasted |
| Kito de Pavant | Groupe Bel | day 4: dismasted |
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