Vendée Globe

The route of the Vendée Globe race.

The Vendée Globe is a round-the-world single-handed yacht race, sailed non-stop and without assistance. 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.

History

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.

The first edition of the race was run in 1989-1990, and was won by Titouan Lamazou; Jeantot himself took part, and placed fourth. The next edition of the race was in 1992-1993; and it has since then been run every four years.

The boats

Hommage au Vendée Globe by Raphaël Toussaint, 1999

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

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. 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. 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:

• a gate south of South Africa, situated at 44° South, between 005° East and 014° East
• Heard Island
• a gate to the South west of Australia, situated at 47° South, between 103° East and 113° East
• a gate to the south east of Australia, situated at 52° South, between 136° East and 147° East
• a gate in the Pacific Ocean, situated at 55° South, between 160° West and 149° West
• a gate in the Pacific Ocean, situated at 55° South, between 126° West and 115° West

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.

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, any entrant to the Vendée Globe will have amassed substantial sailing experience.

Previous results

1989-1990

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.

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

1992-1993

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.

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

1996-1997

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.

Pete Goss was later awarded the Légion d'honneur for his rescue of Dinelli. The capsize of several boats in this race prompted tightening up of the safety rules for entrants, particularly regarding boat safety and stability.

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.

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

2000-2001

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.

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	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

2004-2005

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.

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

2008-2009

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

See also

• Clipper Round the World Yacht Race
• Global Challenge
• Route du Rhum
• VELUX 5 Oceans Race
• Volvo Ocean Race

External links

• Official website
• A diagram of the race
• Steve White- Sailing's Underdog