Race


About the race

Following on from two wins in the BOC Challenge (1983 and 1987), the French sailor Philippe Jeantot decided to take the notion of adventure one step further and created the first non-stop race around the world without assistance that was reserved for solo sailors. Accompanied by Philippe de Villiers, President of the Vendée Council, the Vendée Globe was set up. The first edition took place in 1989 with 13 sailors lining up at the start.

Since then, the Everest of sailing, as the Vendée Globe is sometimes called, has become the major solo ocean sailing race and an absolute must for the leading figures in the IMOCA class. The projects are now organised around this event, which is considered to b the major event in the IMOCA world championship.

Time for the ultimate adventure
The Vendée Globe takes place every four years, starting and finishing in Les Sables-d’Olonne in Vendée and for each race attracts several hundred thousand people. Since the first edition in 1989, the Vendée Globe has crowned several of the greatest names in ocean racing circles: Titouan Lamazou (winner in 1989/1990), Alain Gautier (1992/1993), Christophe Auguin (1996/1997), Michel Desjoyeaux (2000/2001 and 2008/2009) and Vincent Riou (2004/2005).
As for the human adventure aspect, everyone remembers Philippe Poupon being rescued by Loïck Peyron, and more recently Jean Le Cam being rescued by Vincent Riou, after capsizing at the Horn. The whole world followed the daily updates from the Robinson Crusoe of the seas, Yves Parlier, who took refuge on Stewart Island to repair his rig and no one can forget the thrilling performance, which revealed the talent of the young Ellen MacArthur…

A professional organisation
The organisation of the Vendée Globe was taken over in 2004 by the SAEM Vendée, following a decision by the Vendée Council and Philippe de Villiers, who united the main businesses in the area around this project. The seventh edition of the Everest of the Seas will start in les Sables d’Olonne in November 2012 and promises once again to offer an exceptional line-up. We should add that in 2010, four new boats have already been built and others are in the project stage or under construction. Everything is in place to equal the record number of entrants in the last edition, when thirty skippers lined up at the start.
 

Information

Organisation : SAEM Vendée
Start: 10 November 2012
Course: Les Sables d’Olonne –Around the world - Les Sables d’Olonne
Distance: 25,000 miles
Length: 3 months
Mode: single-handed
Weighting in the IMOCA championship: 10
How often: every four years

Website www.vendeeglobe.org/en/