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March 08. 2009
Summary of the weather in the 2008-2009 Vendée Globe
As the Vendée Globe comes to an end, it is time to look back at this sixth edition and today, we examine the weather faced by those taking part in the 2008-2009 Vendée Globe. -
February 18. 2009
What a finish!
Vincent Riou noted this weekend: «Four years ago, no one was expecting such a closely fought contest right up to the finish of the race (the 2004 Vendée Globe that he won). This time, however, everyone believed it likely that there would ... -
February 15. 2009
That was the Week that Was 14
The fourteenth week of the Vendée Globe got off to a very sad start: on Monday, Safran lost her keel. Consequently, Marc Guillemot who had a lead of a hundred miles last Sunday over Samantha Davies, 1280 miles from the finishing line and on ... -
February 12. 2009
Women in the Vendée Globe
The only two women taking part in the race are about to achieve excellent results, finishing in the top 6 from 30 starters. Samantha Davies (Roxy) should be the third competitor to cross the finishing line after a well executed race which she has ... -
February 11. 2009
The finish
Still so far to go. So you’re not thinking of it yet or just a little. You can imagine the harbour in les Sables d’Olonne with the crowd, the cheering, the applause. From out there there’s something unreal about all that, as if ... -
February 08. 2009
That was the Week that Was 13
It was five days and six hours after Foncia’s triumphant arrival that Brit Air finished in second place in Les Sables d’Olonne. We shall now have to wait a few days before welcoming the third boat. Marc Guillemot is determined to grab ... -
February 05. 2009
2005: A close finish
At the finish of the last Vendée Globe 6 hours and 30 minutes separated PRB skipper Vincent Riou on from his rival, Jean Le Cam on Bonduelle. An incredibly short time in relation to the distance they covered sailing around the world. The ... -
February 04. 2009
Back to life, back to reality
The Bay of Biscay. The waves are like those you find elsewhere, yet there is something familiar about the green colour and swell, which gets bigger as you approach the continental shelf. -
February 03. 2009
Anatomy of the winning boat
Already back in 2000, Michel Desjoyeaux worked alongside the Finot Group designers to get them to incorporate some of his ideas to his Open 60. And, again this time the boat which won Desjyoeaux for the second time, built in collaboration with the ... -
February 02. 2009
That was the Week that was 12
Since last week and even before that, Michel Desjoyeaux’s victory seemed to be a foregone conclusion. However, the incident that happened to Roland Jourdain, who appeared destined for second place, reminded us once again that a sailing race ... -
January 30. 2009
These final days at sea
The finish is within sight for the leader of the Vendée Globe signifying the return to land. But before that, there are still a few days at sea, with a range of emotions between the joy of finishing with the nostalgia of some great moments ... -
January 29. 2009
We are the champions
In 48 hours, Michel Desjoyeaux is set to complete his round the world voyage aboard Foncia and see his name once again in the list of winners. Today, we look back at the champions, who have left their mark on the Vendée Globe. -
January 28. 2009
So real
The days are slipping by and one day is very much like another. It is only when you get a phone call that you can tell the difference between Wednesday and Sunday. Time simply doesn’t matter that much to you. The pace of your life is determined ... -
January 26. 2009
The Azores
Discovered by an Arab serving King Roger II of Sicily in 1154, the Azores were colonised by the Portuguese in 15th Century, after they had been visited by the English, Dutch, Spanish, Belgians and French... essentially, as they were seen as a stopover ... -
January 25. 2009
That was the Week that was 11
At the end of this eleventh week of the race after 77 days of sailing, Michel Desjoyeaux is still the clear leader aboard Foncia. He was even able to take advantage of some weather opportunities in the Equatorial area to increase his lead over Roland ... -
January 23. 2009
On the fast track
In the Northern Hemisphere, just as in the Southern Hemisphere, the trade winds offer the high speed routes around the edges of high-pressure areas, forming the fast tracks that ocean racers take to surf along at high speeds. -
January 22. 2009
29th January 2001-Ellen grabs the lead
On 10th January 2001 at 19h 07’, Michel Desjoyeaux rounded the Horn. Having set sail 72 days earlier from Les Sables d’Olonne, the skipper of the white PRB was at the front with a comfortable lead over his nearest rival, ... -
January 21. 2009
Eyes and Hands
The phone rings. I quickly pick it up. The signal is not very clear, so I know immediately that it is a boat calling. I must drop everything else and concentrate on what is being said. In this long distance conversation, each word counts and ... -
January 19. 2009
Islands in the sun
A Brazilian environmental protection area, which is on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the islands of Fernando de Noronha are in the path of the Vendée Globe competitors, as they head back up the Atlantic to les Sables d’Olonne. ... -
January 18. 2009
That was the Week that Was 10
At the end of the tenth week of the race, or at the end of Day 70, eight out of the twelve boats still in the race are sailing in the Atlantic. After a delightful feeling of peace after the stress of the Southern Ocean, the climb back up the Atlantic ... -
January 14. 2009
Time to lay the table
The sun is coming up. Lying in your bunk, with your head buried in the pillow, keeping your feet warm under the duvet, you awake after twenty or thirty minutes of sleep and you start thinking back to the difficulties of the night. There are nights ... -
January 12. 2009
1997: No reply
The first few days of 1997 were marked by a series of boats being lost in the Indian Ocean. It was a miracle but all three sailors were rescued. As the organizers at Race HQ in Paris were relieved to hear of the rescue of Thierry Dubois and Tony ... -
January 11. 2009
That was the Week that Was 9
The week began with Desjoyeaux rounding Cape Horn still in the lead and closely followed by Roland Jourdain. After them, we were expecting Le Cam, Riou and Le Cléac’h. Le Cam capsized, Riou resued him, but during the operation an outrigger ... -
January 09. 2009
The lighthouse at the end of the world
After sailing around the Antarctic, the competitors in the Vendée Globe have to round Cape Horn and then a few miles further on, pass the tip of Patagonia, Staten Island, under the winking eye of the lighthouse at the end of the world. Not ... -
January 09. 2009
2000: the mainsail starter
It's the final day of the year 2000. On board PRB, sailing in the South Pacific at the front of the Vendée Globe fleet, Michel Desjoyeaux starts the new year with everything looking rosy. He has just made it through a high-pressure area, which ... -
January 07. 2009
Keeping your cool
The boat heels over suddenly for an unknown reason… it stays over, and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it. You hold on tight to avoid tumbling over. In a flash, you are forced to admit what is now obvious: the boat is capsizing. ... -
January 05. 2009
The Horn, a novel idea
There are those who have been there, and those that merely dream of it. In any case, Cape Horn continues to fascinate readers and writers. Fictional and factual works, from novels to short stories and travel essays, there are many who have tried ... -
January 04. 2009
That was the Week that Was- 8
After 56 days of racing, the leading skipper in the race is getting ready to round Cape Horn tonight — that tiny island off the tip of the South American continent marking the way into the Atlantic. Michel Desjoyeaux, leading the Vendée ... -
January 04. 2009
Chilly Chile 's craggy cape
Beyond the gateway out of the white hell of the Southern Oceans, it may not be a paradise: Cape Horn offers some relief, but is not the escape that some imagine. After four weeks or more in the Southern Oceans, the solo yachtsmen will finally be ... -
January 01. 2009
2000: Yves Parlier's incredible achievement
In the 2000-2001 Vendée Globe, in the battle at the front of the fleet alongside Michel Desjoyeaux and Roland Jourdain, Yves Parlier, who had been left behind, stepped up the pace in the Southern Ocean to get back up with them. Sailing faster ... -
December 31. 2008
A solo voyage for two
It was on 9th November. That morning, they took their time to say their goodbyes, as if a few precious minutes would make up for these months of absence. They hugged each other and whispered some final words to each other staring into each other's ... -
December 28. 2008
That was the week that was 7
All of those still racing in the Vendée Globe have experienced some very bad weather over the past few days, whether we are talking about those towards the back in the Indian Ocean or those at the front in the Pacific. -
December 26. 2008
Global warming and Icebergs: pouring cold water on some preconceived ideas
Around Antarctica, there are said to be an increasing number of icebergs. People say they are moving further and further north and global warming is widely considered to be the cause. Three accusations that are so commonly made that they ... -
December 25. 2008
1990 : VDH, three days in the ice!
On 1st February 1990, the boat 36-15 Met was sailing in the Pacific at 62 degrees south, less than five degrees from the Polar circle*. Her skipper Jean-Luc Van den Heede, then in second place, 284 miles from the leader Titouan Lamazou, had climbed ... -
December 24. 2008
Believing
You are propelled forward, powerless to fight against the force. Your wet finger tips slip and cannot grip. Too fast, too powerful, it is all too much. You have a clear vision of what is happening, as if you are watching a film in slow motion.You ... -
December 23. 2008
The International Date Line
When Phileas Fogg, the hero of Jules Verne's novel, decided to go around the world in eighty days, he did not know that the story would end happily, or that it would be a success thanks to the longitude of Australia and New Zealand. ... -
December 21. 2008
That was the week that was: Pt 6
The weeks slip by and look more and more like each other in the southern seas. Last Sunday, the week's summary talked about several retirements. This week, once again, the race has had its fair share of incidents... -
December 17. 2008
Shaking all over
A cursory glance at your course. The wind has shifted and strengthened. The boat is suffering. She accelerates and digs into the waves at the end of each surf. The braking is violent. This is where the danger lies. In this slowing down, ... -
December 15. 2008
Cape Leeuwin
At the south-western tip of of Australia, Cape Leeuwin is the least well known of the three capes traditionally marking out a round the world voyage. it was not until the sixteenth century that a Portuguese navigator discovered this hostile ... -
December 14. 2008
That was the week that was (Part V)
The fifth week of the race that has just finished was quite simply amazing. It began with the Basque sailor, Unaï Bazurko abandoning the race and finished with the end of the race for three top names, Loïck Peyron (broken mast), Dominique ... -
December 12. 2008
Way down south
As Titouan Lamazou called it, the Land of the Shadows inspires fear and fascination at the same time. This grey and desolate universe, hundreds or even thousands of miles from civilisation, you can expect to find winds, waves and maybe some ice... ... -
December 11. 2008
Nothing without a rudder
Of the 15 competitors taking part in the third Vendée Globe (1996/1997), there were four strong favourites: Christophe Auguin, Yves Parlier, Isabelle Autissier and the Canadian, Gerry Roufs. They all had one thing in common. They ... -
December 10. 2008
Man smart, woman smarter
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December 07. 2008
That Was The Week That Was 4
Last Sunday, 30th November, the leaders were completing their voyage down the South Atlantic and getting ready to turn left towards the first of the series of gates spread across the southern seas. A week later, on Sunday 7th December in the ... -
December 06. 2008
1989: The incredible rescue of Fleury Michon
A month after the start of the first Vendée Globe, Titouan Lamazou was in the lead in the rankings, closely followed by Philippe Poupon. On the night of 27th December 1989, the Breton sailor was making good speed aboard his Fleury Michon. ... -
December 05. 2008
24 Hours in the life of a solo sailor
Of course there is the race. It is exciting stuff. The Vendée Globe skippers are sailing their boats at an incredible pace, making tactical choices, carrying out manoeuvres at all hours. In spite of that, life goes on: eating, sleeping ... -
December 05. 2008
Nothing to fear
In these grey skies stretching out into infinity, your eyes are attracted to something white spinning around, a long way back in your wake. You hardly have time to see it. Hit by a wave, it has already disappeared. Bizarre, probably an ... -
December 02. 2008
The Cape of Good Hope
In the fifteenth Century, the major trading nations deployed all the means at their disposal to find new routes to India and Asia, following in the footsteps of Marco Polo, exploring to the Caspian steppes, the deserts of Kazakhstan, the foothills ... -
December 01. 2008
The Ice Gates
A few explanations about the Vendée Globe round the world passage. The rules of the Vendée Globe stipulate that the competitors must sail around the world without stopovers and without any external help. If we look at the ... -
November 30. 2008
That was the Week that was, Part III
This time last Sunday, the leaders in the fleet were about to enter what is usually thought of as the ‘southern highway’, leading to the St. Helena junction. This section of the route is normally sailed without incident, but this year ...
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Flash infos
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