Vendée Globe

Never has a solo ocean race provided us with such a fantastic line-up. Together they have clocked up millions of miles with an incredible list of achievements. The skippers have come from every horizon, with 43% international entries, including a lot of potential winners… It is simply impossible to guess how this sixth Vendée Globe will turn out and who will be the first back in Les Sables d’Olonne!

It is not just the number, but also the incredible line-up. If we add up the distance covered by these thirty sailors in their Vendée Globe boats, we reach some incredible figures (more than 50,000 miles for example for Jean Le Cam and Roland Jourdain) — include all the ocean crossings these 30 sailors have been involved in and the total comes to over a million nautical miles! So who could judge the odds for any of these thirty sailors, when we know just how close these machines are in terms of performance? Also knowing just how much uncertainty there is at sea, especially when sailing non-stop alone around the world… The collision between the fishing boat and Hugo Boss three weeks before the start of the Vendée Globe is there to remind us that there are just so many things that cannot be predicted.

The young ones?

Firstly, there is of course the return of two previous winners (Vincent Riou 2004 and Michel Desjoyeaux 2000), but alongside them there are a number of contenders, who have already clocked up several round the world voyages. It is the Swiss sailor, Dominique Wavre, who holds the record here; seven times around the world, four of which were with a crew, two Vendée Globes (5th in 2000, 4th in 2004) and one two-handed circumnavigation last winter! There are in fact eight more returning to the Vendée Globe: Loïck Peyron (2nd in 1989), Jean Le Cam (2nd in 2004), Marc Thiercelin (2nd in 1996, 4th in 2001), Roland Jourdain (3rd in 2001), Mike Golding (3rd in 2004 and 7th in 2000), Sébastien Josse (5th in 2004), Jean-Pierre Dick (6th in 2004), and Raphaël Dinelli (12th in 2004)… Then there are others, who have previously started out, but had to retire with damage (Bernard Stamm in 2000, Norbert Sedlacek and Alex Thomson in 2004). In addition to these, there are those who have already experienced the Southern Oceans during record attempts or other races, like Marc Guillemot, Brian Thompson, Jonny Malbon, Samantha Davies, Dee Caffari, Yann Eliès, Rich Wilson, Derek Hatfield and Unai Basurko!

Then there are the young ones, the rookies, who nevertheless are not newcomers to the sport, like Jean-Baptiste Dejeanty, Arnaud Boissières, Yannick Bestaven, Kito de Pavant, Armel Le Cléac’h and Jérémie Beyou. Steve White is about the only one not aiming for a podium place, but he is determined to complete his round the solo round the world voyage…

If we take a look at previous races, it is clear that you don't need to have done it before: Vincent Riou had never experienced the Southern Oceans before his win in 2004! All are used to close contact sailing, experts in solo racing, weather and strategy, the very best at the helm and exceptional at manoeuvres, and all are in with a chance of being there on the podium when they return to Les Sables d’Olonne… Almost the only certainty is that the race time should be close to eighty days, give or take three days. Phileas Fogg and Passepartout would not believe their eyes!

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