Vendée Globe

Five times round the world in just a few minutes!

On 9th November, it will be the start of the sixth Vendée Globe. Because we still have some time to wait before climbing onboard for four months of excitement, this film allows us to relive or discover why this race is so magical; the southern seas, the tiredness, a hotly contested race, the stress, cold, icebergs: in just a few pictures, revisit the Vendée Globe from yesterday to today.

«I really think that lots of people have found their greatness in the Vendée Globe… » Loïck Peyron, who is back in the event for the third time, knows what he is talking about. Many have written chapters in the history of this extraordinary race, created out of the imagination of a few ocean racers, who wanted to widen their horizons. Whatever happens, one thing is certain: it is not tomorrow that the Vendée will sink into a dull routine. The pictures remind us of that: you just have to look at the faces of the sailors in the harbour entrance in Les Sables d’Olonne, as they set sail, to understand. No words can describe the stress, which sweeps over them, when the boat zooms along at more than twenty knots in the mountainous seas in the Indian Ocean. Nick Moloney summarizes quite well what the big South is: "This place is mad, absolutely mad".


There are those, who have already experienced it, Mike Golding, Jean-Pierre Dick, Roland Jourdain and the others, who know full well why they are back again. Then, there are the remainder, Sam Davies and Dee Caffari, who have been dreaming of it for ages and want in turn to push back the frontiers of their fears and courage. They all tell us about what they are certain of and what they have doubts about, their desire to go out there and rub shoulders with the unknown… In the end, the experienced sailors and the novices, both tell us the same stories. They have learnt to overcome their fears, they have discovered talents within that they did not know they had. They return, not really changed, but with a different perspective; it is as if they have learnt the real importance of things.


This film is also an opportunity to revisit some of those moments that have entered the legend of the Vendée Globe; from Philippe Poupon being towed by Loïck Peyron to the pictures of Tony Bullimore´s rescue, as well as the winners finishing and Yves Parlier’s incredible DIY job. These pictures will stir up some memories like the famous Proustian madeleines with an added touch of the sea air… Enjoy over and over again !

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