Vendée Globe

At 14h35'50" GMT today (Sunday 22nd February) Arnaud Boissières, the skipper of Akena Vérandas, crossed the finish line of the 2008-2009 Vendée Globe in seventh place after 105 days 02 hours 33 minutes and 50 seconds of racing averaging 11.04 knots on the water covering 27,841 miles.   He sailed the 24,840 theoretical miles at an average speed of 9.85 knots.

A teenage dream came true today. At the age of seventeen, he was present with his father at the start of the first Vendée Globe in 1989. It was a trip to Les Sables d¹Olonne to see the first Vendée Globe heroes and to forget the leukaemia, which had been discovered six months before. After two and a half years of chemotherapy, Arnaud Boissières decided to earn his living from his passion for the sea. Cali raced in the 1999 Mini Transat when terrible conditions decimated the fleet. His boat was dismasted, but he completed the race after a pit stop in France. He raced twice subsequently, finishing third in 2001.

He also worked as a preparateur for Yves Parlier and Catherine Chabaud and sailed with Olivier de Kersauson on his Oryx round the world race attempt. Today, twenty years after the first Vendée Globe, his life has come full circle back to Les Sables d¹Olonne, where today he was welcomed by tens of thousands of spectators, as was the case for the six competitors, who finished before him.

In this particularly tough Vendée Globe, making it back to Les Sables d¹Olonne is in itself  an achievement. Cali, as Arnaud is nicknamed, could never have imagined finishing seventh, when he set out. The icing on the cake after a round the world race that he managed prudently on his Open 60 which was launched back in 1998.

A Finot-Conq design with a fixed keel that finished sixth in the hands of Thomas Coville in 2001 and fifth with Sébastien Josse in 2005, apart from a ripped solent, a broken wind generator and a satellite dome ripped off in the Pacific, he did not suffer any major damage, in spite of going through some severe storms, including one at Cape Horn, which he rounded for the first time on 16th January.

After a long struggle with Dee Caffari and Brian Thompson, Arnaud Boissières got left behind in the climb back up the Atlantic, where he was handicapped by his torn solent. After a final North Atlantic low on 6th February, Cali completed his Vendée Globe in light airs in the Bay of Biscay. A gentle finish, mirroring the character of the skipper, whose quiet determination ensured that the project was smoothly run from the beginning to the end.

Arnaud's times

Crossed the Equator: 13 days 22h38 (17th place)
Passed the Cape of Good Hope: 28 days 21h25 (17th place)
Passed Cape Leeuwin : 42 days 13h08 (13th place)
Rounded Cape Horn: 67 days 11h28 (8th place)
Crossed the Equator: 86 days 6h41 (7th place)
Finish in Les Sables : 105 days 2h 33 (7th place)

A look back over 105 days of racing

3rd day
First days, first storm
The Bay of Biscay welcomed the competitors with some hellish conditions.  Winds in excess of 40 knots, rough seas and the first boats were forced out of the race. Arnaud Boissières made it through this first test with damage to his wind gauge.

6th day
A daring easterly option
While the fleet remained tightly packed off Africa, Arnaud decided to attempt an easterly option. He as the first to pass inside the Canaries. Sailing downwind he gradually moved up the rankings. 11th by Cape Verde, he remained cautious knowing that the results of his option would only be seen at the Doldrums.  In a few days his rivals managed to fight their way back and a disappointed Cali found himself in 17th place.

15th day 23rd November
Crossed the Equator

20th Day
To the south of Salvador da Bahia, a voyage into the unknown
Like several of the rookies, Arnaud had never sailed south of Salvador da Bahia. By going further south, he was entering unknown territory. The next day he beat his own record for time spent at sea of 21 days.

30th Day– 8th December
Crossed the longitude of the cape of Good Hope –Entry into the Indian Ocean

32nd and 43rd day of the race
Loss of his wind generator and solent in the Indian
After a slow dive in the South Atlantic, AKENA Vérandas crossed the longitude of the Cape of Good Hope on 8th December.  Two days later he encountered his first big southern storm. Knocked down, his wind generator went into the water and he lost three blades. Although only minor damage, this was to lead to an energy shortage. Eleven days later, the solent ripped. This was a already a handicap in the south, but was to be decisive on the way back up the Atlantic.

44th Day– 22nd December
Passed the longitude of Cape Leuuwin – entry into the Pacific

45th day
With Aviva and Pindar, start of the battle between France and Britain
As he apprached the coast of Australia, Brian Thompson was forced to slow with structural problems and found himself alongside Aviva and Akena Vérandas.  They were to stay together until Cape Horn

46th Day – 24th December
Santa Claus aboard AKENA Vérandas
Arnaud filmed himself disguised as Father Christmas on the deck of his boat and he was elected "Best Father Christmas" in the Vendée Globe ».

65th day
Aviva right behind
Better placed on the way down towords the Horn, AKENA Vérandas has an advantage over AVIVA.

66th Day
After the final Pacific Ice Gate, a storm that was more violent than forecast hit the boat from Vendée. In winds above 60 knots, a powerful wave broke off the Fleet antenna, the big satellite dome at the stern. Arnaud could no longer send videos and photos. It becomes more complicated to obtain weather information.

67th Day
Since early January, Arnaud had been worried about his energy supply. He fears he may not have taken enough diesel on board.  He begins rationing by limiting his use of the computer and putting the autopilot in economy mode. He makes the most of the sunshine and manages to repair his wind generator.

68th Day – 15th January
Cape Horn lives up to its reputation. A thundery low develops over South America.  The forecast announced winds in excess of 80 knots so the three boats were facing a great danger. The race was suspended on the advice of the Race Directors.  Arnaud approached the centre of the low where the gusts were under fifty knots. Shaken up, the monohull made it through without any damage.

73rd Day
The first days in the Atlantic went smoothly. Propelled along by a southerly airstream, the boat made it up the coast of Argentina without any problems.  But then, the wind eased off and the absence of a solent became a real handicap. AKENA Vérandas got caught in a calm zone, while AVIVA and Pindar managed to get away. This was the start of the torture for Arnaud, who right up to the Azores, experienced some tricky conditions with very light winds.

82nd day
France had a general strike and Arnaud demonstrated against the absence of wind. "Impossible to talk with those, who are responsible»

87th day – 3rd February
Back in the North Atlantic

90th day
The biggest storm was not expected to be in the North Atlantic but 6th February was particularly difficult. The wind gusted to 40 knots, but above all AKENA had to sail upwind into heavy seas. Arnaud put on his dry suit for the third time since the start
 

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