British skipper Dee Caffari is the first sailor to cast off the dock at Les Sables d'Olonne. She and Aviva were sent off by Race Director Denis Horeau and Philippe De Villiers, president of the Vendée region, as well as a host of supporters.

While Dee Caffari and Mike Golding were doing some final interviews with the BBC, with over three quarters of an hour to go before they cast off, Derek Hatfield was giving the deck of his 60-foot one final brush, while Jean-Pierre Dick was welcomed like a rock star by a crowd of supporters wearing the blue colours of his sponsors. So many different ways to get ready for a three month voyage around the world.

From first light, several hundred thousand people started to gather around the harbour entrance in Les Sables d’Olonne. On foot or by bicycle, by road or along the beach, this long procession stretches out for several kilometres. It is not easy to get a good seat in the harbour, so many turned up at six, while the first competitors will not be leaving until 9.30. Meanwhile the cameras are busy taking one more picture of the boats before they head out to sea. The magic of the Vendée Globe...

Charles Berling, the French actor, who is the godfather of Marc Thiercelin's DCNS came to wish his sailor well.

Jean-Pierre Dick before the start this Sunday: «I'm starting to feel the butterflies. The pressure is gradually but surely building. You say goodbye to your close ones trying to reassure them, You take a look at the latest weather charts. It's a strange day, as we're somewhere between the shore and the ocean. I'll be up early to get to my boat by eight. At 9h47,I'll be leaving the pontoon with four members of my shore crew. We'll be heading out through the harbour channel. That is a magical moment with thousands of people applauding, singing, chanting your name. It's going to highly emotional. A few minutes before the start, I'll be hugging my shore team before they go ashore on their Zodiac. Then, I'll be alone for the next three months... »

Tomorrow, Sunday 9th November, from 9h15 (French time) it will be in the following order that the 30 monohulls taking part in the 2008 Vendée Globe will be leaving Port Olona every four minutes:

1 - Aviva

2 - BT

3 - Hugo Boss

4 - Ecover 3

5 - Algimouss Spirit of Canada

6 - Gitana Eighty

7 - Safran

8 - Generali

9 - Paprec-Virbac 2

10 - Delta Dore

11 - Fondation Ocean Vital

12 - DCNS

13 - PRB

14 - VM Matériaux

15 - Artemis

16 - Bahrain Team Pindar

17 - Brit Air

18 - Maisonneuve

19 - Temenos 2

20 - Cheminées Poujoulat

21 - Toe in The Water

22 - Pakea Bizkaia

23 - Akena Verandas

24 - NauticSport Kapsch

25 - Great American III

26 - Roxy

27 - Aquarelle.com

28 - Foncia

29 - Groupe Bel

30 - Veolia Environnement