Vendée Globe

C.L.S

Official supplier of Tracking daTa for The 2008-2009 vendée globe.CLS will be tracking the boats taking part in the 2008 Vendée Globe throughout the race. Thanks to this position data, race HQ can draw up the rankings, supply the public with a chart, while at the same time improve the safety of the skippers at sea. This year as an exclusive experiment, CLS is offering the Vendée Globe its know-how in radar data analysis and the modelling of ocean cur- rents to detect the presence of icebergs and forecast their movement around Antarctica.

Over a period of more than twenty years, CLS has equipped thousands of yachtsmen with beacons. These beacons send out a message towards a satellite, which sends them back to a network of dishes on Earth. This message is then sent to the CLS data processing centre, which works around the clock, 365 days a year. It is the CLS data processing centre, which interprets the positions of the skippers and supplies Race HQ with the data.

To detect the presence of icebergs and to forecast their movement, CLS has developed a solution, currently being trialled, which should allow:

- The establishment of danger zones

- The forecast of the drift and melting of the icebergs according to the currents and the surface temperature, the wind, the shape of the iceberg, and its size.

- The adjustment of the drift forecast thanks to observation data from satellite radar in the Sub-Antarctic zone (around 50°South). On these radar pictures, we can in fact obtain a real picture of icebergs of a significant size (>150m).

CLS, worldwide operator of the Argos System, employs around 300 staff: 225 at the headquarters in France, and 75 in its ten offices and subsidiaries around the world.


For more information, visit course.cls.fr
Contact details:
Amélie PROUST
aproust@cls.fr
Tel : +33 (0)5. 61. 39.37.95
Port : +33 (0)6 62 80 45 92

Website : course.cls.fr

Yves Cougnaud

Official supplier for vendée globe race hq.
The Vendée public-private partnership has chosen the Yves Cougnaud company as official supplier of modular constructions in order to set up Race HQ in Paris and a media centre in Les Sables d’Olonne.

France's leading builder of modular constructions, the Yves Cougnaud company offers lasting constructions, which are economic and respect the environment (headquarters, schools, offices...) and also has a rental sector (almost 30,000 units) with five logistical and sales centres covering France.

The firm will build the following units for the 2008 Vendée Globe:

A media centre in Les Sables d'Olonne
1060 m2 in two storeys with a terrace separated out into:
- press conference halls,
- meeting rooms,
- journalists' offices.

Race HQ in Paris
700 m2 on one level divided into:
- radio session hall open to the public,
- reception and meeting rooms,
- offices dedicated to the organisers,
- rest areas...

The Yves Cougnaud Company in short:
Number of employees: 1020
Turnover of Yves Cougnaud 07/08: 218 million euros
3 production units in the La Roche sur Yon area (production capacity of 1000 m2/day)
5 logistical and sales centres (in various French departments all over France: Department numbers: 91 / 13 / 31 / 85 / 69).

Contact details:
Christophe COUGNAUD
Yves COUGNAUD Company
Parc d’Activités de Beaupuy 2 - Mouilleron-le-Captif
85 035 La Roche sur Yon Cedex - France
Tel : +33 (0)2 51 05 85 85

Website : www.yves-cougnaud.fr

Zodiac

Official supplier of semi-rigid craft for the sixth edition of the vendée globe

ZODIAC, a brand name, which is a reference in inflatable boats, is joining up with the 2008-2009 Vendée Globe to become the official supplier of semi-rigid craft for the prestigious non-stop solo round the world sailing race.

To coincide with this legendary event, ZODIAC is creating a limited series of 60 fully equipped boats, which have been carefully prepared to suit the requirements of the organiser. «Since its creation, ZODIAC has always been at the forefront of progress in the boating sector. It is not by chance that this year, it has become the official race supplier providing the organisers with 60 inflatable boats,» explained Roland Jourdain, Skipper of Veolia Environnement.

Numbered from 1 to 60, the boats that have been specially selected are Pro Open 650 « Vendée Globe » ZODIACS fitted with Yamaha F150 AETX-EFI engines, hydraulic steering, a built-in tank with a capacity of 120 litres, removable buoyancy tubes, a self-draining cockpit, and which come fully equipped with safety equipment with 5 ZODIAC Cruiser 150 self-inflating jackets. These 60 boats will be on sale at the special price of 33,300 € inclusive of tax*.

Having sold more than a million inflatable boats since the company was founded, ZODIAC is now the global leader in inflatable boats for the pleasure, military and professional sectors. With all the experience the company has acquired, the ongoing innovations from ZODIAC offer amateur sailors and the most skilled professionals pleasure and safety throughout their product range: semi-rigid boats, foldaway inflatables, liferafts and life jackets.

Contact details:
Matthieu Coulon
Communication Manager
mcoulon@zodiac.com
+33 (0)6 09 65 69 68

Site internet : www.zodiacmarine.com

* For the list of distributors taking part in the operation visit www.zodiacmarine.com