Vendée Globe The Adventure Begins The eight previous iterations of what is now considered the Everest of the seas have enabled 167 contenders to take the start of this extraordinary race. Only 89 of them managed to cross the finish line. The course 86 Vendée Globe official poster Yvan Zedda-Alea
<strong>2020</strong> - 2021 Jean-Marie Liot Words by ROY ESPIRITU Photos as Credited One man, one boat, one lap around the planet, simply put, a single-handed, non-stop, unassisted around the world yacht race.. That is what the Vendée Globe is all about, without a doubt, the toughest and most dangerous race that man has come up with to date. A grueling 44,000 kilometer course that crosses the equator twice, circumnavigating the continent of Antarctica via the tough Southern Ocean non-stop in a span of two to three months. Just like the Olympics, the race happens every four years. Founded in 1989 by renowned French sailor and solo circumnavigator Philippe Jeantot, two time winner of the stage by stage Velux 5 Oceans Race, a round the world single handed yacht race. The eight previous iterations of what is now considered the Everest of the seas have enabled 167 contenders to take the start of this extraordinary race. Only 89 of them managed to cross the finish line. This figure alone shows the extreme difficulty of this global event in which solo racers are confronted to freezing cold, gigantic waves and heavy skies which sweep the Great South! The Vendée Globe is first and foremost a journey beyond the seas and deep down oneself. It has rewarded great sailors: Titouan Lamazou in 1990, Alain Gautier in 1993, Christophe Auguin in 1997, Vincent Riou in 2005, François Gabart in 2013 and Armel LeCléac’h in 2017. The skipper from Finistère became the new record holder of the race in 74 days. Only one sailor has won it twice: Michel Desjoyeaux, in 2001 and 2009. All past winners of Vendée Globe were French but in this edition a black knight will be right on their heels giving everyone a run for their money, five-time Vendée Globe veteran and last edition’s 2nd placer, British ocean sailor Alex Thomson sailing in the black Hugo Boss boat. The Hugo Boss boat is probably the most state of the art yacht in the fleet, the only one with a fully enclosed cockpit, providing full protection from the elements and allowing Alex to stay warm and dry for most of the voyage. One of several foiling monohulls in the race, the Hugo Boss boat can literally sail faster than the wind. Alex has one objective in this year’s Vendée Globe and that is to win. Solo and unassisted requires that all the skippers need to have an intimate relationship with their boats, having redundant systems is not enough. If anything breaks you need to know how to fix it, no matter where it is on the boat. In the Vendée Globe, the sailor is well and truly alone. The only assistance allowed is when the sailor returns to the start at Les Sables d’Olonne, just after the start, meaning he would lose a lot of time. Apart from this exception, everyone has to rely on what they can do during the round the world voyage. Routing is strictly prohibited. The sailors have to find their own way around, carry out any repairs following on from damage, which is likely to happen. In the 2000- 2001 edition, French ocean sailor Yves Parlier fabricated a new carbon fiber mast from the remnants of his old one after he got dismasted, and managed to finish the race in 126 days. Alone for 3 months, means that the skipper has to do everything, sailing is only a small part of what the skipper needs to do. Managing one’s’ physical, mental and emotional wellbeing while contending with sleep deprivation, anxiety over the weather and the sea states, the upkeep of 60 foot yacht in the violent southern ocean, all the while avoiding unidentified floating objects (UFOs) that have taken out many racers in the past are just some of the things that a Vendée Globe skipper is expected to deal with. It’s not easy at all. Preparations for the <strong>2020</strong>-2021 edition of the Vendée Globe started well before the coronavirus pandemic, and postponing it was just out of the question, considering the skippers will be the most physically isolated and socially distant people on the planet as soon as it starts. Les Sables d’Olonne is a seaside town in Western France, on the Atlantic Ocean. A subprefecture of the department of Vendée was abuzz with activity in September when the participating boats were coming in to dock in their respective pontoons, despite the virus risks, crowds still came with masks on to check out the 33 IMOCA-60 high performance yachts at their berths. Despite the masks the awe and wonder was evident in the eyes of the crowd visiting the boats and the skippers. This ninth edition promises to be one of global sport’s outstanding events. Since its inception in 1989 the race has never before attracted such a big and varied field. 33 solo sailors are participating, not since the 2008-2009 edition, 87
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