| Founded: | 1989 |
| Classes: | IMOCA 60 |
| Start: | Les Sables-d'Olonne |
| Finish: | Les Sables-d'Olonne |
| Type: | single-handed non-stop round-the-world race |
| Most Champs: | Michel Desjoyeaux (2) |
| Champions: | Maître Coq IV Yannick Bestaven |
| Length: | 24,000 nmi (44,000 km) |
The Vendée Globe is a single-handed (solo) non-stop round the world yacht race.[1] [2] The race was founded by Philippe Jeantot in 1989,[3] and since 1992 has taken place every four years. It is named after the Département of Vendée, in France, where the race starts and ends. The Vendée Globe is considered an extreme quest of individual endurance and the ultimate test in ocean racing.[4] [5]
The race was founded as "The Globe Challenge" in 1989 by French yachtsman Philippe Jeantot.[6] Jeantot had competed in the BOC Challenge in 1982–83 and 1986–87, winning the 60-foot class ("Class I") both times. The BOC Challenge was sailed in stages with sailors being given the chance to rest and repair their boats at ports around the world.Unsatisfied with the race's format, he decided to set up a new round-the-world non-stop race, which he felt would be the ultimate challenge for single-handed sailors.[7]
The first race was run in 1989–90, and was won by Titouan Lamazou; Jeantot himself took part, and placed fourth.[8] The next race was in 1992–93; and it has since then been run every four years. The inaugural race included 11 Frenchmen, one South African (Bertie Reed) and one American (Mike Plant).[9]
The race is open to monohull yachts conforming to the Open 60 class criteria. Prior to 2004, the race was also open to Open 50 boats. The Open classes are unrestricted in certain aspects, but a box rule governs parameters such as overall length, draught, appendages and stability, as well as numerous other safety features.
The race presents significant challenges; most notably the severe wind and wave conditions in the Southern Ocean, the long unassisted duration of the race, and the fact that the course takes competitors far from the reach of any normal emergency response. A significant proportion of the entrants usually retire, and in the 1996–97 race Canadian Gerry Roufs was lost at sea.[10]
The race starts and finishes in Les Sables-d'Olonne, in the Département of Vendée, in France; both Les Sables d’Olonne and the Vendée Conseil Général are official race sponsors.[11] The course is essentially a circumnavigation along the clipper route: from Les Sables d’Olonne, down the Atlantic Ocean to the Cape of Good Hope; then clockwise around Antarctica, keeping Cape Leeuwin and Cape Horn to port; then back to Les Sables d’Olonne.[12] The race generally covers approximately 24000nmi and runs from November to February, timed to place the competitors in the Southern Ocean during the austral summer.[13]
Additional waypoints may be set in the sailing instructions for a particular race, in order to ensure safety relative to ice conditions, weather, etc.[14] There is also an exclusion zone set around Antarctica where competitors are prohibited to sail due to risk of ice-bergs. [15]
The competitors may stop at anchor, but may not draw alongside a quay or another vessel; they may receive no outside assistance, including customised weather or routing information. The only exception is that a competitor who has an early problem may return to the start for repairs and then restart the race, as long as the restart is within 10 days of the official start.
To mitigate the risks, competitors are required to undergo medical and survival courses. They must also be able to demonstrate prior racing experience; either a completed single-handed trans-oceanic race or the completion of a previous Vendée Globe. The qualifying race must have been completed on the same boat as the one the sailor will race in the Vendée Globe; or the competitor must complete an additional trans-oceanic observation passage, of not less than 2500miles, at an average speed of at least 7knots, with his or her boat.
See main article: 1989–1990 Vendée Globe.
See main article: 1992–1993 Vendée Globe.
See main article: 1996–1997 Vendée Globe.
See main article: 2000–2001 Vendée Globe.
See main article: 2004–2005 Vendée Globe.
See main article: 2008–2009 Vendée Globe.
See main article: 2012–2013 Vendée Globe.
See main article: 2016–2017 Vendée Globe.
See main article: 2020–2021 Vendée Globe.
See main article: 2024–2025 Vendée Globe.
| Ed | Year | Skipper | Boat Name | 24hr Run | Finish Line | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Écureuil d'Aquitaine II | 304 nm | 109d 08h 48m | |||||||
| 2 | Bagages Superior | 339 nm | 110d 02h 22m | |||||||
| 3 | 1996–1997 | 105d 20h 31m | ||||||||
| 4 | 93d 03h 57m | |||||||||
| 5 | 10d 12h 13m | 24d 02h 18m | 36d 09h 48m | 56d 15h 13m | 72d 11h 24m | 86d 32h 13m | ||||
| 6 | Foncia | 466 nm | 13d 15h 41m | 27d 00h 34m | 37d 31h 23m | 56d 15h 08m | 71d 17h 12m | 84d 03h 09m | ||
| 7 | Macif | 534 nm | 11d 00h 20m | 23d 03h 43m | 34d 10h 23m | 52d 06h 18m | 66d 01h 39m | 78d 02h 16m | ||
| 8 | 2016–2017 | 09d 09h 56m | 18d 03h 30m | 28d 20h 12m | 47d 00h 32m | 61d 12h 21m | 74d 03h 36m | |||
| 9 | 481.8 (7th) | 35d 01h 25m | 55d 00h 22m | 69d 13h 16m | 80d 03h 44m | |||||
| Edition | Year | Skipper | Boat Name | nautical miles/24h | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Écureuil d'Aquitaine II | 304 | |||
| 2 | Bagages Superior | 339 | |||
| 3 | Aquitaine Innovations | 374 | |||
| 4 | Union bancaire privée | 430 | |||
| 5 | Sill et Veolia | 439 | |||
| 6 | Foncia | 466 | |||
| 7 | 534 | ||||
| 8 | 536 | ||||
| 9 | LinkedOut | 515 |
| Year | Skipper | Previous Start/Finish (Best) | Name of Boat | Sail No. | Designer | Builder | Year Launched | Notes | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N/A | Écureuil d'Aquitaine II | Luc Bouvet Olivier Petit | Chantier Capitaine Flint | 1989 | [16] | |||||
| 1 / 1 6th | Bagages Superior | Finot-Conq | CDK Technologies (FRA) | 1992 | Aluminum Construction | [17] | ||||
| Never | Geodis | Finot-Conq | JMV Industries (FRA) | 1994 | [18] | |||||
| Never | PRB 2 | FRA 85 | Finot-Conq | Mag (FRA) | 1999 | [19] | ||||
| Never | ||||||||||
| 1 / 1 (1st) | FRA 101 | CDK Technologies (FRA) | 2007 | [20] | ||||||
| Never | Macif | FRA 301 | CDK Technologies (FRA) Green Marine (GBR) | 2011 | [21] | |||||
| 2 / 2 (2nd) | Banque Populaire VIII | FRA 18 | CDK Technologies (FRA) | 2015 | [22] | |||||
| 1 / 0 | Maître Coq IV | FRA 17 | CDK Technologies (FRA) | 2015-03-02 | Hydrofoil | [23] |
| Total | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finishers Overall | ||||||||||
| Total Finishers | 7 | 7 | 6 | 15 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 18 | 25 | 114 |
| 7 | 5 | 6 | 13 | 10 | 9 | 5 | 11 | 18 | 84 | |
| Start/Finish Percentage | 54% | 50% | 40% | 62.5% | 65% | 40% | 55% | 62% | 75.8% | 56% |
| Male | 7 | 7 | 5 | 14 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 18 | 21 | 104 |
| Male - First Time | 7 | 5 | 5 | 12 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 11 | 14 | 74 |
| Female | - | - | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | - | 4 | 10 |
| Female - First Time | - | - | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | - | 4 | 10 |
| Starters | ||||||||||
| Total | 13 | 14 | 15 | 24 | 20 | 30 | 20 | 29 | 33 | 198 |
| First Time | 13 | 10 | 12 | 15 | 12 | 16 | 5 | 14 | 18 | 115 |
| Male | 13 | 14 | 13 | 22 | 18 | 28 | 19 | 29 | 27 | 183 |
| Male - First Time | 13 | 10 | 10 | 13 | 10 | 14 | 4 | 14 | 13 | 101 |
| Female | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 15 |
| Female - First Time | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 13 |
| Starter Age | ||||||||||
| Youngest | 27* | 30* | 28 | 24 | 29 | 25 | 27 | 23 | 27 | 27 |
| Oldest | 46* | 64* | 57 | 59 | 49 | 58 | 57 | 66 | 61 | 66 |
| Mean | 38* | 39* | 38 | 39 | 39 | 41 | 42 | 44 | 43 | 40 |
| Starters' Nationality | ||||||||||
| 1 | 0.5 | 1.5 | ||||||||
| 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||
| 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||
| 1 | 0.5 | 1 | 2.5 | |||||||
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||||
| 1 | 1 | |||||||||
| 11 | 8.5 | 11 | 12.5 | 12.5 | 17 | 12.5 | 20 | 22 | 127 | |
| 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 26 | ||
| 1.5 | 1.5 | |||||||||
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |||||||
| 1 | 2 | 0.5 | 1 | 4.5 | ||||||
| 1 | 1 | |||||||||
| 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||
| 1 | 1 | |||||||||
| 0.5 | 0.5 | |||||||||
| 1 | 1 | |||||||||
| 1 | 1 | |||||||||
| 1 | 1 | |||||||||
| 0.5 | 2.5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 10 | |||
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 1.5 | 4.5 | ||||||