Vendée Globe 2024: films, books, comics, Panini album… when the passion for sailing comes in all forms

A TV film on France 2, retracing the epic tale of Yves Parlier during the 2000 edition; a film with Jean-Paul Rouve in the role of a sailor putting himself, from his garden, in the conditions of the Vendée Globe through Virtual Regatta, the virtual racing platform; books and stories about this solo, non-stop and unassisted world tour, the 10th start of which will be on Sunday, November 10… The Vendée Globe is close to the summits.

All you have to do is wander the paths of the village which, since its opening on October 19, has never been empty. 360,000 visitors flocked there in the first week, an attendance increase of 20% compared to 2016 (the 2020 edition was disrupted by Covid). In addition to approaching the 40 Imoca entries, the enthusiasts have a mission: to find the Panini stickers that are missing from their collection. The Italian publishing house, famous in particular for its football albums, has launched its first Vendée Globe collection, with an album of 56 pages and 170 stickers which allows you to immerse yourself in the different aspects of the race since subjects are discussed such as climatic phenomena, the main crossing points or tools to better navigate. Out of stock in the west, the Vendée Globe album is also the one that has sold the most on the site since the start of the school year.

“It’s a real adventure to be at the start of this race”

Many sailors also publish books. Including those who are participating for the first time. In “At all speed” (Marabout editions), Benjamin Ferré takes a behind-the-scenes account of his preparation for a race for which he was not really predestined. “The village and the time of departure are the small tip of the iceberg,” he believes. Underneath, there are many stories, ups and downs, encounters. In my opinion, these three years of preparation deserved to be immortalized on paper so as not to disappear from my memory. It's a real adventure to be at the start of this race. »

The skipper of “Monnoyeur – Duo for a job” was accompanied in his round-the-world project by Jean Le Cam, legendary figure in the Vendée Globe in which he is participating for the 6th time (a record). “Jean Le Cam, my Vendée Globe” (Solar) allows you to relive his capsize, off Cape Horn on January 5, 2020, and his rescue by Vincent Riou. Heroic during the last edition – he found Kévin Escoffier on his life raft – Jean Le Cam also appears in the film “La Vallée des Fous” with Jean-Paul Rouve.

Clarisse Crémer opts for comics

“It was a lot of fun for me to do that,” says the navigator. Anne (his wife) participated a lot in the scenario, with Xavier (Beauvois, the director) and his wife, we became close. » Other navigators like Éric Bellion (“In search of balance, at Stock), Arnaud Boissières (Marin du Vendée, éditions du Rocher), Guirec Soudée (“the adventure of the Vendée Globe”, sails and sailboats books) and Maxime Sorel (“My double Everest”, Gallimard bookstore), where the sailor from Mayenne recounts with emotion his Vendée Globe but also his ascent of Everest last year, have launched into biographies.

Another book, another style, the logbook in comic book form by Clarisse Crémer. Released at the start of the year, “I'm going but I'm afraid” (Editions Delcourt, with the designer Maud Bénézit) retraces the journey around the world of the woman who, having become a mother, will be at the start, on Sunday, of her second Vendée Globe. Samantha Davies also opted for a comic book (Embarks with Samantha Davies on her new boat, Ridge path), to discuss in particular his collaboration with the Mécénat Chirurgie Cardiaque association. The “Vendée Globe logbook” (by Charlotte Méry and Hubert Poirot-Bourdain, at the joy of reading) is aimed at children, through the story of a sailing mother who is preparing for the big jump .