the intimate stories of the heroes of the oceans

The race is nicknamed the Everest of the Seas and you will understand why. We have collected testimonies from skippers who dared to face the beast. Women and men whose testimonies will support the Vendée Globe Night, broadcast this Thursday on France 3 Pays de la Loire, from 10:50 p.m.

Born from a bet between friends initiated by Philippe Jeantot, the Vendée Globe was born in 1989: a solo round-the-world trip, without stopovers or assistance for the 13 boats at the start. On November 10, 40 skippers will set off from Les Sables d'Olonne for this legendary race, recognized as one of the craziest and most demanding in the world, fascinating thousands of landlubbers.

The race did not have good press at the start. It was experienced as a crazy thing

Philippe Jeantot

Creator of the Vendée Globe

And yet, there are more and more candidates for departure and with them the first women appear. Isabelle Autissier or Catherine Chabot. “I was afraid of sailing the southern seas and encountering icebergs. And at the same time, I dreamed of sailing the southern seas and encountering icebergs“. With a smile, Catherine reveals the dualistic character of the competitors.

And the day of departure comes, the emotion of leaving dry land and your loved ones. Nobody is cutting it, Catherine Chabot in the lead. “My mother always told me : go free, don't take charge of our emotions and concentrate on your race”.

“There's a funny thing, it's that at the same time, I have the impression of living confined in my boat because I can spend weeks in a very small space” confides Isabelle Joschke.

“And at the same time, it is confined in my boat that I will go around the world and explore oceans that no one knows. There is both the infinitely restricted and the infinitely larged”.

Leaving at the beginning of November is the guarantee of very quickly encountering complicated weather at sea. And very quickly, with the Bay of Biscay. “We're sure to get at least one good one, just to get our legs going!“.

And Yves Parlier continues: “It's like we're in a transition between land and sea. In dress rehearsal with what awaits us throughout the race. And the more time passes, the more invincible we feel, especially when we're alone, lacking sleep. Like in a trance where anything can happen.

Where light is scarce and the air freezes: entering the South Seas

The Bay of Biscay is behind the boats, the first angers of the ocean too. And then comes the magical moment. The one that all those involved are waiting for, like a passage that many celebrate with champagne.

And yet, crossing the line is like opening a door that closes behind you, with no hope of reopening.

“This moment is magical for me ” admits Thierry Dubois. “It’s so symbolic, the crossing of the line. And at the South Pole, we lose all our bearings. For us, the North Star is north. Depending on its height, we know at what latitude we are. At the South Pole, we no longer have any bearingse“.

And suddenly, everything changes, starting with the temperature exterior

Isabelle Autissier

Navigator

In the opinion of everyone who passes by, it is getting colder and colder, the lights are also changing, to become dimmer. And then the swell starts to build. We come across the first breakers. ” In front of these waves, we realize our smallness ” admits Isabelle Autissier. “But paradoxically, we also feel very big because we feel capable of coping and finding solutionss”. Despite the conditions which are getting tougher and tougher.

“You only need to look at a world map, and linger in the southern seas, around Antarctica, to understand.” explains Philippe Jeantot. “There is no land that stops the waves. They go around the world and gain height, without anything being able to stop themr“.

If hell exists on earth, I experienced it in these storms, it's obvious

Raphaël Dinelli

Skipper sur Algimouss en 1996

He is still overcome by emotion when he talks about the Vendée Globe 96/97. A third edition which will turn into hell at sea. Raphaël describes these waves “as high as cliffs”. “25, maybe 30 meters high and my boat getting in the way. Fatal error, it is carried away and rolls like a barrel. Everything goes white, I'm completely lost, without knowing where I am.

But Raphaël Dinelli will get through it, like Thierry Dubois or the Englishman Pete Goss, at the cost of an incredible general mobilization…

The solidarity of sailors no longer needs to be demonstrated. On the other hand, it will do nothing for Gerry Roufs, whose boat will be attacked by the same waves. We will never find the Canadian. Just a few pieces of his boat, a year and a half later, off the coast of Chile.

“It was this time that everyone who followed the race from land became aware of the risks run by solo sailors.” Philippe Jeantot's gaze remains vacant for a few seconds.

The 10th edition of the Vendée Globe will set off with boats that offer the prospect of sailing around the world in less than 80 days. Thanks to foil boat technology.

We learn at school that a boat sails according to Archimedes' principles. Today, bye-bye, Archimedes

Giancarlo Pedote

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Giancarlo Pedote, here he goes on November 10th, in conscience: “We have flying boats, so it's more like Bernoulli. It's the airplane wing. Obviously, everything has changed. And that, we cannot slow down technology, but nature remains the strongest and we cannot change anything. We must remain ambitious but modest.

“The Revealed”: A 52' documentary by Yannick Charles. A Bleu Iroise / Carrément à l’Ouest co-production.

To be seen on Thursday November 7 at 10:50 p.m. on France 3 Pays de la Loire, but also on Friday November 8, Monday November 25 and Tuesday December 3 at 9:35 a.m.

Followed at 11:40 p.m. by the documentary “Vendée Globe 1996/1997: a race in hell”. A film of
Jeanne Lefèvre. Co-production Hauteville Productions-Karina Si Ahmed-Guillaume Allary.

Then at 12:40 a.m. the documentary “Vendée Globe 2020/2021, a world of emotions”. A film of Christophe Duchiron. Co-production Saem Vendée – Nefertiti Production.

To finish at 1h30 the documentary: “Itinerary of an unwise sailor” by Mathurin Peschet. Co-production Traverse Films.