The start of the tenth edition of the Vendée Globe, this Sunday, November 10, 2024, will be an opportunity to rediscover the route of almost all the world tours for several years. The skippers of the Vendée Globe, the Ocean Race and the Jules-Verne Trophy always go in the same direction. But why? This is “the not-so-stupid question” answered the evening edition in his podcast.
Are you a Vendée Globe fan and wondering why the skippers always follow the same route? The Bay of Biscay, the Azores anticyclone, the Doldrums, the Saint Helena anticyclone then the South Seas, before going up the Atlantic after passing Cape Horn. This, in summary, is the route that the 40 sailors lined up for departure from “the Everest of the seas” will follow this Sunday, November 10.
But why do all the great sailing tours of the world follow this route? Whether it is the Ocean Race or the Jules-Verne trophy, they all follow this route. The reason is above all meteorological: it is much easier to navigate from west to east than in the other direction. Participants in the Vendée Globe will not have to face the prevailing winds.
“It’s a bit like water and fire”
“Sailing east or west is a bit like fire and water. The two are opposites”posed the British Dee Caffari in 2022 at the site Global Solo Challengewho finished sixth in the 2008-2009 Vendée Globe… and who took part in the Global Challenge race (in 2004), a solo “upside down” round-the-world trip. The route of this race? During the 2004-2005 edition, the start was given from Porthsmouth (England) and the sailors had to go down the Atlantic, like what awaits the skippers of the Vendée Globe, then cross the Cape…Horn first.
On the solo round-the-world trip from Vendée, it is the last milestone that is reached, the one which marks the ascent towards the Atlantic. With more unstable weather windows, sailing in the other direction is more taxing than the classic route of the majority of races. “Sailing west is a battle. Everything is working against you. When you understand that if you stop for a moment and do nothing, you will go backwards”explained Dee Caffari again.
Around the world in reverse? “It’s not festive”
“It's not a festive trip around the world, you have to constantly move around, it takes a lot more time, it's about endurance and patience”told actu.fr Jean-Luc Van den Heede, reigning Global Challenge record holder, last March. The difference in record times between the Global Challenge and the Vendée Globe, even if they are not the same boats used, attests to these difficulties.
To complete his world tour Armel Le Cléac'h, Vendée Globe record holder, took 74 days, 3 hours, 35 minutes and 46 seconds, while Jean-Luc Van den Heede took 122 days, 14 hours , 3 minutes and 49 seconds.
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In its quest for speed, the Vendée Globe therefore has no interest in changing its route, which is optimized so that the skippers go as quickly as possible.
