Let's go for the 10th edition of the Vendée Globe. A test which owes its success to a rule which aims to be as simple as possible. Since its origins, the event has been built around three fundamentals: traveling around the world alone, non-stop and without assistance.
The first two points are the easiest to understand. The skipper must complete the entire race alone. The regulations even specify “without the presence of an animal on board the boat”. Although it is specified that the competition must take place without a stopover, it must still be specified that only one is possible: Les Sables-d'Olonne, the starting and finishing point of the race. Each sailor can, within a maximum of ten days after the start of the event, return to Les Sables to carry out a repair. This is the only tolerance and the only possible stopover on a 45,000 km long route.
No outside help allowed
The supervision of the notion of “without assistance”, on the other hand, poses many more problems. It is a subject which is also debated, edition after edition. With the improvement of technical means, it is more and more difficult to define what non-assistance is.
Obviously, the Vendée Globe has regulations which should normally avoid any problems. But past controversies have highlighted the absence of control, based solely on trust in the skippers. The latter must also sign a sworn declaration in which they undertake not to receive external aid.
Among sensitive subjects, routing assistance is decisive. The skipper must chart his way without outside help. Just like for the meteorological analysis: the skipper receives the climate forecasts but he cannot get help to analyze them.
In the event of a technical problem after the first ten days, the skipper will have to manage on his own to carry out the repairs. However, he will be able to have access to telephone assistance with his team who will guide him in the tasks to be accomplished.
In the event of a medical problem, it's the same thing. The competitor can ask for help by telephone, but he will have to take care of himself. The most famous case is that of Bertrand de Broc in 1992-1993, who had his tongue sewn up with the instructions of the race doctor via Telex.
Rules difficult to verify
A race without assistance does not mean a period cut off from the world. Thus, it is difficult to know the impact of even trivial phone calls. “Is calling your mother or your wife to hear sweet words said external help? We can say yes,” says Michel Desjoyeaux, double winner of the event in 2001 and 2009.
For Alain Gautier, winner in 1993, the problem lies elsewhere: “When we put rules in place, we must be able to verify them in a concrete and effective way. We could very well have black boxes, like in airplanes where you hear everything that happens there. But it’s not my philosophy not to trust…”
Eleven zones prohibited under penalty of sanctions
In addition to these technical rules, participants are required to follow a very specific path. This means that they do not have the right to enter prohibited areas, of which there are eleven (Cape Finisterre, Cabo da Roca, Cape Saint-Vincent, Canaries, Mauritania, Brazil, biodiversity protection zones, Antarctica). , South Scilly, Ouessant, Isle of Yeu).
Each time the rules are not respected, the organizers will be able to resort to a whole arsenal of discretionary time penalties. The boat may also be disqualified or receive financial penalties.
