1:02 p.m., Sunday, November 10. This schedule, this date, the 40 skippers who will take part in the 10e edition of the Vendée Globe have had it in mind for weeks. They will then set off on a 45,000 km race, without assistance, non-stop and alone.
Throughout the race, penalties will be issued in the event of a violation of the regulations, which could ultimately make the difference. Not to mention the fines which may be imposed before departure, in the event of delay or absence at certain obligatory events.
Five degrees of sanction
The harshness of the sanction can be adjusted positively or negatively by the organizers. There are five degrees, depending on the seriousness, the impact on the classification, but also the intentionality and the repetition or not of the offense. The first is financial (range 0). Then, sanctions can range from 0 to 6 hours standing still (range 1), 2 to 24 hours (range 2), 24 hours to disqualification (range 3), or immediate disqualification (range 4).
For example, in 2020, Louis Burton (Bureau Vallée) was ahead of the start by two seconds. Immediate sanction, since he had to wait five hours before actually starting his race. Several prohibited areas are prohibited for browsers.
They are located at Cape Finisterre (Spain), Cape Roca (Portugal), Cape Saint-Vincent (Portugal), the Canaries (Spain), Mauritania, Cabo Frio (Brazil), Rio de Janeiro ( Brazil), the Isles of Scilly (England), Ouessant (Finistère), Île d'Yeu (Vendée), the ZEA (Antarctic Exclusion Zone) and the ZPB of Azores and Cape Verde ( priority area for biodiversity, Portugal).
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Other parts of the ocean may be added to this list during the race, depending on weather conditions or if a particular danger presents itself. If one of the skippers enters one of these zones, he is exposed to a sanction of range 5, i.e. 24 hours of standing still until disqualification. As for the ZEA and the ZPB, there are penalties of 2 to 24 hours, in the event of unrepaired entry.
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Sanctions can also be due to a mechanical problem. For a break in the engine sealing system, the penalty is 120 minutes. It is half as important in the event of a rupture of another filling system (60 minutes).
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