In Port-La-Forêt, the start of the Vendée Globe can be experienced on the big screen

Friday 08th November 2024 05:54 AM

The starting point of the 10^e edition of the Vendée Globe will be given on Sunday November 10, 2024, from the port of Sables-d'Olonne (Vendée). Unthinkable to miss it in Port-La-Forêt, cradle of ocean racing, nicknamed the Valley of Fools by Olivier de Kersauson.

Live broadcast of this great moment is planned from 11 a.m., on a giant screen, in the large room of the Finistère Mer Vent building. The event is open to everyone and you can bring your own lunch (microwave available and free coffee).

Eight skippers based in Port-Laf' are participating in this 10^e Vendée Globe: Jean Le Cam (the oldest), Violaine Dorange (the youngest), Benjamin Ferré, Eric Bellion, Oliver Heer, Jingkun Xu, Sébastien Marsset, Nicolas Lunven.

Follow the skippers

During the three months of the race, it will then be possible to follow their progress in the premises of the Port-La-Forêt nautical association. The Department, one of its partners, is also setting up explanatory panels on each of these eight skippers, the history of the Vendée Globe and that of Port-Laf'. It is here that the best ocean racing skippers were trained. Many legendary racing sailboats are also built there.

It all began in the 1950s, when Henri Desjoyeaux set up the first pleasure boat guarding site in La Forêt-Fouesnant. The activity quickly developed: boat maintenance, repair, construction, painting.

The pioneers

Under the leadership of sailors like Jean Le Cam, Michel Desjoyeaux, Roland Jourdain, Marc Guillemot, Bertrand de Broc, Port-Laf' became the stronghold of offshore racing. The pioneers are joined by Vincent Riou, Franck Cammas, Armel Le Cléac'h, François Gabart and Samantha Davies.

The story continues with the birth, in the early 1990s, of the Pôle Finistère Course au Large. This center of excellence trains, trains and supports high-level skippers. The Port-Laf' marina, inaugurated in 1972, today has 1,130 moorings, making it the 2nd^e Finistère marina and the 4^e from Brittany. It has been the subject of extensive work for several months. The key: a single fairing area instead of three currently, and an integrated recycling circuit.