In the Vendée Globe, abandonment is never far away

Since the creation in 1989 of the Vendée Globe, a solo sailing race, out of the 200 attempts to complete the world tour, 86 have ended in abandonments.

Of the nine editions, that of 2008 was the toughest for the skippers: more than half did not cross the finish line (18 out of 30). The 1992-1993 and 1996-1997 editions were the most bereaved with two and one death respectively.

Mast, keel, rudder: recurring weak points

Of the total abandonments recorded since 1989, approximately two thirds were caused by technical damage.

When a single cause of abandonment is identified by the organizers, mast problems come in first place: 15 of the 86 abandonments were caused by mast tearing or problems with sail elements. In 2008, a dismasting cost Yannick Bestaven, future winner of the 2020-2021 edition, his place in the race, just two days after his departure.

In 1993, Bertrand de Broc was forced to abandon because of problems with the keel of his boat, like 13 other competitors over all nine editions. In the middle of the race, the skipper is warned by the architects of his sailboat that the bolts of this part, which normally serves to ensure the balance of the ship, have been incorrectly sized. The risk of capsizing is too great and the Frenchman must give up.

As for the rudder, which is part of the rudder, it was also often lacking among participants: nine out of 86 abandonments were attributable to this part of the boat.

One in ten abandonment due to a collision

Nearly 10% of abandonments are caused by collisions and in most cases the object hit is not identified.

But skippers know that the danger increases when they approach the coast, where they run the risk of hitting fishing boats. This type of incident occurred twice in 2012, off the coast of Portugal, forcing Louis Burton and Kito de Pavant to leave the competition.

In 2016, Kito de Pavant once again had to abandon the race and leave his seriously damaged boat behind, after a collision with a sperm whale.

Two mourning editions

Of the 86 times participants failed to reach the finish line, two had a tragic outcome. During the 1992-1993 edition, Nigel Burgess drowned a few days after the start, due to a storm in the Bay of Biscay and, in 1997, the Canadian Gerry Roufs died in a storm in the South Pacific. In his last message, he states that “ the waves are no longer waves, they are as high as the Alps”.

As for the American Mike Plant who was to take the start in 1992, he disappeared in the Atlantic on his way to Les Sables-d'Olonne. Since these two editions, new safety rules have been imposed.

But if the evolution of the number of abandonments does not suggest a clear trend, the last edition in 2020-2021 still stood out: only a quarter of the sailors did not finish the race, a record.