Sailing: a Vendée power 10

The Vendée Globe has continued to grow since 1989, but this time it goes back eight years. At a time when we did not yet suspect that the world could become cloistered. In 2020, the start was given the day after the second confinement. Masked and behind closed doors.

It was as sad as a washed-out horizon. The fantastic counterpart is that never before have so many people followed the race, driven by the success of its virtual platform (more than 1 million players Virtual Regatta) and a thrilling storyline (shipwreck of Kevin Escoffier, new suspense).

Hydrogen, sensors: new technologies on board the Vendée Globe boats

Since the opening of the village, the Vendée has reconnected with the public, the essence of departure for a solo world tour, without stopover or assistance (fuzzy notion), which will last between seventy-five and eighty days for the best. This week, we had to be patient to access the pontoons.

Some 300,000 people are expected today in Les Sables-d'Olonne to accompany the 40 60-foot monohulls emerging from the channel to the sound of foghorns and cheers. Before the green light at 1:02 p.m. In the distance: alpine waves at the heart of an ocean of dizzying adventures, those that addict sailors and fascinate everyone.

The popularity of “King John”

On the occasion of this edition, the race, whose budget has increased by 30% since 2020 (21 million euros), for a prize money stable (800,000 euros, a quarter of which goes to the winner), records a record number of participants, including 15 rookies. Charlie Dalin was one four years ago.

And he managed to finish before the winner, Yannick Bestaven (Master CoQ), sacred by the game of compensations in time after the sinking of Escoffier. On his Imoca Macif Santé Prévoyancethe Le Havre quadra comes forward as the big favorite, while the defending champion will be in his best role, that of the guy we don't expect.

Major players in the fantastic sprint of this last edition – eight finishes in twenty-four hours -, Boris Herrmann (Malizia-Seaexplorer) and Thomas Ruyant (Vulnerable) are popular. Just like the experienced Jérémie Beyou (Charal) and the novice Yoann Richomme (Paprec Arkéa). But Jean Le Cam (It all starts in Finistère-Armor Lux) dethrones them in the popularity game. At 65 years old, “King Jean” is embarking for a sixth Vendée, in collaborative mode and still without foils, these appendages which allow you to “fly” and with which more than 60% of the boats in the running are equipped.

Sailing: François Gabart at the dawn of the last lap

Four years ago, he finished 4th like that, with his common sense and his technical cheekiness who likes it in the back of his shed with his grinder and his resin. He had had a hard time, but had closed the deal. Like 76% of competitors, a rate much higher than the average until then (53%), for an edition which had been slower than the two previous ones (record in seventy-four days held by Armel Le Cléac'h in 2016 -2017). In the Vendée Globe, it is not always the fastest boat that wins. Sometimes it is the skipper who has spared his mount for eighty days in the rough seas of winter.