he Vendée Globe is one of the world’s greatest endurance events. Launched every four years from Les Sables-d'Olonne in the French Département
of Vendée, it’s a solo, non-stop, around the world race that attracts sailing legends and major brands. The competition began on 8 November 2020 and continues into 2021. The winner of the last Vendée Globe, which started in 2016, circled the Earth in a record-breaking 74 days, but the voyage can last three months. Many boats don’t even complete the race. Of the 29 skippers who began the 2016 race, only 18 finished – and that was a record. Previously, the majority of the field has had to retire. This edition’s fleet consists of 33 skippers representing nine nationalities. Six of the competitors are women, more than in any previous Vendée Globe. Solo, around the world sailing is a notoriously dangerous feat. The Vendée Globe has seen two deaths in its history. In 1992, British skipper Nigel Burgess was lost at sea three days into the race and, during the 1996 Vendée Globe, the Argos beacon on Canadian Gerry Roufs’ boat stopped transmitting in the South Pacific. The boat washed up on the coast of Chile months later. Structural damage to the high- performance monohull boats is common. The sea and the long days are hell on rudders, keels, masts and hulls. Then there are the collisions with UFOs (unidentified floating objects). Sometimes, these are whales, as in one case last time out
NINE NATIONALITIES: FRANCE, GERMANY, JAPAN, FINLAND, SPAIN, ITALY, AUSTRALIA, GREAT BRITAIN, SWITZERLAND
(identified later with camera footage), but UFOs can often be manmade items, like floating cargo containers. At the time of writing, high-profile competitors, Alex Thomson and Kevin Escoffier, have had to drop out due to damage. Escoffier ’s boat snapped in half in rough seas, sinking in minutes. Nearby competitors diverted from their course to rescue him. He was picked up by veteran skipper Jean Le Cam within 12 hours. This year, many boats are trialling a new collision avoidance system technology, OSCAR. The system uses mast-mounted daylight and thermal cameras, combined with AI, to alert skippers of potential obstacles along their heading. Skippers can view and record the images captured by the mast cameras and survey potential threats on a map. GLOBAL COVERAGE Hervé Borde has been a fixture of the Vendée Globe’s media coverage for 30 years. His company Nefertiti
feedmagazine.tv
Powered by FlippingBook