The Vendée Globe is a single-handed (solo) non-stop, unassisted round the world yacht race. The race was founded by Philippe Jeantot in 1989, and since 1992 has taken place every four years. It is named after the Dé
Mike Golding is an English yachtsman, born in Great Yarmouth and educated at Reading Blue Coat School. He is one of the few yachtsmen to have raced round the world non-stop in both directions. He held the solo record for sailing round the world westabout between 1994 and 2000.
Alex Thomson is a British yachtsman.
Boris Herrmann is a German yachtsman and author competing mostly in offshore races in the IMOCA 60 class.
Bernard Gallay is a French yachtsman and businessman. He has competed in the Vendée Globe twice and finished his career as a professional sailor whilst participating in the Transat 6.50 in 2005. In 1994, he moved to Montpellier in the South of France and founded Bernard Gallay Yacht Brokerage. He still competes in amateur races such as Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez and the Rolex Middle Sea Race.
Ari Huusela is a professional Finnish pilot and amateur offshore single-handed sailor. He has flown 25,000 hours and has sailed over 50,000 nautical miles.
The 2020–2021 Vendée Globe was a non-stop round the world yacht race for IMOCA 60 class yachts crewed by only one person. It was the ninth edition of the race, which started and finished in Les Sables-d'Olonne, France. The race began on 8 November 2020, with the first finishers completing the course on 27 January 2021 with the 25th and final yacht to complete the race arrived on 5 March 2021.
Kevin Escoffier is a French professional sailor born on 4 April 1980 in Saint-Malo, France and a resident of Lorient. He is an offshore sailor who has won the 2018 Volvo Ocean Race as a bowman onboard DongFeng and competed in the 2020–2021 Vendée Globe aboard PRB. In 2022-23, he initially skippered Holcim-PRB in The Ocean Race, before leaving the team amid a sexual misconduct probe. He is a member of the yacht club SN Baie St. Malo.
Charlie Dalin is a French offshore sailor. He placed first in the 10th edition of the quadrennial Vendée Globe race around the world that took place in 2024–2025 completing the race within a time of 64 days, 19 hours, 22 minutes and 49 seconds, smashing the previous record by 9 days, 8 hours, 12 minutes and 57 seconds. The edition before that he also finished second in the Vendée Globe race that took place in 2020–2021, with a time of 80 days, 6 hours, 15 minutes and 47 seconds. He covered 28,268 nautical miles at a race average of 14.67 knots. He has a Naval Architecture degree from the University of Southampton.
Yannick Bestaven is a French offshore sailor. He won the Transat 6.50 in 2001, was twice winner of the Transat Jacques-Vabre, and won the Vendée Globe in 2020-21.
The 1989–1990 Vendée Globe Challenge, which later became the first edition of the Vendée Globe, was a non-stop round the world sailing race, sailed west to east. The start was 26 November 1989 from Les Sables-d'Olonne. Thirteen boats started and seven finished due to multiple abandonments, which is common in this "Everest of the Sea" that is the Vendée Globe. It was won by Titouan Lamazou on 15 March 1990 creating the first benchmark of the event, a record that stood until the 1996–1997 edition.
The 2012–2013 Vendée Globe was a non-stop solo Round the World Yacht Race for IMOCA 60 class yachts and the seventh edition of the race.
The 2008–2009 Vendée Globe was a non-stop solo Round the World Yacht Race for IMOCA 60 class yachts and the sixth edition of the race.
The 2000–2001 Vendée Globe is a non-stop solo Round the World Yacht Race for IMOCA 50 and IMOCA 60 class yachts. This is the fourth edition of the race starting on 9 November 2000 from Les Sables-d'Olonne.
The 1996–1997 Vendée Globe was a non-stop round the world yacht race for IMOCA 50 and IMOCA 60 class yachts crewed by only one person. It was the third edition of the race, starting on 3 November 1996 from Les Sables-d'Olonne. The overall winner was Christophe Auguin who crossed the finish line on 17 February 1997 after a total time of 105 days, 20 hours and 31 minutes.
Foncia 2 is a IMOCA 60 Class offshore racing monohull sailing yacht launched in 2010.
Jean-Pierre Dick is a French professional yachtsman.
Richard Tolkien is a British corporate finance adviser, director and trustee and experienced adventure sailor who grew up in Devon. He was educated at King Edward VI School, Totnes, and Exeter College, Oxford (1974–1977), where he won the Webb Medley prize and graduated with a first in PPE. He joined HM Treasury that year and worked for the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the private office from 1979 to 1982.
The 2024–2025 Vendée Globe is a non-stop round the world yacht race for IMOCA 60 class yachts crewed by only one person. It is the tenth edition of the race; it started, and will finish, in Les Sables-d'Olonne, France.
The IMOCA 60 Class yacht Super Bigou designed by Pierre Rolland and launched in the year 2000. What makes the boat rare is that it was constructed by Bernard Stamm the boats original skipper and owner rather than an established yard.
