The Ocean Race is a yacht race around the world, held every three or four years since 1973. Originally named the Whitbread Round the World Race after its initiating sponsor, British brewing company Whitbread, in 2001 it became the Volvo Ocean Race after Swedish automobile manufacturer Volvo took up the sponsorship, and in 2019 it was renamed The Ocean Race.
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 Département of Vendée, in France, where the race starts and ends. The Vendée Globe is considered an extreme quest of individual endurance and the ultimate test in ocean racing.
The Velux 5 Oceans Race was a round-the-world single-handed yacht race, sailed in stages, managed by Clipper Ventures since 2000. Its most recent name comes from its main sponsor Velux. Originally known as the BOC Challenge, for the title sponsor BOC, the first edition was in 1982. In the late 1990s the race was renamed the Around Alone. The 2010-11 race was the last to take place and attracted just five entries. The event has not been held since.
The IMOCA is a 60ft development class monohull sailing yacht governed by the International Monohull Open Class Association (IMOCA). The class pinnacle event are single or two person ocean races, such as the Route du Rhum and the Vendée Globe and this has been intimately linked to design development within the class. The class is recognised by World Sailing.
Isabelle Autissier is a French sailor, navigator, writer, and broadcaster. She is celebrated for being the first woman to have completed a solo world navigation in competition. Based in La Rochelle since 1980, she is also a writer and honorary president of WWF-France.
Boris Herrmann is a German yachtsman and author competing mostly in offshore races in the IMOCA 60 class.
The Barcelona World Race is a non-stop, round-the-world yacht race for crews of two, sailed on Open 60 IMOCA monohull boats. Following the Clipper route, it starts and finishes in Barcelona, and is organised by the Barcelona Ocean Sailing Foundation (FNOB).
VPLP design is a French-based naval architectural firm founded by Marc Van Peteghem and Vincent Lauriot-Prévost, responsible for designing some of the world's most innovative racing boats. Their designs presently hold many of the World Speed Sailing records.
Marie Riou is a French sailor who competed in the 2012 Summer Olympics in the Elliott 6m class with Claire Leroy and Élodie Bertrand coming 6th overall.
Yoann Richomme is a French navigator, sailor and yacht skipper. He has won the Solitaire du Figaro in 2016 and 2019 and the Route du Rhum in the Class 40 category in 2018 and 2022. In the Imoca class, he won the Retour à la Base 2023 and The Transat 2024.
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.
The Ocean Race Europe is an offshore yacht race around Europe created and run by the organisers of The Ocean Race. Its inaugural edition is the 2021 Ocean Race Europe, which began 25 May 2021 as a three-leg course from Lorient, France to Genoa, Italy. A second edition is planned for 2025
Susann Beucke is a German sailor who competes offshore races of the Figaro Bénéteau 3 and IMOCA 60 classes. Before focusing on offshore sailing she competed in Olympic sailing, primarily in the 49er FX class, winning the silver medal in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo along with Tina Lutz, representing Germany.
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 Ocean Race 2023 was the 14th edition of the round-the-world The Ocean Race. It started in Alicante, Spain.
Malizia-Seaexplorer (3) or Team Malizia (3), is an IMOCA 60 monohull sailing yacht, designed by VPLP and Boris Herrmann and constructed by Multiplast in France and launched on 19 July 2022. It has been designed for the Vendée Globe 2024, a solo tour of the world, but also participated in The Ocean Race 2023, a crewed around-the-world tour. Its skipper is the German yachtsman Boris Herrmann.
The IMOCA 60 Groupe Dubreuil previous known as 11th Hour Racing - Mālama.
Biotherm is an IMOCA 60 monohull sailing yacht, designed by Guillaume Verdier and constructed by Persico Marine in Italy, launched on 31 August 2022. It is designed for the Vendée Globe 2024, a solo round the world yacht race. Its skipper is the French sailor Paul Meilhat.
Le Défi Azimut is a yacht race open only to the IMOCA 60 class. The yearly race, first held in 2011, contains typically three different competitions starting in Lorient, France. The main event, a 48-hour offshore race in the Bay of Biscay is accompanied by the short Tour de Groix and a competition of speed runs over one nautical mile.
