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 Fastnet Race is a biennial offshore yacht race organized by the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) of the United Kingdom with the assistance of the Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes and the City of Cherbourg in France.
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.
Brian Thompson is a British yachtsman. He was the first Briton to twice break the speed record for sailing around the world, and the first to sail non-stop around the world four times. He is highly successful offshore racer on all types of high-performance yachts, from 21-foot Mini Transat racers to 140-foot Maxi Trimarans.
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.
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 IMOCA 60 class yacht Estrella Damm was designed by Farr Yacht Design and launched in the 2007 after being built by Offshore Challenges who are not a boatbuilder but brought in specialist to build the boat in Cowes on the Isle of Wight in England. This racing yacht is not to be confused with Estrella Damm 2, which competed in the 2010 Barcelona World Race.
The IMOCA 60-class yacht Aviva was designed by Owen Clark Design and launched in September 2006 after being made by Hakes Marine based in New Zealand. The boat is a sistership to the Ecover 3. Note during the run up the original Group 4 was branded as Aviva "111" and used for initial training events while this boat was in build.
The IMOCA 60 class yacht L'Occitane en Provence, FRA 2, was designed by Sam Manuard and launched on the 31st January 2020 after being assembled by Black Pepper Yachts based in Nantes, France. Pauger Composites in Hungary did the hull moulding.
The IMOCA 60 class yacht Holcim - PRB originally launched as PRB (5) was designed by Guillaume Verdier, built by Carrington Boats in Hythe, England, and launched in 2022. The boat was shipped to France for final fitout. The hull was moulded for an Ocean Race project that was cancelled during the COVID-19 pandemic. The PRB team used the parts completed as a way to accelerate their build process and get back out on the water following the sinking of PRB 4 on 30 November, 2020.
The IMOCA 60 class yacht Demain c'est loin was designed by Owen Clark Design and launched in September 2006 after being made by Southern Ocean Marine in New Zealand. The boat is a development of Ecover 2 and Aviva made by the same builder and designer and looks like the same moulds.
The IMOCA 60 class yacht Whirlpool-Europe 2 was designed by Marc Lombard and launched in the August 1998 after being built Mag in France.
The IMOCA 60 class yacht Saint Michel - Virbac, FRA 06, was designed by VPLP design and Guillaume Verdier and launched on 11 September 2015 after being built by Multiplast in Vannes, France.
The IMOCA 60 class yacht Arkéa Paprec, FRA 4 was designed by Juan Kouyoumdjian and launched on 19 July 2019 after being built CDK Technologies in Port La Forêtin, France
The IMOCA 60 class yacht No Way Back, NED 160 was designed by VPLP design and Guillaume Verdier and launched on 18 August 2015 after being built Persico in Italy. The boat had structural issues during the 2022 Route de Rhum when the ballast tanks demounted themselves. This while retiring from the race the previous day and heading back towards Portugal led to an onboard fire and the boat was lost.
The IMOCA 60 class yacht Corum L'Epargne, FRA 9 was designed by Juan Kouyoumdjian and launched on 5 May 2020 after being built CDK Technologies based in Lorient, France.
Paprec Arkéa (6) is an IMOCA 60 monohull sailing yacht, designed by Antoine Koch and Finot-Conqm built by Multiplast in France, and launched on 22 February 2023. It is designed for the Vendée Globe 2024, a non-stop, round the world solo race. Its skipper is the French offshore sailor Yoann Richomme.
The Transat is a transatlantic yacht race first held in 2004 as a spin-off for professional sailors from the Single-Handed Trans-Atlantic Race which is limited to amateurs since.
